# RAM question: 1600 or 2000 for $20 more



## chickenworm (Dec 3, 2009)

I am building a new i7-920 rig. Was going for the 3x2GB Corsair 1600 CL8 RAM and then saw Team 2000 CL9 RAM for $20 more. Is it worth to get the higher speed RAM?


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## MK4512 (Dec 3, 2009)

Not unless your doing alot of (probably extreme) overclocking...


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## mizzl (Dec 3, 2009)

Nah, unless you plan to go for hardcore overclocking to the likes of 4.5Ghz+, 1600Mhz RAM is just fine.


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## GSquadron (Dec 3, 2009)

I saw a post that showed Gskill was the best at 1600 and kingston at 2000mhz


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## DonInKansas (Dec 3, 2009)

If it runs CL8 at 16 it may run 2000 at cl9.  save the 20.


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## r9 (Dec 3, 2009)

If 20$ is not an issue I would get the 2000 MHz. You never know when you going to need 2000MHz .


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## Binge (Dec 3, 2009)

chickenworm said:


> I am building a new i7-920 rig. Was going for the 3x2GB Corsair 1600 CL8 RAM and then saw Team 2000 CL9 RAM for $20 more. Is it worth to get the higher speed RAM?



Pick whichever one has cooler heat-spreaders.



MK4512 said:


> Not unless your doing alot of (probably extreme) overclocking...



That's bull.  You can run 2000MHz memory with stock clocks if you wanted.



mizzl said:


> Nah, unless you plan to go for hardcore overclocking to the likes of 4.5Ghz+, 1600Mhz RAM is just fine.



That's also bull.  You can run your memory multiplier at x6 if you can't overclock your memory.



Aleksander Dishnica said:


> I saw a post that showed Gskill was the best at 1600 and kingston at 2000mhz



Why so much bull?  Why must there be so much bull?



DonInKansas said:


> If it runs CL8 at 16 it may run 2000 at cl9.  save the 20.



Absolutely correct is Don, but at the same time it's also unlikely the 1600s will run at 2000.  For this mentality you have to be lucky.


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## GSquadron (Dec 3, 2009)

Better buy a ddr1 400mhz and overclock it to 2000mhz
This is not bull, this is bull****


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## Kei (Dec 3, 2009)

I agree with Binge, if I was choosing for myself I'd likely spend the extra $20 but not because it can run 2000Mhz cl9.

I'd buy it because if it can do cl9 at 2000Mhz.....how fast can it run at cl8....or even better cl7! I usually buy upwards of the speed I want (if available and reasonable for the budget alloted) so that I can run it at the speed I wanted with even better timings instead which is a sweet bonus. Even if you aren't able to run the super tight timings (hasn't been a problem for me so far) then you still get 2000Mhz cl9 so either way it's fine.

Hope that helps more than hurts. 

Kei


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## DrPepper (Dec 3, 2009)

If it's only £20 more I'd buy it.


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## shevanel (Dec 3, 2009)

I have kingston hyperx 2000mhz cas8 and it's a pain in the ass to try and get above 1600mhz..

so i just run 1600 on em @ 6-6-6-18 and it works out just fine.


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## DrPepper (Dec 3, 2009)

shevanel said:


> I have kingston hyperx 2000mhz cas8 and it's a pain in the ass to try and get above 1600mhz..
> 
> so i just run 1600 on em @ 6-6-6-18 and it works out just fine.



CL6 is crazy low for that speed compared to mine.


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## Binge (Dec 3, 2009)

Kei said:


> I agree with Binge, if I was choosing for myself I'd likely spend the extra $20 but not because it can run 2000Mhz cl9.
> 
> I'd buy it because if it can do cl9 at 2000Mhz.....how fast can it run at cl8....or even better cl7! I usually buy upwards of the speed I want (if available and reasonable for the budget alloted) so that I can run it at the speed I wanted with even better timings instead which is a sweet bonus. Even if you aren't able to run the super tight timings (hasn't been a problem for me so far) then you still get 2000Mhz cl9 so either way it's fine.
> 
> ...



Most DDR3 rated for high speeds will not tighten in timings unless you drop the operating frequency.


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## shevanel (Dec 3, 2009)

actually..it was a pain in the ass on another motherboard to get over 1600mhz..

i have not even tried on this board.. i just set it at what i knew it would run and went on with my life.


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## chickenworm (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks guys, since it's better to have more than less, I will go for it.

Just a quick question, is it too much for the 'uncore'/QPI to have memory multiplier at x10 (if bclk is 181 or lower)?

