[SOLVED] 1866MHz or 2400MHz for i7 2600k ?

[Neodeluxe]

Hello, i come to you guys and gals because i'm basically a begginer on the pc building world and while looking for an upgrade from 8 GB in ram to 16 GB for my old asus sabertooth p67 + i7 2600k combo i came across these two options in newegg.

G.Skill Sniper 2x8 GB 1866Mhz

and

G.Skill Sniper 2x8 GB 2400Mhz

As you can see they are both the same price with the only difference being CAS Latency of 11 on the 2400Mhz set and a CAS Latency of 10 on the 1866 one, so going for the 2400Mhz would be the obvious choice, but problems arise for me when i noticed that in my mobo manual and cpu manual it's stated the safest voltage would be around 1.5V while the 2400Mhz ram set needs 1.65V and that the fastest the mobo can run is 1866 of ram. Does downclocking them to the max my mobo can run (1866) is advisable so i could get more bang for my buck in the future if i would like a mobo upgrade that still uses DDR3 (since money's kinda tight, specially on my country so i don't think i would be upgrading to DDR4 in 3 years minimum) or is it too prone to stability problems and i should just go for the 1866 set?

I have been researching on the subject but i don't really know if downclocking the 2400Mhz down to 1866Mhz would be as fast or slower than the native 1866Mhz set when taking into account the CAS Latency.

So TL;DR: Mobo and CPU specify 1866 Mhz max ram speed and 1.5V as recommended but a 2400 Mhz set is the same price, should i go for the one with the more speed and downclock it or is it not worth the risk in case i can get a better mobo for cheap down the road.

Any help is appreciated.

PD: Should i bite the bullet and get 32 GB instead of 16 GB or is buying 32GB of DDR3 ram when we are so close to DDR5 just stupid?

EDIT: Forgot to ask, G.Skill Sniper or Ripjaws, they are also the same price. I have heard somewhere that snipers are better overall but that ripjaws are designed for cpus like mine but i don't really know if that translates to them being better. Thanks in advance!

 

[Eximo]

Only two generations more of DDR3 after that with Intel. AMD DDR3 based systems are already slower then what you have. Your next upgrade should be DDR4 to see any worthwhile difference.

In all likelihood, you are probably looking at the same memory chips. And just because it runs at 1.65 volts on the XMP profile, doesn't mean you have to run it at that. You could try 1.5 volts. 2400Mhz might also work despite the motherboard. Worst case, you can run that 2400Mhz at 1866 or 2133 with manually set timings.

 

[Neodeluxe]

Only two generations more of DDR3 after that with Intel. AMD DDR3 based systems are already slower then what you have. Your next upgrade should be DDR4 to see any worthwhile difference.

In all likelihood, you are probably looking at the same memory chips. And just because it runs at 1.65 volts on the XMP profile, doesn't mean you have to run it at that. You could try 1.5 volts. 2400Mhz might also work despite the motherboard. Worst case, you can run that 2400Mhz at 1866 or 2133 with manually set timings.

Thanks a lot for your quick answer!

I would gladly update my system if i could but money's gonna be thight for at least a couple years so i'm just trying to upgrade from my 8gb 1333 Mhz ram to 16 gb 1866 (which is supossedly the max for my mobo) but the voltage thing scared me because i read somewhere that running ram undervolted for their specs could be more trouble than it's worth but i don't know if this only applies if you're aiming for speeds out of that range or any speed that should be supported by 1.5V , if i understood you correctly i should just go for the 2400 Mhz one and try for 1.5 v on it and see how it runs then considering they are worth the same amount of money?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[punkncat]

I would completely hunt around for a used set of matched RAM. There will be no notable difference outside a benchmark if you went with standard 1600 speed DDR3 on that system. Lowest CAS timing will mean more than mhz on that gen Intel.

Personally would go on your local marketplaces, ebay, etc and see if you can't find something used with a return policy find some of that good old Corsair ....

 

[Eximo]

Thanks a lot for your quick answer!

I would gladly update my system if i could but money's gonna be thight for at least a couple years so i'm just trying to upgrade from my 8gb 1333 Mhz ram to 16 gb 1866 (which is supossedly the max for my mobo) but the voltage thing scared me because i read somewhere that running ram undervolted for their specs could be more trouble than it's worth but i don't know if this only applies if you're aiming for speeds out of that range or any speed that should be supported by 1.5V , if i understood you correctly i should just go for the 2400 Mhz one and try for 1.5 v on it and see how it runs then considering they are worth the same amount of money?

Thanks again for your help!

I got you, just saying that you won't be re-using this DDR3 again. 2400Mhz kit might have a little more re-sell value later on.

The nice thing about 2400Mhz memory is that you can run it at 1866 if you have to. 1.5 volts would be no problem for that speed. When you install it, it will be running at 1333 anyway, only room to go up from there,

I used to run my DDR4 3000Mhz set at 1.15 volts rather than 1.2 volts, just because I could. Saved a tiny amount of power/heat in the CPU.

I agree with punkncat as well. A DDR3 1866 kit with CL10 was pretty standard for the day, also 1.5 volts. I still have 24GB of G.Skill Sniper in various systems.

 

[Neodeluxe]

I would completely hunt around for a used set of matched RAM. There will be no notable difference outside a benchmark if you went with standard 1600 speed DDR3 on that system. Lowest CAS timing will mean more than mhz on that gen Intel.

Personally would go on your local marketplaces, ebay, etc and see if you can't find something used with a return policy find some of that good old Corsair ....

I also found some other ram that was at the 1600 Mhz range with a CAS Latency of 9 and around the same price

G.Skill Sniper 2x8 GB 1600Mhz

and

Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8 GB 1600 Mhz

But as you can see they are the same price than the 1866 and 2400 set so might as well go for the higher speed ones anyway or am i missing something? iirc a 1866 at CAS Latency 10 should be faster than 1600 at CAS Latency 9 So if i'm making a mistake i would like if you would explain it to me so i could learn from it.

Sadly as i live in a third world country with hyperinflation everybody who sells products here try to get 100% more of what they paid to buy AND import them, so it's actually a lot cheaper to just buy outside and import it so i can't go look for second hand ram because they are even more expensive than just buying it from newegg or any other retailer in the US.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Neodeluxe]

I got you, just saying that you won't be re-using this DDR3 again. 2400Mhz kit might have a little more re-sell value later on.

The nice thing about 2400Mhz memory is that you can run it at 1866 if you have to. 1.5 volts would be no problem for that speed. When you install it, it will be running at 1333 anyway, only room to go up from there,

I used to run my DDR4 3000Mhz set at 1.15 volts rather than 1.2 volts, just because I could. Saved a tiny amount of power/heat in the CPU.

I agree with punkncat as well. A DDR3 1866 kit with CL10 was pretty standard for the day, also 1.5 volts. I still have 24GB of G.Skill Sniper in various systems.

Yeah this ram will probably die with this pc, but when i upgrade in a few years when i feel like i really can't push this one more and i got a little cash to my name i can spend on it i would just give this one to my younger sister to help her get her own pc as she's starting her university career atm and it wouldn't hurt her having something better than a 4gb laptop so might as well buy the best i can if they are all at the same price range.

I'll think i'll go for the 2400 Mhz pair then, thanks a lot again for all your help!