will my Skylake CPU die with DDR3?

[lorant2k]

hey guys, i recently got myself a prebuilt system(i know its dumb but the price was insane) and i went with the new Skylake CPU-s. The mobo is some cheap stuff but i thought its going to perform ok until i get some cooler stuff.

Now, i just saw Linus's video(@NCIX) about Skylake not supporting DDR3, only DDR3L and DDR4. I checked my ram and it is DDR3 and i got a little scared. I also checked the mobo specs and it doesn't even support DDR4 which i find really weird.

 

Specs:

CPU i5-6400

MB AsRock H110M-DVS/D3

 

My question would be what can i do to not kill my CPU, i'm open to any suggestions.

[Godlygamer23]

DDR3 is supported by Skylake, as motherboard manufacturers have proven. Your motherboard explicitly states that it has support for DDR3.

  - Dual Channel DDR3/DDR3L Memory Technology
- 2 x DDR3/DDR3L DIMM Slots
- Supports DDR3/DDR3L 1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
- Supports ECC UDIMM memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
- Max. capacity of system memory: 32GB*
- Supports Intel^® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3 / 1.2

[FireFox]

Skylake is compatible with DDR3, there are some Skylake boards with them but I wouldn't run it with the chip. DDR3L is 1.35v but DDR3 ranges between 1.5 and 1.65v which I think degrades the IMC.

 

I'm sure someone with more knowledge of this will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

EDIT: Not sure how accurate this site is but could be worth a read.

 

http://www.eteknix.com/intel-admits-ddr3-ram-can-damage-skylake-processors/

 

Personally mate I'd probably look into getting DDR3L, not sure if DDR3 and DDR3L have the keys in different locations because I haven't looked into it but if they are the same then save yourself some shit and go with DDR3L.

[lorant2k]

@FireFox yeap, that is my concerne, that's why i asked you guys if you know any ways to fix this without changing the mobo, lowering the voltage or something

[FruitBasketSilex]

@FireFox yeap, that is my concerne, that's why i asked you guys if you know any ways to fix this without changing the mobo, lowering the voltage or something

@FireFox

DDR3 voltages have no issues with Skylake.

[MageTank]

@FireFox yeap, that is my concerne, that's why i asked you guys if you know any ways to fix this without changing the mobo, lowering the voltage or something

I can ease your concern. vDIMM alone is not going to kill a CPU. That voltage does not impact the CPU at all. It is supplied by the board, to the memory itself. The reason Intel released this warning concerning DDR3, is because loading DDR3 XMP profiles might cause too much VCCIO (The voltage that goes in and out of the IMC) and VCCSA (The IMC and PCIE subdomain voltage) to be supplied, potentially frying the IMC on your CPU.

 

To avoid this, manually input your voltage values. Default Skylake VCCIO is 0.950, and VCCSA is 1.0. It has been said that 1.25v of each is perfectly safe for 24/7 use, but i personally do not use more than 1.15v of each. You can look for timings such as tRDRD_SG/DG (and other timings similar to this, like tWRWR_SG/DG) and loosen them to take less stress off your IMC, thus reducing the amount of VCCIO/SA voltages you will need to keep the ram running stable.

 

If all of this seems too scary for you, then manually input 1.35v, drop the ram down to 1333 or 1600mhz CL7-9, and treat it like it is DDR3L. Either way, be very careful with those default XMP profiles.

[Enderman]

@FireFox

DDR3 voltages have no issues with Skylake.

yes they do

[MageTank]

yes they do

Sorry, but that video is wrong, for the reasons i stated above in my post. If vDIMM killed the IMC, then HWBOT would have been the first to break that news, as they have been running 2.1v on DDR4 since Skylake first came out. 

[techguru]

@FireFox yeap, that is my concerne, that's why i asked you guys if you know any ways to fix this without changing the mobo, lowering the voltage or something

you can buy lower voltage ddr3..it is a concern according to intel...it can damage the cpu over time

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600000279%20600006050%20600006069&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=90

[App4that]

Sorry, but that video is wrong, for the reasons i stated above in my post. If vDIMM killed the IMC, then HWBOT would have been the first to break that news, as they have been running 2.1v on DDR4 since Skylake first came out. 

Anyone else noting Linus is wrong, a lot? Especially when it comes to RAM?

 

I was going to tag you big man, but glad to see you were already here.

[Enderman]

Sorry, but that video is wrong, for the reasons i stated above in my post. If vDIMM killed the IMC, then HWBOT would have been the first to break that news, as they have been running 2.1v on DDR4 since Skylake first came out. 

they never said anything about "kill" in that video...if you even bothered to watch it

 

Linus said it degrades the controller much faster resulting in reduced life span

 

And who is running 2.1v on their memory?? wtf?

[techguru]

Anyone else noting Linus is wrong, a lot? Especially when it comes to RAM?

 

I was going to tag you big man, but glad to see you were already here.

linus doesn't know everything...heck he doesn't even compare to some of the people on the forum (including me)

[arnavvr]

@FireFox

DDR3 voltages have no issues with Skylake.

 

Some do. DDR3L is rated at 1.35V, which is standard for DDR4, but 1.65V is standard for DDR3. This voltage is a lot higher than 1.35. Some Extreme DDR3 even push up into the 1.75V barrier, nearing DDR2 volts.

