Noob Question: Mobo Memory Requirements

DigitalMonkey · Feb 17, 2012

I was looking at several mobo's memory requirements and it had me thinking.

Most mobo's says that its memory standards are DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866 (O.C)/ 2133 (O.C)/ 2400 (O.C). When they say 2133 (O.C), do they mean memory thats been overclocked to 2133, or it supports 2133 memory straight from out the box, or both?

Thanks

freakdiablo · Feb 17, 2012

The way I understand it, 1866 and higher aren't really officially supported by either AMD or Intel, so in order to get the rated speed of those modules you have to OC the memory controller. Basically setting the memory to it's rated speed. Not 100% sure though.

neo668 · Feb 17, 2012

DigitalMonkey said:
Most mobo's says that its memory standards are DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866 (O.C)/ 2133 (O.C)/ 2400 (O.C).

This means the mobo has settings to set memory speed to 1066, 1333 or 1600. If you want to achieve memory speeds of 1866, 2133 or 2400 you will need to OC your system via the FSB (I only know the AMD way). Assuming the CPU multiplier is not touched and memory speed in bios is set to 1600, your FSB will have to be 233 for 1866, 266 for 2133 and 300 for 2400. For a stable system the memory must be rated for at least the OC'd amount, ie., if you OC the memory to 2400 you should use memory that is rated for 2400.

Scuba Steve VA · Feb 18, 2012

1600 seems to be the current sweet spot.

DigitalMonkey · Feb 18, 2012

So, if you wanted to buy 1866 or 2133 memory sticks, will the mobo except them without any problems?

Or do you have get 1600 to OC to those speeds?

SPECOPSPC · Feb 18, 2012

DigitalMonkey said:
So, if you wanted to buy 1866 or 2133 memory sticks, will the mobo except them without any problems?

Or do you have get 1600 to OC to those speeds?

I believe you have to get that specified speed unless you have really high end ram like the Corsair Dominator 1600 where you can get the 1866 from a 1600 please correct me if i am wrong anyone.

When i got mine it defaulted to 1333mhz but i went into bios and set the rated 1600mhz specified on sticks. Runs fine not sure I would trying pushing it. Most I ever use is about 28-35% of total mem at times outta 16gigs. So I am happy.

DigitalMonkey · Feb 18, 2012

SPECOPSPC said:
I believe you have to get that specified speed unless you have really high end ram like the Corsair Dominator 1600 where you can get the 1866 from a 1600 please correct me if i am wrong anyone.

When i got mine it defaulted to 1333mhz but i went into bios and set the rated 1600mhz specified on sticks. Runs fine not sure I would trying pushing it. Most I ever use is about 28-35% of total mem at times outta 16gigs. So I am happy.

That still doesn't answer my question. But thanks.

neo668 · Feb 18, 2012

DigitalMonkey said:
So, if you wanted to buy 1866 or 2133 memory sticks, will the mobo except them without any problems?

Or do you have get 1600 to OC to those speeds?

If the mobo manufacturer states your mobo can do 1866 or 2133 then it will have no problem at those speeeds. The problem is with the cpu and your overclocking skills. For example, AMD's (that's all I know) official stance is upto 1333 (not Bulldozer which is higher). So anything over 1333 is a crapshoot. And AMD has a relatively weak memory controller so don't expect 1866 or higher, though 1600 is easily achievable. And if you are the lucky owner of a golden cpu you could go as high as 2000 even. I think Intel has a more robust memory controller and should have no problem going higher.

Just the same, if you want to run at memory speeds of 1866 or 2133 you must use ram rated for those speeds or higher. You cannot get ram rated for 1600 and expect to OC them to 1866 or 2133.

DigitalMonkey · Feb 18, 2012

neo668 said:
You cannot get ram rated for 1600 and expect to OC them to 1866 or 2133.

I know that. But what Im trying to figure out is from my OP. When mobo memory standards says 1866 (O.C)/ 2133 (O.C)/ 2400 (O.C), do they mean memory OC up to or you can buy and use memory at those speeds out the box, or both?

neo668 · Feb 18, 2012

DigitalMonkey said:
I know that. But what Im trying to figure out is from my OP. When mobo memory standards says 1866 (O.C)/ 2133 (O.C)/ 2400 (O.C), do they mean memory OC up to or you can buy and use memory at those speeds out the box, or both?

