Does memory speed matter?

[Cs342]

I was thinking of moving from a G.Skill Ripjaws X to a generic Kingston memory kit since I will be getting a big CPU cooler and don't want interference issues. Also, the Ripjaws X looks horribly wrong in my blue-themed rig (the Ripjaws are red). The Kingston kit is 8GB just like the Ripjaws but it is 1333 MHz instead of 1600 MHz and it has no heatsinks. Will I notice any difference in performance, and will the lack of heatsinks on the Kingston RAM be an issue?

[Hazy125]

The lack of heatsinks won't be an issue. You can still overclock a little bit without the heatsink. Up to 1600. You will notice a bit of a difference between 1333 and 1600, but not really much about 1600 unless using an AMD APU

 

Edit: Not really much after 1600

[Andi]

1333 is a bit low...i would buy 1600Mhz ram, but the difference is small.

 

Normal ram needs no heasink...it's just for style/protection

[Ssoele]

RAM really doesn't get hot. The heatsink is mostly just looks. Personally, I'd go with the 1600MHz over the 1333MHz because I don't really care about colour schemes.

[delet my acc pls]

I would personally go 1600 but you will not be able to notice any diffrence between it and 1333mhz

[Cs342]

What are the actual differences between 1333 and 1600? I know that the higher the capacity of RAM the more programs you can run at once, but what does the frequency affect?

[Hyydrah]

Benchmarks, not a whole lot with current Intel CPUs. Memory frequencies can have an enormous impact on APU performance though.

[Andi]

What are the actual differences between 1333 and 1600? I know that the higher the capacity of RAM the more programs you can run at once, but what does the frequency affect?

The 1333/1600MHz stands for the operating speed... Higher clockspeeds -> theoretical higher maximum memory bandwidth.

[brownninja97]

Apu or dont care, the different between 1333mhz and 3000mhz isnt noticeable and very hard to see even if you are trying to see it.

[WoodenMarker]

Higher ram speed benefits are marginal and aren't something to worry about most of the time.

As for ram, the heatsinks are far from necessary since it barely gets warm.

[Cs342]

Higher ram speed benefits are marginal and aren't something to worry about most of the time.

As for ram, the heatsinks are far from necessary since it barely gets warm.

What's the point of high speed memory then? Does this mean I will not notice any difference whatsoever going from 1600 to 1333?

[WoodenMarker]

What's the point of high speed memory then? Does this mean I will not notice any difference whatsoever going from 1600 to 1333?

You won't notice.

 

High speed ram is useful for an APU or integrated graphics since they use the system's ram due to not having it's own dedicated ram like a graphics card does.

It's also useful for very heavy renders and computing tasks. It's generally not that big if a difference but it matters for example in situations where a small percentage in improvement means hours less in waiting time in the long run.

[Cs342]

You won't notice.

 

High speed ram is useful for an APU or integrated graphics since they use the system's ram due to not having it's own dedicated ram like a graphics card does.

It's also useful for very heavy renders and computing tasks. It's generally not that big if a difference but it matters for example in situations where a small percentage in improvement means hours less in waiting time in the long run.

Will Kingston RAM with no heatsinks ever overheat during long periods of PC usage?

[WoodenMarker]

Will Kingston RAM with no heatsinks ever overheat during long periods of PC usage?

No. 99% of ram with heatsinks don't need them because ram barely even gets warm even in 24/7 usage.

[Cryptonite]

Will Kingston RAM with no heatsinks ever overheat during long periods of PC usage?

I'm using 2x kingston 4 gb chips 1333 at 1600 MHz. been doing so since I built this rig.

and yea the difference is minimal, I just overclocked because I can.

[Cs342]

So there won't be any reduction in real-world performance by going to slower RAM?

[SkilledRebuilds]

Not anything we would notice..

If your chasing benchmarks, and high overclocks, it can help with a few extra points...

Like Having a locked multiplyer so you cannot overclock the CPU without overclocking the RAM...

Upping the FSB from its default value to overclock the CPU would see 1333mhz ram go up in value each increment, causing errors/bsod's..

So installing 1600mhz ram, setting 1333mhz in the bios, you have this overhead you can use knowing it will be stable at higher speeds than 1333mhz.

 

These days, only the APU gets to use memory for a huge benefit.

While dedicated gfx cards have their own faster memory on board the pcb,..., the APU's use system memory, and the APU's use the extra bandwidth for a pretty substantial leap in performance.

APU's: GFX + CPU in one, will be faster using 2GB of 2133mhz than 1333mhz, this is the only substantial "Real World" performance upgrade you actually notice going to faster ram.

All other gains are miniscule and probably only realistic for workstations.

[Cs342]

So these days overclocking the CPU doesn't affect RAM?

[WoodenMarker]

So these days overclocking the CPU doesn't affect RAM?

It depends on the motherboard and settings you're using. 

Overclocking the cpu does mean overlocking ram would be more unstable and vice versa.