DDR3 (1.5V+) can damage the Skylake CPUs

[zMeul]

source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/skylake-memory-support,30185.html#xtor=RSS-181

 

 

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.

 

---

 

Linus was right, he did a Skylake video sometime back, or was it during a WAN Show ...

anyways, I don't see the point of spending hundreds of $ on a CPU and not buy a proper mobo and RAM for it - especially when it turns out that it might damage the CPU

[Lays]

Eh.

Last I heard, memory voltage is on the motherboards side and doesn't have anything to do with the IMC.

 

I think they are just trying to scare people into buying ddr4

[Gofspar]

Official numbers are always lower than what they should be.

They say X99 should never go past 1.35v when people bench at 1.6v on ambient cooling..

 

VDIMM voltage doesn't even touch the IMC, how would it affect it?

[zMeul]

Eh.

Last I heard, memory voltage is on the motherboards side and doesn't have anything to do with the IMC.

it is not that simple, data lanes are powered; and will operate at higher voltage, even if the power source is not in the CPU

[Lays]

it is not that simple, data lanes are powered; and will operate at higher voltage, even if the power source is not in the CPU

 

 

VDIMM voltage will/should have it's own power delivery on the board, separated from other parts of the board, and power delivery circuitry on the RAM should as well. I don't see any reason increasing a separate circuit's voltage would increase a different circuit's voltage.

[Gofspar]

it is not that simple, data lanes are powered; and will operate at higher voltage, even if the power source is not in the CPU

data lanes are NOT powered and is NOT affected by vdimm voltage, it will be affected if you go ham on VCCSA voltage.

[EChondo]

Wait there are boards for 1151 that support DDR3? Why would you even bother with that? DDR4 isn't even that much more expensive compared to DDR3. A 2x8 kit of DDR4 2133MHz would cost $96 while a 2x8 kit of DDR3 1333MHz would cost $80. $16 difference? Come on.

 

If I was going for a Skylake build right now DDR4 would be a no brainer, I literally do not see why you shouldn't go for DDR4 at this point.

[Lays]

Wait there are boards for 1151 that support DDR3? Why would you even bother with that? DDR4 isn't even that much more expensive compared to DDR3. A 2x8 kit of DDR4 2133MHz would cost $96 while a 2x8 kit of DDR3 1333MHz would cost $80. $16 difference? Come on.

 

If I was going for a Skylake build right now DDR4 would be a no brainer, I literally do not see why you shouldn't go for DDR4 at this point.

 

Biostar has/is making one that does ddr4 and ddr3 if I remember right.

 

I agree, there's really not a reason to not get ddr4, it's pretty cheap, even the super high mhz kits.

[zMeul]

data lanes are NOT powered and is NOT affected by vdimm voltage, it will be affected if you go ham on VCCSA voltage.

what do you mean they're not powered?! they run on ?! good will and cookies?

[ivan134]

Eh.

Last I heard, memory voltage is on the motherboards side and doesn't have anything to do with the IMC.

 

I think they are just trying to scare people into buying ddr4

Seeing as it's written by Toms Hardware, you're probably right. They're sales men more than anything else. I think the real story here is that zMuel didn't somehow link this to the death of AMD.

[EChondo]

Biostar has/is making one that does ddr4 and ddr3 if I remember right.

It would be pretty cool getting a board like that so you can use your old DDR3 kit for a bit and then upgrade to DDR4 when you want, but I'm kinda worried about the potential issues that could arise from it haha.

 

Found an article: http://www.techpowerup.com/216007/biostar-announces-hi-fi-h170z3-motherboard-with-ddr4-and-ddr3-combo.html

 

Actually looks like a good board, haven't even considered buying a Biostar board before, but seeing that has me interested!

[Gofspar]

what do you mean they're not powered?! they run on ?! good will and cookies?

electrical signals, not measureable past 10mv

[Lays]

It would be pretty cool getting a board like that so you can use your old DDR3 kit for a bit and then upgrade to DDR4 when you want, but I'm kinda worried about the potential issues that could arise from it haha.

 

Found an article: http://www.techpowerup.com/216007/biostar-announces-hi-fi-h170z3-motherboard-with-ddr4-and-ddr3-combo.html

 

Actually looks like a good board, haven't even considered buying a Biostar board before, but seeing that has me interested!

 

 

It's a cool idea yeah, but whether it works great or not is a different story

[King_Tuna]

DDR4 isn't even that much more expensive compared to DDR3. A 2x8 kit of DDR4 2133MHz would cost $96 while a 2x8 kit of DDR3 1333MHz would cost $80. $16 difference? Come on.

You can't use your old DDR3 RAM's without DDR3 supported Skylake boards. That means you have to buy new kit for 100$. And you throw away your old DDR3 RAM.

If someone is going to bulid his first computer, he/she can go with DDR4 because he/she don't have a DDR3 DIMM laying around.

[MageTank]

You can't use your old DDR3 RAM's without DDR3 supported Skylake boards. That means you have to buy new kit for 100$. And you throw away your old DDR3 RAM.

