Ram Questions

Mr.Farva

Mr.Farva

New Member
So I have A Gigabyte 790xt-ud4p and it says DDR3 1666(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz.

#1 - So can I only buy 1333 or 1066 or can I buy the 1600 or 1800mhz kits?

#2 - Since my board only has 4 DIMM's and dual channel, am I able to buy triple channel RAM kits? Just two will run in dual channel and the 3rd would be single channel?
 
#1 I would buy a dual channel 1600MHz kit for that motherboard.

#2 I would advise against that. When RAM is tested in the factory...it is tested in pairs. The motherboard might become unstable with 3 DIMMs filled with RAM. It might actually hurt performance. Two sticks in dual channel will be just fine.
 
ScOuT said:
#1 I would buy a dual channel 1600MHz kit for that motherboard.

#2 I would advise against that. When RAM is tested in the factory...it is tested in pairs. The motherboard might become unstable with 3 DIMMs filled with RAM. It might actually hurt performance. Two sticks in dual channel will be just fine.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't necessarily become unstable, but it would default to a single channel configuration which would hinder performance.
 
Mr.Farva said:
So I have A Gigabyte 790xt-ud4p and it says DDR3 1666(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz.

#1 - So can I only buy 1333 or 1066 or can I buy the 1600 or 1800mhz kits?
You should get 1066, 1333, or 1666.
The RAM will only run at the board's max spec. (1666) so if you bought 1800,
it may work, but it would only run at 1666Mhz.

#2 - Since my board only has 4 DIMM's and dual channel, am I able to buy triple channel RAM kits?
Just two will run in dual channel and the 3rd would be single channel?
No. They would all run in Single Channel mode. The slots need to be filled equally to run Dual Channel.
Click to expand...

My thoughts.
 
It would just mean that the memory would default to the next lowest JEDEC rated speed, but guaranteed by the memory manufacturer to be able to run at the higher rated speeds when you overclock. If you let the motherboard set the RAM timing by SPD, the ram, even though you bought 1800mhz, would not run at that speed. You'd have to manually time the memory then OC to reach it... Sorta the same concept as the old DDR1 systems... where motherboards would run a max speed of 400mhz (PC3200).. but you could buy 433, 466, 500, 533 and higher rated DDR speeds, which were "guaranteed" to be able to hit said frequency by overclocking.
I'd get 1666 or 1800 either one, but not slower. You also need to ask yourself if you plan to OC... if not, just get the best memory that is SPD rated to the mainboard's max DDR3 speed, and the tightest timings and lowest voltages.
 
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