Basic DDR3 RAM guide! :3

[Nena Trinity]

0. http://downloadmoreram.com/ DOES NOT WORK ITS A SCAM!!!

 

1. Get the best RAM you can, 1866MHz/CL9 or better! Most boards in 2015 should support up to 2133MHz, weaker CPUs benefit more from faster RAM but you should not pay to much for the RAM sticks.

 

2. The cast latency(CL) should be lower and not higher!

(1600MHz/1866MHz should have CL9 or less, anything above that should only be bought if you are on a budget or do not mind a FPS loss)

 

Spoiler

 

3. Heat spreaders and lights are not worth the premium price but if you like how something look then go ahead its your money! :3

 

4. You should not have 4 random types of ram and all should have same MHz and CL or it could result badly!

All four should be same or be in two identical pairs but MHz and CL should still be same!!! (Voltage is also VERY IMPORTANT!!!)

 

[spoiler=Example on safest miss-matching]

RAM 1 & 3(channel 1): HyperX Savage DDR3 1866MHz CL9 4GB Red (2x4) / RAM 2 & 4(channel 2): AMD Radeon R7 Performance Series 1866MHz CL9 4GB (2x4). Things you should note, same MHz(1866), same CL(9) & same voltage of 1.5V! :3

(all 4 most be as close as possible, however on a quad channel you should use a quad RAM kit or two identical dual kits!)

 

5. Always check the motherboard! There is no point buying 1866MHz if the board only can go up to 1333MHz... (rarely a issue these days...)

 

6. Dual and/or quad channel boards should never have 1 RAM or 3 RAMs! (Tripple channel can have 3 or 6)

 

If I missed anything please post below and I will add it to the topic! :3

 

On 14.9.2015 at 6:55 PM, i_build_nanosuits said:

Most important of all is when matching different ram sticks check the VOLTAGES above all else, if they require different voltages then they are not matching.

Also CL has more impact than Mhz...for example my RAM at 1866 CL9 is faster in benchmarks than if i set it to 2000mhz CL10...

1866/9=207.33

2000/10=200.00

Holy cookie I cannot believe I forgot that!  (I totally knew that!)

 

Edit 25-Okt-2015:

RAM MHz affect in gaming with low end CPUs!

 

My tests: (Both MHz & Latency matters!!!)

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/477263-metro-last-light-redux-benchmarks/

 

[ThinkWithPortals]

Not a bad little guide.

[themaniac]

for the Mhz you can easily just buy the cheapest ram even if it is like cl11 and Mhz 1333 and just lower the cl and raise the Mhz and for the mismatching you are fine with any type of ram as long as you change the Mhz and cl to be the same and as long as they are both the same type of ddr, but this is a good guide i will put it in my sig

[i_build_nanosuits]

Most important of all is when matching different ram sticks check the VOLTAGES above all else, if they require different voltages then they are not matching.

Also CL has more impact than Mhz...for example my RAM at 1866 CL9 is faster in benchmarks than if i set it to 2000mhz CL10...

1866/9=207.33

2000/10=200.00

[Creepee]

Most important of all is when matching different ram sticks check the VOLTAGES above all else, if they require different voltages then they are not matching.

Also CL has more impact than Mhz...for example my RAM at 1866 CL9 is faster in benchmarks than if i set it to 2000mhz CL10...

1866/9=207.33

2000/10=200.00

 

So if I downclock a 1866MHz, CL10 stick, to 1600MHz, would the CL also "downgrade" to CL9? I knew that I could downclock the speed of a stick to match another, slower one, but I didn't know I could do the same with the CL.

[i_build_nanosuits]

So if I downclock a 1866MHz, CL10 stick, to 1600MHz, would the CL also "downgrade" to CL9? I knew that I could downclock the speed of a stick to match another, slower one, but I didn't know I could do the same with the CL.

You can manualy change the latency yourself it's very simple with motherboards these days to set the RAM parameters...if you go too far off specs the system will lock up...and yes so long as the ram sticks are rated similar like that, you could for example dial in the settings of those 1866mhz CL10 ram to match other 1600mhz CL9...sure, easy...just make sure you set the timings the same as the ''lower-end'' sticks and it will work just fine 99% of the time...make sure both kits are the same voltage though.

 

I don't know if it's that simple on every board though, but i can confirm my Z87 motherboard let me choose what i want for the CL and every one of the timings individualy as well as clockspeed...my 1866mhz CL9 sticks can run 1600mhz CL8 or 2000mhz CL 10...but if you do the math 1866mhz Cl9 is the fastest:

1600/8 = 200

1866/9 = 207.33--> win

2000/10 =200

coincidence? no usualy the XMP profile will be the fastest the ram can achieve...most of the time...unless you push some more voltages through them but this yield no performance boost what so ever for 95%+ of the applications out there and RAM sticks are somewhat fragile so i really don't recommend overvolting your ram sticks obviously that would be dumb.

