How shall i speed my memory to 1600?

bogroll123 · 4 Oct 2011 at 01:17

Hey, i recently bought a new machine, the system specs are.

GTX 580 1.5GB
Corsair 1600mhz DDR3 RAM
I7 960 @ 3.2GHZ
Gigabyte GA-X58-USB3 iX58 Socket 1366 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
1TB HDD.

I went into bios and i noticed my memory is only running at around 1000mhz, can i speed this up to 1333 or 1666? if so, can you tell me how i can do this? thanks

bogroll123 · 4 Oct 2011 at 01:36

Helloooo?

Plec · 4 Oct 2011 at 09:38

bogroll123 said:
I went into bios and i noticed my memory is only running at around 1000mhz, can i speed this up to 1333 or 1666? if so, can you tell me how i can do this? thanks

You could enable the the XMP (extreme memory profile) under 'Advance Frequency Settings' in the MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.) - this will read the XMP profile on the memory and set all the settings for you automatically - then save and exit.

Or you could set them manually via the 'Advanced Memory Settings' and possibly the 'Advanced Voltage Settings'.

If you decide to do it manually and 'assuming you have XMS 3 memory (please confirm) the settings are as follows:

9 9 9 24 -timings
2T - Command Rate
1.5V-1.65V - Voltage (you could just use the 1.65V setting - but the XMS3 should run sub 1.6V very easily)
16000MHz - Frequency

bogroll123 · 4 Oct 2011 at 19:08

Right, the ram ive got is. XMS 3 Intel Unlocked Corsair 6GB (3 x 2GB) 1600mhz.
if i do the above manually what difference will i notice in my pc? and also are there any disadvantages of doing this? id love to get your opinion if i should do this or not and why :]

none of my pc parts are currently overclocked and i dont plan on doing so. also whats the difference between me using 1.5v or 1.65v?

any answer from anyone is appreciated, thanks

Plec · 4 Oct 2011 at 19:18

If the system isn't overclocked then setting the memory up via the XMP shouldn't be a problem - and even if the voltage defaults to 1.65V this too isn't an issue with the X58.

The difference between 1.5V and 1.65V is the power used and heat - i.e. using the 1.65V setting will pass more voltage through your memory and in turn will generate more heat (than 1.5V), which in turn will reduce the life of your memory compared to 1.5V (though this is marginal and nothing to be concerned about).

So the ideal is to be running memory (or any component for that matter) at the lowest, stable voltage possible. But it's really not an issue if you set them up at 1.65V.

Setting up memory manually is the ideal and is always recommended when clocking a system - but as you're keeping yours at stock feel free to use the XMP setting and double check results via CPUz.

bogroll123 · 4 Oct 2011 at 19:31

Plec said:
If the system isn't overclocked then setting the memory up via the XMP shouldn't be a problem - and even if the voltage defaults to 1.65V this too isn't an issue with the X58.

The difference between 1.5V and 1.65V is the power used and heat - i.e. using the 1.65V setting will pass more voltage through your memory and in turn will generate more heat (than 1.5V), which in turn will reduce the life of your memory compared to 1.5V (though this is marginal and nothing to be concerned about).

So the ideal is to be running memory (or any component for that matter) at the lowest, stable voltage possible. But it's really not an issue if you set them up at 1.65V.

Setting up memory manually is the ideal and is always recommended when clocking a system - but as you're keeping yours at stock feel free to use the XMP setting and double check results via CPUz.

Thanks for the help, but i still dont understand. if 1.65v increases the heat and power used, why not use 1.5v? whats the reason to use 1.65v over 1.5 if the 1.6 makes it hotter?

bogroll123 · 4 Oct 2011 at 19:35

Im also quite unsure what you ment by "and double check results via CPUz." sorry im learning

Plec · 4 Oct 2011 at 20:17

The tested voltage of the XMS3 running at 1600MHz at 9 9 9 24 and 2T is at 1.65V - this means that if you can't get the memory operational at those settings below that voltage you can't complain - as it's tested to work at 1.65V.

However, quite often the memory will operate at the above mentioned settings at lower voltages - most people settle at ~1.5V - which is important for other clocked chipsets (not relevent to yours but still a slight advantage if you can get ot running lower - but i stress it's not vital/important).

CPUz is an app that will enable you to check if your memory is running at the maximum spec (XMP) in a windows environment. When installed click on the memory tab to review your memory BIOS settings.