Can RAM CL be lowered if speed is lowered?

[bkro37]

Hello good forum-members,

 

I am about to build a new system with an H110 motherboard. Interestingly enough, the least expensive good-quality 1x8gb stick of memory I can find is a 2666MHz module; however, it has a latency of 15. Is there a way to, while "underclocking" to the 2133MHz limit set by the H110 chipset, also decrease the latency? Or is that hard-and-fast set?

 

Thanks in advance!

[agent_x007]

H110 will automaticly set *2133MHz (*since it can't set more than CPU enables).

Lower timings = lower latency.
You should lower them when RAM freqency goes down (that way, you at least maintain overall latency from higher clocked setting, BUT it will NOT help with lower bandwidth).

Your memory capabilities (theory) :
15/2666 = x/2133
So : In theory, you should be able to go as low as "12".

[Naeaes]

Generally speaking, yes, that's how it goes. Lower speed or higher voltage allows for lower CAS and vice versa.

 

But the thing is, just as for all other transistor chips, RAM chips are binned. The module you have on your hands, might be sold as 2666MHz CAS15 because it simply didn't run at anything higher or lower at the voltage allotted as they tested it at the factory. So if you have a good chip, you can overclock it or underclock it but sadly, short of testing it, you don't know what you have on your hands.

 

I'd personally only buy manufacturer-recommended RAM sticks. Weight on manufacturer. Don't listen to third parties such as me or the next guy on this forum and definitely no automated service like pcpartpicker. None other than the seller or the manufacturer will get you your money back if you run into trouble. Issues with RAM are the hugest pain in the ass to deal with. Long story short, if it's not recommended by the compatibility tools at kingston.com corsair.com crucial.com gskill.com for the specific make and model of your board, don't touch it and if you do, don't dream of overclocking it.

 

On the other hand, if you value money more than stability, get the cheap one. It's more likely that it's cheap due to being high-manufacturing volume rather than just bad.

[SCHISCHKA]

I dont think I have ever seen a motherboard BIOS lock off RAM timings. I dont see any reason why you couldn't lower the latency, I did it back when I had a Core2Duo in a similar situation to you

[bkro37]

21 hours ago, Naeaes said:

Generally speaking, yes, that's how it goes. Lower speed or higher voltage allows for lower CAS and vice versa.

 

But the thing is, just as for all other transistor chips, RAM chips are binned. The module you have on your hands, might be sold as 2666MHz CAS15 because it simply didn't run at anything higher or lower at the voltage allotted as they tested it at the factory. So if you have a good chip, you can overclock it or underclock it but sadly, short of testing it, you don't know what you have on your hands.

 

I'd personally only buy manufacturer-recommended RAM sticks. Weight on manufacturer. Don't listen to third parties such as me or the next guy on this forum and definitely no automated service like pcpartpicker. None other than the seller or the manufacturer will get you your money back if you run into trouble. Issues with RAM are the hugest pain in the ass to deal with. Long story short, if it's not recommended by the compatibility tools at kingston.com corsair.com crucial.com gskill.com for the specific make and model of your board, don't touch it and if you do, don't dream of overclocking it.

 

On the other hand, if you value money more than stability, get the cheap one. It's more likely that it's cheap due to being high-manufacturing volume rather than just bad.

So here are the prices on RAM right now:

Corsair Vengeance LPX: CL15 2666MHZ - $40

Kingston HyperX Fury: CL14 2133MHz - $48

Kingston HyperX Savage: CL12 2400MHz - $55

 

Which would you suggest? Trying to underclock/under-latency(..?) the Vengeance or pay a bit more for the lower latencies out of the box?

[DunePilot]

Not the Fury, the savage has higher clocks and lower Cas, so it's much better unless that 12 is a typo. The corsair looks decent too and is the cheapest.