If it has (O.C.) behind those numbers mean there is no designated settings for those numbers in the bios and you will have to OC via FSB to reach those numbers. You start off with the maximum memory speed available in BIOS and OC from there.

rrohbeck · Feb 27, 2012

The issue here is that AMD specifies Bulldozer for DDR3-1866 max and Intel officially only specs 1600 for SB IIRC. However there are JEDEC RAM timing standards up to DDR3-2133 and unofficial timings go even higher. So you can buy faster RAM or overclock your RAM by one or two bins, but in either case you're running faster than the IMC is officially certified. So you may have to increase voltage a little, maybe tweak timings etc. Neither Intel nor AMD will guarantee you that the RAM interface will run faster than their datasheet says. The mobo manufacturers allow you to set overclocked RAM timings via the BIOS but they won't guarantee that it works.

Hondacity · Feb 28, 2012

if ram specifies 2133 8-9-8 it is guaranteed

it uses XMP (intel xtreme memory profiles) to work with motherboards.

thats for intel boards. starting with core-I series, intel has have awesome xmp features. compared to the older generations.

Layback Bear · Feb 28, 2012

Okay I will give it a try.
I have memory of 2000OC and my motherboard will handle it but my cup chip won't. My i7-960 memory specs DDR3 800/1066. I have O/C the chip to 4.25 and the best I can get the memory is a little over 1700. All things have to work together but their is still a point you can't go over. Just because I installed 2000 O/C ram does not mean I will get 2000 O/C to run at 2000 on my system. If I set my bios to default my ram runs at 1066 and cpu at 3.2. It's a trial and error method in most part. I hope this helps.

Hondacity · Feb 28, 2012

under ram or memory options you can set the xmp profile. try it out first.

EarthDog · Feb 28, 2012

May need to add some Vtt, to it, but its normally pretty easy to hit 2133...

Thermaltake · Jun 27, 2015

I didn't want to open new topic for this becouse my question is similar to previous. My mbo support DDR3 2800+(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 now 1333 ddr3 is inside, and if I want to buy and put ddr3 2400Mhz, will I have to put manually 2400Mhz in bios or he will automaticlly put her on 2400 ?

Nebulous · Jun 27, 2015

Thermaltake said:
I didn't want to open new topic for this becouse my question is similar to previous. My mbo support DDR3 2800+(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 now 1333 ddr3 is inside, and if I want to buy and put ddr3 2400Mhz, will I have to put manually 2400Mhz in bios or he will automaticlly put her on 2400 ?

The 2400 will slow down to 1333 to match that speed. Putting 2400 and setting it to run it's native 2400 speed will overclock your 1333 ram to run at 2400. I'm sure your 1333 will not make it. Your best bet will be to remove the 1333 all together, then just use the 2400 only. Mixing ram is not suggested unless it has the same speed/timings/voltage.

Thermaltake · Jun 27, 2015

Nebulous said:
The 2400 will slow down to 1333 to match that speed. Putting 2400 and setting it to run it's native 2400 speed will overclock your 1333 ram to run at 2400. I'm sure your 1333 will not make it. Your best bet will be to remove the 1333 all together, then just use the 2400 only. Mixing ram is not suggested unless it has the same speed/timings/voltage.

I forgot to say my bad, I will remove 1333 ddr3 memory from PC only ddr3 2400 will be in. So she will run at 2400 automatically, or I would have to set 2400 in uefi ?

Nebulous · Jun 27, 2015

Thermaltake said:
I forgot to say my bad, I will remove 1333 ddr3 memory from PC only ddr3 2400 will be in. So she will run at 2400 automatically, or I would have to set 2400 in uefi ?

Once you install the 2400, go into the bios and under memory set XMP profile. Once you reboot it will run at it's native 2400 speed/settings. Easy peasy

knoober · Jun 27, 2015

Thermaltake said:
I forgot to say my bad, I will remove 1333 ddr3 memory from PC only ddr3 2400 will be in. So she will run at 2400 automatically, or I would have to set 2400 in uefi ?

There is a cpu element as well. As stated above your max memory is determined by the Mobo AND the cpu. While your Mobo may support 2400 if your cpu stops at 1333, your 2400 sticks will only run at 1333. If you raise the fsb to OC your max memory limit will raise by the same percent as your cpu (excluding black edition overclocks)

To the guys who know what they're talking about : I'm not sure about what I said, it just what I think I know, please save these greenhorn from my lack of knowledge

Noob Question: Mobo Memory Requirements

Member

Member

Registered

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Registered

Member

Registered

Gulper Nozzle Co-Owner

Registered

Dreadnought Class Senior

Registered

Dreadnought Class Senior

Member

Similar threads