Should I Upgrade RAM : 1600 c9 to ?

[jackcnd 0]

Just built a new system wondering if I should exchange the RAM for something better.

The system is a 2700K at 4.8 on a P8Z68.

 

Ram is 2x4GB of GSkill 12800 / 1600 Cas 9-9-9-24 2t 1.5v was all they had at the time.

Tried to run it at 8-8-8-24 with no luck.

 

Now they have some Dominators 2x4GB 1600 8-8-8-24 1.5v,

Or I could order some GSkill 1600 7-8-8-24 or other higher speed.

 

Would appreaciate any suggestion / comments...

 

 

[Ben Cap 89]

The best choice is to get some fast CL10 or 9 RAM running at 2133MHZ that runs at 1.5Volts. THIS RAM would be awesome.

[AliB 0]

How is 10-11-20-28 RAM faster than say 7-8-7-24-1T 1600 Mhz??

 

Sigh... People may get tired of me linking to this all the time, but I discovered Nick and Simforums in 2009 when I started FSX (short time, yes) - and I still am convinced he has the best knowledge about both hardware and FSX. (Most of the advise floating around or popping up here is pure b... - sorry)

 

"if 2133 was 9-9-9 or 9-10-9 then 2133"

 

Please read and learn, ok?

 

http://www.simforums...topic41484.html

[jackcnd 0]

Thanks for the replies...

 

What the guides often recommend is no longer for sale, I'm finding.

 

In 4gbx2 kits 1.5v on the market I find :

 

1600 9 9 9 24 2t $50

1600 8 8 8 24 2t. $60

1600 7 8 8 24 2t $80

 

Is there going to be a noticeable gain by spending more given those choices?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Illegitimi non carborundum 4]

You may get faster RAM but will it make a difference?

In a SB rig the front side bus FSB is fixed at 100MHz so whatever speed RAM you install you will still have the same constant speed between the cpu and RAM.

IMHO (especially in SB) trying to utilise low-latency high speed memory just isn't worth the effort.

Cast your mind back the 1366 series i7 9xx which you could overclock the FSB and hence faster RAM could be a benefit and they used Triple Channel DDR3 RAM which has 3 channels of transfer between the cpu and RAM. The along comes SB and guess what they use Dual channel DDR3 RAM ie they have lost one transfer channel between the cpu and RAM and guess what they wipe the floor, performance wise, with the i7 9xx series (clock speed vs clock speed).

So if RAM speed etc was important why was triple channel DDR3 dropped after just one outing?

As I say this is just an opinion.

Regards

PeterH

[dazz 69]

(Most of the advise floating around or popping up here is pure b... - sorry)

 

...

 

Please read and learn, ok?

 

Seriously AliB? Take the time to test a couple of configurations and let us know what YOUR advise is then.

[jackcnd 0]

Just to follow up, my original ram was GSkill 1600 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5v

and if I tried to improve the timings it ran into issues.

 

I swapped it for some Corsair Vengeance 1600 8-8-8-24 2T 1.5v.

It seems much more flexible with adjusting speed and timings.

Tried it at 1600 8-8-8-24 1T and 1866 9-9-9-24 2T without issue.

 

The 1866 setup gives the best AIDA64 results, with 41.8 latency, 21800 read speed.

I'm not convinced any of this makes a demonstrable difference in FSX or Flight.

 

Anandtech's Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling piece is worth reading on the matter.

[ArjenVdv 190]

I upgraded from 1600 CL9 to 2133 CL9, and i noticed a slight decrease in microstuttering, so there is now just a little bit more smoothness. I gained around 2 FPS. Also, the main thing effecting FPS is the clockspee,d not really the CAS latency. For example when I run a test, 1600 CL9 = same FPS as 1600 CL7, but 2133 CL9 is 2 more FPS and 2133 CL11, also those 2 more FPS. However, with 2133 CL11 instead of 2133 CL9, I get slightly more microstuttering.

 

But I think with Word Not Allowed's tweak, fast RAM isn't that important anymore...

 

Remember, the LOWER the CAS Latency number, the FASTER the RAM.

 

If you want to upgrade, I recommend Corsair. They run fast and at relatively low voltages.

[Ben Cap 89]

but 2133 CL9 is 2 more FPS and 2133 CL11,

 

Interesting find. - I am going to up my RAM frequency from 1866 to 2133 and loosen my timings a bit.

[Kosta 122]

Too bad my Corsair won't do 2133@CL9, even for testing.

 

But one little nitpick I took from that thread from NickN, is setting the Command Rate to 1T instead 2T, and with that, I gained 1-2ms on latency. Not a huge thing (and I still have to test it out for the stability), but I would be interested how much latency change did Arjen have going from CL11 to CL9 on 2133 RAM.

 

I measured with AIDA64 Cache and Memory Benchmark.

 

Btw. Nick said 42ns-47ns, my latency is now 41ns.

[Ben Cap 89]

Too bad my Corsair won't do 2133@CL9, even for testing.

 

Nor will mine. - Do you have Corsair XMS3 by chance?

[Kosta 122]

 

Nor will mine. - Do you have Corsair XMS3 by chance?

 

I think I do.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ben Cap 89]

Seriously AliB? Take the time to test a couple of configurations and let us know what YOUR advise is then.

 

+1

 

I think I do.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That explains our issues when attempting to push our RAM to 2133. The XMS3 series isn't geared for the OC enthusiast.

[felixthreeone 0]

Ben, I am curious...what settings are you using to get your corsair sticks to 1866? My system is similar to yours, but I can only get mine to 1600...not 1866? We have the same RAM and I was wondering...

[Ben Cap 89]

Ben, I am curious...what settings are you using to get your corsair sticks to 1866? My system is similar to yours, but I can only get mine to 1600...not 1866? We have the same RAM and I was wondering...

 

By default, my RAM runs @ 9-10-9-27-2T @ 2000MHZ.

 

But, due to the SB mem controller, I can only go 1866 or 2133. Since 2133 is not stable, I just dropped my DIMM speed to 1866MHZ.