16 GB - 2133 (OC) v. 1600? Which should I get if they are the same price?

[thauburger]

I have the opportunity to buy 16 GB of RAM (from the same vendor) at either 1600 or 2133 speeds. For my motherboard, 2133 RAM is marked as "OC". Both RAM sets have CAS latency of 9.

I've read that there aren't a lot of noticeable performance gains when RAM exceeds 1600 clock-speed, because higher speed RAM typically comes with longer latency. However, if there is the same CAS latency of 9 and the kits are essentially the same price (+-$5), wouldn't the higher speed RAM be a better value?

The only differences I see are voltage and "timing:

1600 kit:
Timing: 9-9-9-24
Voltage: 1.5V

2133 kit:
Timing: 9-11-11-31
Voltage: 1.65V

Are there other compatibility concerns to think about? I'll be working with a i7-4790K processor.

Thanks!

 

[Tradesman1]

The 2133 sticks, much better and stronger, if you wanted could drop them to 1600 and run at a real nice tight CL7

 

[thauburger]

So, I can drop the speed to 1600, and it will reduce latency to 7? Am I reading that correctly? Also, if I drop the speed of the 2133 sticks, will that bring the voltage back down to 1.5v? I've read a 1.5v max ram voltage for i7's on intel's spec sheets.

 

[Tradesman1]

YOU can drop them, if you were to run them at 1600, will want to set manually, if you just set to 1600 the BIOS would likely set them to CL10 or 11, the tighter CL of 7 shows a marked increase in performance