2666mhz memory with 8700k?

[Zeitec]

Is there a difference in gaming performance between 2666mhz and 3000/3200mhz ram on the 8700k? I'm looking at this specific kit.

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233834&ignorebbr=1&_ga=2.63903213.373882798.1507172627-899067479.1501231531&_gac=1.18563403.1506139495.CjwKCAjw6ZLOBRALEiwAxzyCWwiE0kY4qUm3df4ZSRq_E_6nw8MNr7E3eBgkE5Bx6GzQE8D5PTtKxRoCg7IQAvD_BwE

[ARikozuM]

If you're going unlocked, you should try to get the best components for the system. 3000/3200MHz CAS 14-16 is as far as I would go with DDR4.

 

The main differences in one speed over the other is going to be seen in minimums and averages with minimums being closer to the averages than with stock RAM. 

 

Edit: @MageTank has a guide on overclocking RAM if you want to get the 2666MHz RAM and get the bandwidth up while tightening up latencies. 

[Jurrunio]

Judging from past experience on 7700k, no difference. Linus compared 7700k with 2133MHz RAM and with 3200MHz RAM, and found only 0.7% difference. So close you can even call that margin of error.

 

But why would you save money on RAM when you already spent so much?

[MageTank]

17 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Judging from past experience on 7700k, no difference. Linus compared 7700k with 2133MHz RAM and with 3200MHz RAM, and found only 0.7% difference. So close you can even call that margin of error.

 

But why would you save money on RAM when you already spent so much?

Linus was wrong. He knows hes wrong, he just won't go back to redo the video, despite the entire community applying pressure. There is solid evidence that memory speed impacts your framerate to a significant degree, especially minimum framerates:

(watch around the 5 minute mark)

(this entire video is proof)

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1487162/an-independent-study-does-the-speed-of-ram-directly-affect-fps-during-high-cpu-overhead-scenarios

 

I've even done this test myself (in my sig) to showcase the difference. It does not matter what CPU or architecture you use, when you are I/O bound by the CPU, faster ram will help. It's time we end the misinformation that memory speed does nothing for gaming, because it's simply not true. 

[MageTank]

5 hours ago, Zeitec said:

Is there a difference in gaming performance between 2666mhz and 3000/3200mhz ram on the 8700k? I'm looking at this specific kit.

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233834&ignorebbr=1&_ga=2.63903213.373882798.1507172627-899067479.1501231531&_gac=1.18563403.1506139495.CjwKCAjw6ZLOBRALEiwAxzyCWwiE0kY4qUm3df4ZSRq_E_6nw8MNr7E3eBgkE5Bx6GzQE8D5PTtKxRoCg7IQAvD_BwE

Sorry for the double post, but allow me to add even more information to disprove the "memory speed doesn't matter" cult. 

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-intel-coffee-lake-core-i7-8700k-review

Nearly a 30 FPS difference in Witcher 3 when going from 2133 to 3000. Notice how OCing the CPU to 5ghz doesn't do much compared to leaving it at stock, and OCing the ram? This is all average framerates too, not even counting the biggest difference memory OCing makes, which is minimum framerates. Look at the following frametime graph:

Look at the green and red lines, showing 2133mhz ram. Look at that frametime dip, and look how solid the other lines are with their OC'd ram. That is a stutter that OC'd ram completely alleviated. This is not an isolated case. This is not something limited to Intel or AMD, or any architecture of memory subsystem. Faster ram helps, period. Linus just did not know how to test it back in the day. If need be, buy a 2133mhz kit, and I will teach you how to OC it to 3000+ manually. 

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, MageTank said:

If need be, buy a 2133mhz kit, and I will teach you how to OC it to 3000+ manually.

Does that work with any RAM even if it's the cheapest on the line? 

[MageTank]

12 minutes ago, Medicate said:

Does that work with any RAM even if it's the cheapest on the line? 

On modern Intel platforms? Yes. I purchased about 8 different DDR4 kits when I did my initial testing .Two Micron kits (one Crucial branded, the other EVGA branded), 2 SK Hynix kits (corsair and PANRAM), and several different samsung IC's ranging from B-Die all the way to E-die and everything in between. I have not found a single kit that could not reach 3000mhz. I've even walked people through overclocking laptop SO-DIMM's to 3000mhz (assuming you have a custom bios like svet or prema to OC with). 

 

Point being, DDR4 has a ton of OCing headroom. Micron tends to have the worst latency out of all of them, but it's still possible to brute force the frequency and destroy most XMP kits after some fine tweaking. Just get a Z series board, any DDR4 kit, and follow the guide in my signature. If you have questions, or find the guide to be too daunting to digest, then shoot me a PM and I'll try to help 1 on 1 until I can get you to POST with your desired speeds, and in a state that you can stress test from. 

[dexT]

6 minutes ago, MageTank said:

On modern Intel platforms? Yes. I purchased about 8 different DDR4 kits when I did my initial testing .Two Micron kits (one Crucial branded, the other EVGA branded), 2 SK Hynix kits (corsair and PANRAM), and several different samsung IC's ranging from B-Die all the way to E-die and everything in between. I have not found a single kit that could not reach 3000mhz. I've even walked people through overclocking laptop SO-DIMM's to 3000mhz (assuming you have a custom bios like svet or prema to OC with). 

 

Point being, DDR4 has a ton of OCing headroom. Micron tends to have the worst latency out of all of them, but it's still possible to brute force the frequency and destroy most XMP kits after some fine tweaking. Just get a Z series board, any DDR4 kit, and follow the guide in my signature. If you have questions, or find the guide to be too daunting to digest, then shoot me a PM and I'll try to help 1 on 1 until I can get you to POST with your desired speeds, and in a state that you can stress test from. 

I want your body err... I mean help with some Elpida Hyper Dom GT DDR3.

[MageTank]

21 minutes ago, dexT said:

I want your body err... I mean help with some Elpida Hyper Dom GT DDR3.

I can't. I'll start missing my Elpida's if I go down that path again, lol. Gave mine to my buddy, he has them running 2200 C8 super tight, on an FX 8350 of all things. 

[dexT]

1 hour ago, MageTank said:

I can't. I'll start missing my Elpida's if I go down that path again, lol. Gave mine to my buddy, he has them running 2200 C8 super tight, on an FX 8350 of all things. 

All good. I feel the same after trading a 5820K that I hit #5 Pifast, #9 SuperPi, #16 CPU frequency for that SKU.