[Nena Trinity]

You can manualy change the latency yourself it's very simple with motherboards these days to set the RAM parameters...if you go too far off specs the system will lock up...and yes so long as the ram sticks are rated similar like that, you could for example dial in the settings of those 1866mhz CL10 ram to match other 1600mhz CL9...sure, easy...just make sure you set the timings the same as the ''lower-end'' sticks and it will work just fine 99% of the time...make sure both kits are the same voltage though.

 

I don't know if it's that simple on every board though, but i can confirm my Z87 motherboard let me choose what i want for the CL and every one of the timings individualy as well as clockspeed...my 1866mhz CL9 sticks can run 1600mhz CL8 or 2000mhz CL 10...but if you do the math 1866mhz Cl9 is the fastest:

1600/8 = 200

1866/9 = 207.33--> win

2000/10 =200

coincidence? no usualy the XMP profile will be the fastest the ram can achieve...most of the time...unless you push some more voltages through them but this yield no performance boost what so ever for 95%+ of the applications out there and RAM sticks are somewhat fragile so i really don't recommend overvolting your ram sticks obviously that would be dumb.

I use same RAM specs cause it was cheap and best!

The only thing better is G.Skill 1866MHz with CL8 but that is hard to find and if one fail it will be pain to find a replacement...

[i_build_nanosuits]

I use same RAM specs cause it was cheap and best!

The only thing better is G.Skill 1866MHz with CL8 but that is hard to find and if one fail it will be pain to find a replacement...

There is really not much to gain beyond that anyways...unless maybe you use your system memory as a frame buffer for some sort of CPU on-board graphics or something.

And if you check, even DDR4 memory benchmarks there is not much difference even when compairing 3000mhz+ kits because the latency on those is so high that it negate a lot of the benefits from the increased bandwidht.

[Nena Trinity]

There is really not much to gain beyond that anyways...unless maybe you use your system memory as a frame buffer for some sort of CPU on-board graphics or something.

And if you check, even DDR4 memory benchmarks there is not much difference even when compairing 3000mhz+ kits because the latency on those is so high that it negate a lot of the benefits from the increased bandwidht.

Yeah it makes me wonder why they even bothered making DDR4...

[mosin40]

Nice guide

After reading this guide i decided to check my laptop's ram cast latency and it turn out to be a 1600mhz cl11...

[Nena Trinity]

Nice guide

After reading this guide i decided to check my laptop's ram cast latency and it turn out to be a 1600mhz cl11...

Laptop RAM is usually cheap but also their performance is inferior cause it uses less power and is smaller!

[mosin40]

Laptop RAM is usually cheap but also their performance is inferior cause it uses less power and is smaller!

Yup, that's true...

And laptop ram with low cl are a bit expensive

[Nena Trinity]

Yup, that's true...

And laptop ram with low cl are a bit expensive

I think G.Skill has some but not all laptops can handle those!

[mosin40]

I think G.Skill has some but not all laptops can handle those!

Haha, yeah... This one the reasons that i want a deskptop pc

[agent_x007]

Two things :
1) 

6. Dual and/or quad channel boards should never have 1 RAM or 3 RAMs! (Tripple channel can have 3 or 6)

 

^Why is that ?
I used 4 sticks in LGA 1366 and CPU-z even show me Triple Channel active no stability problems/OC'ing problems
Same thing with Quad Channel : U CAN use Triple or even Single Channel in it and it will work.
It's buyers decision how many sticks he wants to use from the start.

2) Missmatchig... is really something interesting.
U can break almost all the rules in the book, but it still works (2x 1GB @ 1GHz CL5 with 2x 512MB @ 800MHz CL4) : LINK, BUT if U try to use exact same module (except for one letter), it won't work on cheap MB's and be really problematic in getting it working on anything, example - LINK with LINK.

[Nena Trinity]

Two things :

1) 

^Why is that ?

I used 4 sticks in LGA 1366 and CPU-z even show me Triple Channel active no stability problems/OC'ing problems

Same thing with Quad Channel : U CAN use Triple or even Single Channel in it and it will work.

It's buyers decision how many sticks he wants to use from the start.

2) Missmatchig... is really something interesting.

U can break almost all the rules in the book, but it still works (2x 1GB @ 1GHz CL5 with 2x 512MB @ 800MHz CL4) : LINK, BUT if U try to use exact same module (except for one letter), it won't work on cheap MB's and be really problematic in getting it working on anything, example - LINK with LINK.

Yep the rules are just to avoid issues but you may be fine if you got a decent board that much is true!

[Redicat]

RAM is already SUPER fast buying or overclocking to higher MHz is not really worth it...

 

Trusted brand, Lifetime warranty, heatspreather, cheapest highest MHz ram kit and buy.

 

Well yeah... low end CPU's but just don't buy overpriced extremely high MHz ram

[Nena Trinity]

RAM is already SUPER fast buying or overclocking to higher MHz is not really worth it...

 

Trusted brand, Lifetime warranty, heatspreather, cheapest highest MHz ram kit and buy.

 

Well yeah... low end CPU's but just don't buy overpriced extremely high MHz ram

True if you buy anything over 2133MHz you need a more expensive board and I feel buying 1866MHz and OC them then you save cash and get better RAM!