Btw, both are 'short' type RAM i.e. without the tall heatspreader, as I need these to go under the Megahalem and the 38mm fan.


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## Binge (Dec 4, 2009)

chickenworm said:


> Thanks guys, since it's better to have more than less, I will go for it.
> 
> Just a quick question, is it too much for the 'uncore'/QPI to have memory multiplier at x10 (if bclk is 181 or lower)?
> 
> Btw, both are 'short' type RAM i.e. without the tall heatspreader, as I need these to go under the Megahalem and the 38mm fan.



Depends on the individual chip.  All 920 are different in that respect.


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## chickenworm (Dec 7, 2009)

Now the shop has a Corsair 1600 CL9 for $30 cheaper. Any advice - just checking if it's worth saving $50 with the 1600 CL9 over the 2000 CL9?

Team Extreem 2000 CL 9 = $238
Corsair 1600 CL8 = $218
Corsair 1600 CL9 = $188


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## sneekypeet (Dec 7, 2009)

running Gskill 2000mhz Tridents I got from Cold Storm.... Running memtest86+ 4.0 now at 8-9-8-24 1T at 2100 mhz. Trying to get 8-8-8 right, then I will post screens of CPU-z. Found it was unstable at 8-8-8 

My advice, as an ex 1600mhz owner.....get the 2000's if you can afford it.


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## OnBoard (Dec 7, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> running Gskill 2000mhz Tridents I got from Cold Storm.... Running memtest86+ 4.0 now at 8-9-8-24 1T at 2100 mhz.



So i5 likes 1T too (with i7)? Think I was last with AMD 3200+ on DDR with 1T, since that all DDR2 2T.

Can't wait to get my parts (should arrive today) and fondle my first DDR3  Oh and coming 2133 Geil was cheaper than anything slower, so easy choice and should give options.


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## mAfia_boy (Dec 13, 2009)

heres a screenshot of cpuz with my i7 system and ram settings!

Also this is the default bios settings, no overclock!


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## r1rhyder (Dec 13, 2009)

mAfia_boy said:


> heres a screenshot of cpuz with my i7 system and ram settings!
> 
> Also this is the default bios settings, no overclock!




That's not even 1333, thats 1069.  What speed Dominators do you have?


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## chickenworm (Jan 20, 2010)

Finally got my rig together, first the bad news, the Team Xtreem heatspreader is too tall and won't fit under the megahalem's fan clip.... so, i remove the heatspreader. 

Question: Is it okay to run the RAM 'naked'? Or do I need to get a 3rd party heatspreader or one of those stick-on heatsinks?

Here's the result for the RAM:
At VTT/QPI at stock (1.15V), 1450 (8 x 185) @ 8-8-8-20 (DRAM at 1.5V)
At VTT/QPI = 1.30V, 1850 (10 x 185) @ 9-9-9-24 (DRAM at 1.5V)
Tried to tighten the timing  at 1850,  but wasn't able to get it to boot. Will try playing a little with the voltage later...
Question: For X58 (i7) rig, is it better to have higher frequency or tighter timings?


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## sneekypeet (Jan 20, 2010)

at that voltage its perfectly fine to run them naked. 

reread the question


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## SnoopKatt (Jan 23, 2010)

Will both sets be able to run at 2000mhz though?

I once installed SuperTalent 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 2000 9-9-9-24 RAM on an ASUS Rampage II Gene. Although I could never get the first kit to 2000mhz, I was able to get it to 1800mhz. When I put in the second kit, the best I could do while keeping an overclock was about 1700mhz.

I've never used that Gigabyte board you have, but don't bet on both kits being able to run at DDR3-2000mhz.


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## sneekypeet (Jan 23, 2010)

SnoopKatt said:


> Will both sets be able to run at 2000mhz though?
> 
> I once installed SuperTalent 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 2000 9-9-9-24 RAM on an ASUS Rampage II Gene. Although I could never get the first kit to 2000mhz, I was able to get it to 1800mhz. When I put in the second kit, the best I could do while keeping an overclock was about 1700mhz.
> 
> I've never used that Gigabyte board you have, but don't bet on both kits being able to run at DDR3-2000mhz.



Im confused, who is running two sets of ram?

I have found there is more to running ram over 1600 than just setting the ram voltage and timings


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## SnoopKatt (Jan 23, 2010)

Ohh, I thought he was adding 6 more gigs of DDR3-2000 to his setup, my bad.

I was just mentioning that I used 2 SuperTalent DDR3-2000 kits in a computer I built (each kit was 3x2GB) and that it was much more difficult to boost the speeds with both kits installed opposed to one kit.


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