Changing system ram - Technical question

[TheGregSkinner]

Hello,

 

I have a core i5 2500 and intel motherboard. 

anyways the motherboard only supports ddr3 1333 or slower RAM.  I want to get more memory (have 8 want 8 more) but im planning on upgrading soonish and if i buy more 1333 memory i feel like it will be a waste.  

 

So my question is if i buy a 16gb kit of say 1866 ddr3, is there a way to slow it down and use it with my system.  ( i know i Can overclock and underclock memory, but im not sure if i put faster memory that what my system recognizes if it will auto underclock or what..

 

i am in college so funds are quite low so im trying to save money whilst spending it on upgrades

 

Hopefully this makes sense!

 

Thanks guys!

[Imakuni]

Hello,

 

I have a core i5 2500 and intel motherboard. 

anyways the motherboard only supports ddr3 1333 or slower RAM.  I want to get more memory (have 8 want 8 more) but im planning on upgrading soonish and if i buy more 1333 memory i feel like it will be a waste.  

 

So my question is if i buy a 16gb kit of say 1866 ddr3, is there a way to slow it down and use it with my system.  ( i know i Can overclock and underclock memory, but im not sure if i put faster memory that what my system recognizes if it will auto underclock or what..

 

i am in college so funds are quite low so im trying to save money whilst spending it on upgrades

 

Hopefully this makes sense!

 

Thanks guys!

Uh... do you really need more RAM? Chances are you'll be perfectly fine with your 8gb right now. And considering that you want to upgrade, I would just avoid buying more ddr3 and just jump to ddr4 Skylake right away, instead of investing in older RAM.

 

But to answer your question, the mobo will adjust the speeds automatically. 

[Glenwing]

Hello,

 

I have a core i5 2500 and intel motherboard. 

anyways the motherboard only supports ddr3 1333 or slower RAM.  I want to get more memory (have 8 want 8 more) but im planning on upgrading soonish and if i buy more 1333 memory i feel like it will be a waste.  

 

So my question is if i buy a 16gb kit of say 1866 ddr3, is there a way to slow it down and use it with my system.  ( i know i Can overclock and underclock memory, but im not sure if i put faster memory that what my system recognizes if it will auto underclock or what..

 

i am in college so funds are quite low so im trying to save money whilst spending it on upgrades

 

Hopefully this makes sense!

 

Thanks guys!

 

Memory doesn't have an inherent speed, so "1866 memory" doesn't actually exist. Memory runs at whatever speed the motherboard sets it to run at, and by default pretty much all memory will run at 1333 or 1600. When you buy "1866 memory" that doesn't mean it runs at 1866, it means it's rated for overclocking up to at least 1866. If you don't overclock, it will run at 1333 or 1600 like any other memory, or whatever your motherboard defaults to (unlikely to be 1866 if the motherboard doesn't support that speed in the first place).