I7 3770 and RAM question

[flying_bob 38]

Sorry pleb with new machine

 

I just bought a month ago a new system (short summary)

-CPU: I7 3770k

-Motherboard: ASUS Maximus V Formula (accept RAM up to 2800o/c)

-RAM: 2x4gig Corsair Vengeance 2400 sticks

-Full Watercooling

 

Currently I have CPU running along at 4.6Ghz (with watercooling with awesome temps MAX just touching 70deg C. The highest 71 - mostly at 69-70)

 

I read that memory is dependant on the CPU, meaning that if CPU is 1600 then you only need to have 1600 memory as the CPU is the limiter, meaning that even if I add 2400 sticks RAM into the memory slots then I will not see any difference.

 

My Question:

From the above and reading the CPU is now a "limiter" of my RAM, does that mean I have overkilled on RAM or am I totally missing the bus here or am I totally misanderstanding the "botteneck" discusion between RAM and CPU.

 

I understood you need to get the highest possible RAM for that money can buy.. and therefore I did go for 2400 sticks..!

[Guest do_denver2]

I m not sure I understand your question. What do you mean that your cpu is 1600? I have the same setup, 3770k with 2400 RAM. You need to make sure the RAM is set to 2400 in the bios. It probably defaults to 1600, so you need to use an XMP profile in the advanced settings of your bios.

[flying_bob 38]

Ok I saw under specs for CPU 3770k: see "memory types" below

Processor Number
i7-3770K


# of Cores
4

# of Threads
8


Clock Speed
3.5 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency
3.9 GHz


Intel® Smart Cache
8 MB

Bus/Core Ratio
35


DMI
5 GT/s

Instruction Set
64-bit


Instruction Set Extensions
SSE4.1/4.2, AVX

Embedded Options Available
No

Lithography
22 nm


Max TDP
77 W

Recommended Customer Price
TRAY: $332.00
BOX : $342.00

Memory Specifications

Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type)
32 GB


Memory Types
DDR3-1333/1600

# of Memory Channels
2


Max Memory Bandwidth
25.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported
No

 

I m not sure I understand your question. What do you mean that your cpu is 1600? I have the same setup, 3770k with 2400 RAM. You need to make sure the RAM is set to 2400 in the bios. It probably defaults to 1600, so you need to use an XMP profile in the advanced settings of your bios.

 

Yes I have selected 2400 in BIOS. In CPUz it also show correctly as 2400 confirming the BIOS setting.

 

I am noob, so SORRY if I dont understand the interaction of RAM and CPU. I am just worried that even though I am using 2400 ram it will not be really utilized to the max it can give.

 

It is not that I am unhappy with my system. My system run very nice and smooth and just try to understand interaction of RAM and CPU as I understand that RAM is limited by what CPU can use. (that is waht I have read but I try to get my head around this if it is true or not)

[Guest do_denver2]

It's just that RAM over 1600 would be considered "overclocked", but Ivy Bridge will utilize faster RAM so you're good to go. You can Google your question and find plenty of information.