Memory Upgrade - Faster Memory for OC'd 2500k

Hi,

I’m looking to increase my memory from 8GB to 16GB to give me some more headroom in current/future games and in preparation for a GTX1070 upgrade but am undecided about module speed.

My current memory is running stock at 1600MHz on my 2500K system which is overclocked to 4.6GHz, everything cool and stable.

I'm considering getting faster RAM when I upgrade as there is some evidence it may assist with modern games and minimum FPS having read the Eurogamer article.

I would like to know what people’s experiences have been with 2133MHz memory on Sandy Bridge? Have you had any issues with stability with the faster memory speeds or any effect on your overclock? Is 1.65V RAM still a no-no on Sandy Bridge, seem to recall it was some time ago but maybe not now?

Thanks

Yeah faster memory will make a decent difference in games from what I've seen. lower voltage would be better.

I run 2133mhz with a 2700k, don't think it made the slightest difference over 1600mhz but may as well. My board isn't stable at 2400mhz.

1.65V RAM is fine.

No effect on my max clock, still run 4.8ghz stable.

I'm looking at going down the same route after reading the eurogamer article.

Can anyone else shed any light if it's a viable upgrade over 1600mhz?

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

I really wouldn't bother spending money on old, outdated DDR3. The speed difference will be negligible.

Best to put that money towards a modern platform.

The speed difference is indeed not a huge increase in the likes of games, a few fps at times on some titles and more responsive desktop.

As for value, well going from DDR3 1600MHz to DDR3 2400Mhz is probably more cost effective and beneficial in your case over the increased performance of DDR4 over DDR3.

Although Skylake does make a number of improvements over Haswell when it comes to CPU-heavy applications, the difference between DDR3 and DDR4 still isn’t as stark. When similar tests were run by Anandtech in GTA V using a Skylake i7-6700k processor and 16GB of DDR4 clocked to 2133Mhz, the system was only able to post FPS results just a few decimal points above what was achieved with an identical configuration using DDR3.

You could spend £70 on 16gb of memory and possibly gain a few fps?

You could spend £500 on an up to date i5 system and gain a few fps?

Pick up a Cas 9 2133 16GB kit. 1.65V is fine 2133 is fine for 2500K. You'll be fine.
Should be able to just set XMP and let 'er rip.

It's always a good idea to run a bootable memtest on new RAM just to make sure you've gotten good sticks. Don't want to find out they're a bit wonky when your return window is over with your merchant.

Simple answer is don't waste your time. Save up for a platform update and move to DDR4. You will not see any real world benefits moving from 1600mhz ram you have and also if your cpus memory controller is weak it will not run 2133mhz and only cause you to underclock the memory or worse cause random problems.

Why are people saying its not worth it when the overclocking stats are showing a 10 FPS increase in games if you go to 16GB 2133 MHZ , Thats a massive increase when you are gaming at say 1440p on games like the Witcher 3 or GTA IV

having a quick look at prices on id probably favour 2400, its nearly same price as 2133

i havent tried overclocking my 4 1866 sticks to 2133, but my old mobo didnt like 4 sticks, but was fine with 2 at 2133

ddr4 is pretty much higher hz but worse cas so not a huge jump isnt it?

p67 series mobos nearly all have max mem speed of 2133mhz btw

Jason_Sturgess said:

Why are people saying its not worth it when the overclocking stats are showing a 10 FPS increase in games if you go to 16GB 2133 MHZ , Thats a massive increase when you are gaming at say 1440p on games like the Witcher 3 or GTA IV

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From my point of view, I thought people were saying its not worth it as DDR3 is EOL, and as such, while you might get 10 FPS extra, its probably better to save the cash which means you are £100 closer to your new upgraded system.

If you upgraded your RAM, then needed to upgrade your system a year later its a relatively pointless upgrade surely?

I was running 2133 ddr3 for nearly 5 years. One of the sticks died last week and i replaced with a cas9 1600mhz ram.

Not noticing any fps difference at all

Going from 1333 to 1866 has appeared make a decent difference to my 2500k and 1070, seems to have unclogged a bottleneck or something, I have gone from 8gb to 16gb too but the big difference seem to come when I bought another 8gb pair so I could run at 1866.

Upgrading to faster memory is normally poor value compared to using that money towards a newer faster architecture.

The reason for above is due to how advanced the on-board CPU cache controller is on modern Intel CPU's.

At the end of the day if you are upgrading from 8Gb to 16Gb anyway you may as well get a 2x 8Gb set of faster ram rather than getting another kit of the same stuff and running 4x sticks. You can then sell the 8Gb kit that you already have and get some money back. That way you get your 16Gb and if it gives a few extra fps then it's a bonus.