So does using 4 slots actually cause issues ?

Randall8686

Randall8686

Randall8686

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It has the potential to limit your overclocking though these days not often a problem.

You might find that some boards can't run fully populated higher frequency RAM though so don't go mad buying super high frequency stuff unless to match what you already have in there - you may find you have to knock it down to like 2133MHz max for DDR3 on some boards and some budget boards might not go much above 1600MHz. (On enthusiast/higher end boards this shouldn't be a problem but no guarantees).

The quality of the IMC on your CPU can have some implications as well - my 4820K seems to really struggle with anything over 2400MHz 4+ sticks regardless of what motherboard.
 
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Interesting Points. The ram is identical to what i have Same model timings etc.

I also use a Gigabyte G1 Sniper mobo so not a cheap one but not top of the range either. I guess time will tell when it arrives.
 
Actually its not 4+ sticks that is a problem as such with my 4820K - it'll do just about anything with 4x sticks under 16GB of RAM i.e. 8GB total but at 16GB or above struggles.
 
2666 16gb should be fine on just about any higher end hw/dc setup, things get tricky heading up towards 2933. I found motherboard and chipset more important then a really strong imc. For example, same chip and ram, my z97 xpower far out performs my gigabytes z87 xoc.

What I will say is that ram is absolute garbage, I have a kit of it, it's designed purely for high mhz and sacrifices a lot of performance to get there, iirc at stock it's around the same performance of a well tuned 1866mhz kit and there isn't an awful lot of wiggle room for tightening things down due to the 400+ trfc. Personally I'd opt for a good 2400 c10 Sammy kit and tighten the timings down to 9-10-10.
 
Well i have had no problem with the ram so i just opted for the same kit again. I guess the question is will i "notice" any difference if i change the ram to another kit/brand. And i mean that in the sence of in game not with some software to measure it? I actually dont know a lot about ram tbh at all. I have never bothered to study all the timings etc i just installed it and enables xmp lol.
 
Not had any problems with my Z87 Hero VI and 4670k. I can hit 4.8Ghz with all four sticks of my overclocked Sammy greens installed but due to the vcore that's needed I run at 4.4Ghz cpu cores and cache for everyday use.
 
This is where DDR4 shines - 8GB or even 16GB DIMMS, enabling the use of 16GB or 32GB via only two DIMMS at 3200Mhz+, thus not limiting your overclock in any way, shape or form.
 
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