Memory for Ivybridge CPU overclocking - questions...

[diliff]

Hey guys... I'm trying to avoid asking an obvious question that's already buried somewhere in the forums, but can't really find an answer that suits my situation.

I'm looking at upgrading to a Core i7-3770K CPU and looking at overclocking it moderately with air cooling, say 4.4ghz or whatever is easily stable without getting too extreme. I also want to get 4 x 8gb DDR3 RAM modules as I'm doing some work with pretty big applications - photography mainly, Photoshop, Lightroom, and others running simultaneously. and currently my 8gb RAM system regularly grinds to a halt. I've thought about going for just 16gb, but I'd rather just spend a bit extra and 'future proof' the system. The trouble is, I'm not sure exactly what's best to get. I've read that overclocking RAM doesn't necessarily help much, and given how expensive 32gb of RAM is, if there isn't going to be much of a benefit to go beyond 1600mhz, I'll probably stick to the cheap stuff. Tell me if I'm wrong here, by the way - is it worth paying extra for the faster RAM?

Part 2 of the same question is, I'm looking at buying two Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600mhz (2x8gb) kits for £199. Is there any overclocking potential in this RAM? The next step up looks like the same RAM rated to 1833mhz but that is almost double at £358. It looks like in addition to the speed, the latency is also better, but really, is it worth the extreme price increase?

Actually, another possible third option occurred to me. Most motherboards seem to have just four RAM slots, but I gather some have 8. Would it make sense to find and possibly pay a little extra to get a board with 8 slots and get 8 modules (which it appears would be cheaper), or is this problematic? Any recommendations for Z77 boards with 8 slots?

To be honest, I'm only looking at overclocking to unlock some 'free' performance but paying significantly more for absolute top-end performance is not really on my agenda. Any advice appreciated.

 

[555BUK]

There is little point buying better than 1600MHz ram for Ivy Bridge. The overall performance difference between 1600MHz and 2400MHz ram is probably around 1%, but price difference is huge.

I personally would go for the 4x 4GB sticks of the cheapest DDR3 1600MHz ram (that operated at 1.5v or lower) which you can find.

Overclock the CPU via it's unlocked multiplier. Expensive ram is not needed and will not affect overclocking of the CPU.

 

[Surveyor]

Have we seen any benchmarks yet to confirm what difference faster RAM makes with Ivy Bridge?

With Sandy Bridge there isn't much of a difference but do we know it's the same with Ivy Bridge?

 

[diliff]

I personally would go for the 4x 4GB sticks of the cheapest DDR3 1600MHz ram (that operated at 1.5v or lower) which you can find.
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Thanks for your reply. The thing is, I particularly want 32gb (if not now then in the future) so I'm more limited in what I can find. 4 x 4gb will give my no upgradability. I think I'll go for 4 x 8gb 1600mhz RAM.

 

[8 Pack]

Thanks for your reply. The thing is, I particularly want 32gb (if not now then in the future) so I'm more limited in what I can find. 4 x 4gb will give my no upgradability. I think I'll go for 4 x 8gb 1600mhz RAM.

Why do you need 32gb RAM ??? Its an awful lot. 16gb is more than enough for most.

 

[diliff]

Why do you need 32gb RAM ??? Its an awful lot. 16gb is more than enough for most.

16gb might well be enough for now. I know 8gb is not not enough at all though, and I'd rather have a bit of headroom for an extra £100 and future proof the system for 3 years or so.