Memory Noob

WuMyster · 4 Jun 2013 at 16:29

I think its time for me to actually understand RAM properly. My builds and for others have always been picking the obvious choice that many people use and this method has never given me trouble.

I understand timings but speed is what confuses me.
Obviously, the higher the speed, the better. However, is buying a set of 2400MHZ RAM and buying 1600MHZ RAM and then OCing it to 2400MHZ the same thing?
Does buying the 2400MHZ RAM basically guarantee a speed of 2400mhz and buying a set of 1600mhz guarantees a speed of 1600mhz?

Also, what benefits do higher speeds, say 1600 vs 2400 give?

FYI, I have read around the forum and FAQ but im still not understanding this

wazza300 · 4 Jun 2013 at 18:03

you can either go cheap as chips and buy a 1600mhz kit

or put a little extra and go for some that clocks verywell

or splash the cash on an expensive high speed kit

each kit should do its job rather well,it doesn't add much performance difference tbh,but if you know how to overclock it and tweak it its free extra performance

2133mhz tends to be the best speed regarding results and price

tres_kun · 4 Jun 2013 at 18:38

The increase in ram speed affects performance
But timings also do

Timings:the time it takes for ram to respond to request of information and the time to give it
It depends on ram if you can overclock them or not but usually you will not get a lot out of them
So get the 2400Mhz and that will guaranty that speed

WuMyster · 4 Jun 2013 at 20:07

So if I bought a lower frequency RAM and OCed it to, say for example, 2400MHz. Would it be the same as a 2400mhz kit?

wazza300 · 4 Jun 2013 at 20:21

WuMyster said:
So if I bought a lower frequency RAM and OCed it to, say for example, 2400MHz. Would it be the same as a 2400mhz kit?

yes but I doubt youd reach 2400mhz with overclocking,not all 1600mhz memory can overclock that high

Samsung green 1600mhz memory can reach 2200mhz on ib maybe same on sandybridge and much higher im guessing in haswell

there might be other brands but don't know which sorts

the expensive 2400mhz kits might do there rated speeds idk

WuMyster · 4 Jun 2013 at 21:13

Oh yeah, no doubt. It was just an example.
I guess Ill go with 1600mhz to save some money and see how far I can push it. I wont see much performance gain will I?

wazza300 · 4 Jun 2013 at 22:03

not really tbh if never measured

maybe 2-3 more fps in games

can recommend Samsung green or any cheap generic brand but they wont overclock aswell as the samsung