1600MHz RAM running around 1333MHz

[cchartsell]

Hey ya'll,

I'm sure everyone is tired of getting this question but I have yet to find a thread regarding my mobo on this. I have a gigabyte z77x-ud3h with 16gb g.skill 1600MHz RAM. In the BIOS it shows my RAM to be running speeds around 1333MHz. I'm assuming I can simply adjust the settings to 16x so it uses it's full capacity, but I just wanted to double check.

P.S.
I am really interested in OC my CPU as well. Nothing crucial but enough to be able to show off to my friends and still have a very stable system 😉 any suggestions and tips or possibly a step by step how-to?? I'd like to get somewhere in the 4.3 rang or so. Below is what I have running in my rig.

Please and thank you! Ya'll are great.

Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
Intel i5-3570K @ 3.4GHz
CM Hyper 212 Plus
Corsair 800W PSU
16GB G.Skill RAM (would like to do 32GB but I feel it's unnecessary, especially if I want to OC)
Crucial M4 128GB SSD
1TB WD Black 7200RPM (coming soon)
80GB WD 7200RPM
GeForce GTX 670 (coming soon)
LG DVD Burner GH24NS90
CM Storm Trooper
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

 

[stew198269]

bios sets your ram to default setting which is prob in ur case 1333mhz just go to advance AI in bios or twicker settings in bios and select E.M.P file (extreme memory profile) or there will be a tab in there which will range from 800mhz / 1600mhz just select urs.

as for overclocking ur system best advuce i could give u is to watch loads of videos on youtube even if its not ur own motherboard just to get a idea and try on ur own. remember the higher up u go the more volts u going to need which means more heat good cooling will be needed!!! (hyper 212 GOOD!!)

 

[amuffin]

It's called, XMP, not EMP.

 

[alyoshka]

I think that's Electro Magnetic Pulse..... you sure you're posting this on the right forum???...

 

[stew198269]

pmsl ha ha yeah just seen what i done my bad!!!!! lol

 

[Pinhedd]

What stew198269 said is correct. Since DDR3-1600 is considered an overclocked profile either by the memory module's SPD or the system's native DDR3 support it will not ever be selected by default; it must be enabled manually.

 

[cchartsell]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. I am going to set my RAM to 1600MHz now . Also in another forum I posted one of the replies I got had mentioned that with 32GB of RAM it would be difficult to OC..? I asked him why but I never got a response. Any ideas?

 

[cchartsell]

bios sets your ram to default setting which is prob in ur case 1333mhz just go to advance AI in bios or twicker settings in bios and select E.M.P file (extreme memory profile) or there will be a tab in there which will range from 800mhz / 1600mhz just select urs.

as for overclocking ur system best advuce i could give u is to watch loads of videos on youtube even if its not ur own motherboard just to get a idea and try on ur own. remember the higher up u go the more volts u going to need which means more heat good cooling will be needed!!! (hyper 212 GOOD!!)

SUCCESS! Just went into the BIOS and selected XMP profile 1 and now it's running 1600MHz
Now I'm off to youtube to see about OC my CPU

 

[Pinhedd]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. I am going to set my RAM to 1600MHz now . Also in another forum I posted one of the replies I got had mentioned that with 32GB of RAM it would be difficult to OC..? I asked him why but I never got a response. Any ideas?

It can be tough. Most overclocked profiles are designed around 1 DIMM per channel rather than two. I had problems running DDR2 SDRAM at DDR2-1066 with 2 DIMMs per channel on my old PC, I had to back down to DDR2-800. However, with a good motherboard and good modules the Intel DDR3 memory controller should be able to handle 2 modules per channel at 2000+ without much issue. I'm running 32GB at DDR3-2133 using just the XMP profile and nothing else.

 

[stew198269]

SUCCESS! Just went into the BIOS and selected XMP profile 1 and now it's running 1600MHz
Now I'm off to youtube to see about OC my CPU

no worrys hope u find ya answers for ya 32gb ram....

 

[cchartsell]

I guess I will find out about the 32gb of RAM after I get them installed. As for now I just have my 16gb RAM and OCed my CPU to 4.5GHz maybe nothing special but for me, I feel accomplished!

 

[cchartsell]

It can be tough. Most overclocked profiles are designed around 1 DIMM per channel rather than two. I had problems running DDR2 SDRAM at DDR2-1066 with 2 DIMMs per channel on my old PC, I had to back down to DDR2-800. However, with a good motherboard and good modules the Intel DDR3 memory controller should be able to handle 2 modules per channel at 2000+ without much issue. I'm running 32GB at DDR3-2133 using just the XMP profile and nothing else.

My bad, I didn't see this until just now. I think the Z77X-UD3H is a pretty decent mobo. Once I get to that point I feel like I should be able to do the same thing and not have any issues. Thanks for the info!

 

[Pinhedd]

Gigabyte motherboards are decent; not outstanding but decent. 32GB at 1600 is a lot easier to do than 32GB at 2133 though

 

[cchartsell]

what would you say is the best of the best mobos that are out right now?

 

[Pinhedd]

what would you say is the best of the best mobos that are out right now?

Asus hands down. They occasionally have firmware issues from time to time (usually when Intel rushes a platform like the X79) but they tend to resolve most of them rather quickly.

Like any other manufacturer they have boards in the budget, mainstream and enthusiast market segments with price and expectations to match. Unlike other manufacturers Asus doesn't deal in crummy components or reference designs which means that their cheaper boards tend to sacrifice bells and whistles rather than quality. My only gripe with Asus is that their marketing team is smoking some serious designer drugs.

If you're looking for a solid Z77 board I'd recommend the P8Z77-V Pro, P8Z77-V Deluxe. If you want Thunderbolt, get the P8Z77-V Premium (basically a revised Deluxe)

If you want a really unique looking board that's a good overclocker and basically immune to damage check out the Sabertooth Z77

If you're into serious overclocking and want top quality components without the useless bells an whistles of the P8 series check out the Maximus V Formula/Extreme

EDIT: for the LGA2011 boards the offerings are similar but marketed as P9X79, Sabertooth X79 and Rampage IV Formula/Extreme

 

[cchartsell]

Dang man you really know your stuff about ASUS mobos. Thanks for the info for sure. I want figure out which way to go for my next build and it sounds like ASUS would be the way.

 

[Pinhedd]

Dang man you really know your stuff about ASUS mobos. Thanks for the info for sure. I want figure out which way to go for my next build and it sounds like ASUS would be the way.

Yeah Asus has been leading the pack for a long long time. The premium is worth it, good luck!

 

[cchartsell]

Best answer selected by CCHartsell.

 

[Guest]

It's called, XMP, not EMP.

You are correct It's called. XMP --> Intel's Extreme Memory Profile

 

[Valentin Tihomirov]

The frequency is reduced when you plug more modules into the same channel and by memory controller max frequency, which is built into CPU rather than motherboard.

 

[Valentin Tihomirov]

The frequency is reduced when you plug more modules into the same channel and by memory controller max frequency, which is built into CPU rather than motherboard.