[arnavvr]

they never said anything about "kill" in that video...if you even bothered to watch it

 

Linus said it degrades the controller much faster resulting in reduced life span

 

And who is running 2.1v on their memory?? wtf?

 @Lays has run 2.25V on DDR3 (G.Skill Trident X)

[App4that]

linus doesn't know everything...heck he doesn't even compare to some of the people on the forum (including me)

I get that, then don't make videos about things you know little about. My only point to make.

[techguru]

Some do. DDR3L is rated at 1.35V, which is standard for DDR4, but 1.65V is standard for DDR3. This voltage is a lot higher than 1.35. Some Extreme DDR3 even push up into the 1.75V barrier, nearing DDR2 volts.

1.5v is standard for ddr3

[FruitBasketSilex]

Some do. DDR3L is rated at 1.35V, which is standard for DDR4, but 1.65V is standard for DDR3. This voltage is a lot higher than 1.35. Some Extreme DDR3 even push up into the 1.75V barrier, nearing DDR2 volts.

Read @MageTank post above.

And ddr4 standard is 1.2-1.35v, and ddr3 standard is1.5-1.65, just to correct you.

[Enderman]

 @Lays has run 2.25V on DDR3 (G.Skill Trident X)

continuously 24/7 for daily use?

 

or for a couple minutes to see what the highest overclock possible he could get was?

 

obviously you dont know the difference do you...

[arnavvr]

1.5v is standard for ddr3

 

 

Read @MageTank post above.

And ddr4 standard is 1.2-1.35v, and ddr3 standard is1.5-1.65, just to correct you.

 

But Max Safe is conservative. Some Memory Manufacturers have pushed up to 1.75. (I think Patriot, not sure) 

[MageTank]

they never said anything about "kill" in that video...if you even bothered to watch it

 

Linus said it degrades the controller much faster resulting in reduced life span

 

And who is running 2.1v on their memory?? wtf?

Quite a few. Names that come to mind are probably Bullant, Alex@Ro, etc. I know RULE runs at 1.85v. 

 

Even degradation is a hard claim to make, as it is almost impossible to prove. Again, vDIMM does not impact the voltage being taken in by the IMC. Voltage that runs in and out of the IMC is VCCIO (A and D), and VCCSA is the IMC and PCIE subdomain voltages. These two are the only two voltages that i could see hurting an IMC. That being said, there is some truth to what he says. These faster kits tend to require more VCCIO/SA voltages to remain stable. vDIMM alone will not be enough, as you will eventually hit a wall where the IMC needs to be fed more voltage to handle the ram. That is where i would see degradation, or death, being possible with these kits. 

 

You could just relax the timings though, and take the stress off the IMC, but then whats the point in even increasing the clock speeds? You would end up with 3400mhz memory that is slower than 3000mhz memory.

 

In short, vDIMM is not going to kill a CPU at all. It will not degrade a CPU either. However, higher VDIMM kits tend to also require higher VCCIO/SA voltages to keep their high speeds stable, and those two voltages can and will eventually kill an IMC if not used properly.

[Godlygamer23]

This is the official stance on DDR3 with Intel:

Skylake's IMC officially supports only DDR3L with a voltage of 1.35, and it officially supports DDR4 at 1.2 V. This might seem a little counter-intuitive to some users, as the entire reason for continuing DDR3 support is to make it cheaper and easier for customers to upgrade to the new Skylake platform, but these voltages are likely used to avoid damaging the IMC. Although it would be nice to use any DDR3 from 1.35 V - 1.65 V, running at these higher voltages could burn out the IMC and kill the processor over time.

If this is the case, though, then why do OEMs such as Gigabyte support DDR3 at 1.5 V on some of their motherboards? And why do others such as Asus and ASRock support DDR3 at 1.65 V? RAM running at these voltages might be capable of operating on the motherboard without causing damage to the board itself, but again, over time it will likely damage the CPU. So if you don't have DDR3L on hand, you are probably better off to go ahead and spring for the more expensive DDR4.

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/skylake-memory-support,30185.html

[Lays]

continuously 24/7 for daily use?

or for a couple minutes to see what the highest overclock possible he could get was?

obviously you dont know the difference do you...

I've been running it for around 8 hours a week for the past 6 months or so, sometimes even more than 8 hours a week. I haven't seen any ram degradation, the clocks I'm able to achieve haven't changed at the voltage I run.

Normally I run 2.1-2.15 for 2800 to 2860 9-12-12-17.

Need about 2.3 for 2933 c9

[Godlygamer23]

I've been running it for around 8 hours a week for the past 6 months or so, sometimes even more than 8 hours a week. I haven't seen any ram degradation, the clocks I'm able to achieve haven't changed at the voltage I run.

RAM degradation is not the issue. It deals with the IMC.

[Lays]

RAM degradation is not the issue. It deals with the IMC.

Considering I haven't changed voltages for IMC at all, and I can still get the same clocks from my ram, then I doubt IMC is affected either.

[Enderman]

I've been running it for around 8 hours a week for the past 6 months or so, sometimes even more than 8 hours a week. I haven't seen any ram degradation, the clocks I'm able to achieve haven't changed at the voltage I run.

Normally I run 2.1-2.15 for 2800 to 2860 9-12-12-17.

Need about 2.3 for 2933 c9

You have a skylake CPU?

I thought you only had the 4790k thats in your sig