Ram Speeds for i7 900series systems

c-note

i was going to post this as a reply to the thread i started here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055739337
but realised it's quite a seperate question and might be better in its own thread for future browsers!.

This relates to choosing ddr3 tripple channel Ram to accompany an i7 920 cpu
RAM is confusing me!
i've read that the memory controller inside the i7 works at 1033mhz!
is rated at 1.5v and should not exceed 1.65v

Q1
would this mean that 1333mhz/1600mhz/2000mhz ram would need to be "Overclocked" in order to achieve thoose speeds.
Q2
if this ram was just plugged in with no changes in bios, would it operate at just 1033mhz?
Q3
If you do need to overclock the ram to achieve the speeds, is this achieved by increasing the voltage to the ram? (potentially beyond 1.65)


would i be better sticking with 1033/1333 ram with low latency (cl7)
or faster ram 1600/1800 with higher latencies (cl9)

another interesting consideration is that for ram speeds > 1333 it seems the i7 will only take 1 dimm per channel. so choosing faster ram could potentially half the amount the system will take

kaimera

Lower latency works better from the articles I've read.

iirc, there isn't that much benefit to the faster speeds, the latency is more NB.

Anti

yup, lower down them timings for a improvement. Long gone now are the days of FSB