If someone is going to bulid his first computer, he/she can go with DDR4 because he/she don't have a DDR3 DIMM laying around.

Who said you have to throw that old memory away? If you are upgrading to Skylake from a current DDR3 build, you obviously have a DDR3 board and CPU to go with it, right? Sell that as a combo, use it as a spare PC, or sell each item individually. No need to just throw things away.

 

Rather than upgrade and use the same memory, i think it would be worth while to dive into the latest standard, and keep your old machine as complete as you can. Sell it to recoup some of the money spent upgrading, or keep it as a backup/give it to a friend or family member. Clinging to DDR3 won't really do anything good for you. It just makes it even harder to upgrade in the future.

[EChondo]

You can't use your old DDR3 RAM's without DDR3 supported Skylake boards. That means you have to buy new kit for 100$. And you throw away your old DDR3 RAM.

If someone is going to bulid his first computer, he/she can go with DDR4 because he/she don't have a DDR3 DIMM laying around.

Oh of course, you can save money doing that, but even I wouldn't bother staying with DDR3 when I have to buy a whole new board and CPU anyway, might as well throw down another $100 on RAM and hop onto the new standard. At least that way I can keep my old setup and use it as a webserver, router, or guest computer.

 

I do see the benefit of saving ~$100 when upgrading, but is it really worth it in the end? I personally don't think so.

[TrigrH]

Oh of course, you can save money doing that, but even I wouldn't bother staying with DDR3 when I have to buy a whole new board and CPU anyway, might as well throw down another $100 on RAM and hop onto the new standard. At least that way I can keep my old setup and use it as a webserver, router, or guest computer.

 

I do see the benefit of saving ~$100 when upgrading, but is it really worth it in the end? I personally don't think so.

 

The sad thing is a D3 mobo + skylake 6700k will still cost more than a 4970k and a probs better z97 mobo.

[Lays]

The sad thing is a D3 mobo + skylake 6700k will still cost more than a 4970k and a probs better z97 mobo.

 

I would hope it costs more, the 6700k offers more performance and more features on the platform.  A guy posted a thread earlier comparing the price of Z170 vs Z97, it wasn't actually that much of a difference in price, well worth the $ imo.

[Dabombinable]

it is not that simple, data lanes are powered; and will operate at higher voltage, even if the power source is not in the CPU

You know how motherboards have the pase count as 4+1, 8+1, 8+2 etc? The last digit stands for the memory power phases.

[MageTank]

The sad thing is a D3 mobo + skylake 6700k will still cost more than a 4970k and a probs better z97 mobo.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($327.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $482.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-28 21:49 EDT-0400

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($364.99 @ B&H) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($111.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $546.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-28 21:53 EDT-0400

 

Using the cheapest reliable options for each category, high end Haswell is $60 cheaper than high end Skylake. Considering Haswell's 4790k launched at $350, i would make the point that Skylake, in time, will also get slightly cheaper. Point is, newer platform is a better option for someone building a new PC. 

 

I'd pay $60 more for 5% more IPC, twice the memory capacity support, the ability to SLI with a PCIE M.2 SSD, and the longevity of DDR4 memory (It will support speeds up to 4233mhz). 

[TrigrH]

You know how motherboards have the pase count as 4+1, 8+1, 8+2 etc? The last digit stands for the memory power phases.

@zMeul the asus and asrock boards have suitable power phases for the higher voltage memory.

 

 

I would hope it costs more, the 6700k offers more performance and more features on the platform.  A guy posted a thread earlier comparing the price of Z170 vs Z97, it wasn't actually that much of a difference in price, well worth the $ imo.

its about $200, which for some people isn't worth.

 

Edit, prices have gone down a lot from the initial preorders, they were asking $650AU for the i7

[MageTank]

 

@zMeul the asus and asrock boards have suitable power phases for the higher voltage memory.

 

 

its about $200, which for some people isn't worth.

 

Wrong, by a long shot. The 6700k is $30 more in the US, and DDR4 memory is $16 more on a 16GB set. Board price differs based on quality, but both options have $100 boards perfectly capable of reasonable overclocks. $30 + $16 is $46. Let's assume you want a quality board, which you will spend the exact same amount of cash on either way. Far cry from $200, don't you think?

[That Norwegian Guy]

Wait there are boards for 1151 that support DDR3? Why would you even bother with that? DDR4 isn't even that much more expensive compared to DDR3.

 

Because people upgrading from a DDR3 platform already have DDR3.

[Nineshadow]

My RAM is 1.65V, it wasn't officially supported by Haswell either.

 

I have no probs.

[EChondo]

Because people upgrading from a DDR3 platform already have DDR3.

 

Oh of course, you can save money doing that, but even I wouldn't bother staying with DDR3 when I have to buy a whole new board and CPU anyway, might as well throw down another $100 on RAM and hop onto the new standard. At least that way I can keep my old setup and use it as a webserver, router, or guest computer.

 

I do see the benefit of saving ~$100 when upgrading, but is it really worth it in the end? I personally don't think so.