2 general questions about RAM speed

[Flamo353]

If I get ram that says DDR3 2600, does that mean the ram has a speed of 2600 mhz?

Do I need a motherboard that supports my RAM's speed? Or does it not matter what the speed of the ram is, just as long as the ram and the mobo are DDR3?

 

[Willem0]

Look, DDR3 is a model, DDR2 don't fit in an motherboard with ddr3 neither otherwise.
Mostly if it says 2600 it will be 2600, but you need to check out the ram on the net, just google it, put it's type code on the google and you will see it.
Yes you need an motherboard that support's 2600mhz otherwise you won't be able to use all of its frequency, it will be limited to your motherboard max cap.
But you can use it, it will only "downgrade" your ram (it will run at lower frequency)
Ex: your mobo max ram frequency is 1333mhz, and you put an 2600mhz ram stick on it, the ram stick will run at 1333mhz.

 

[Vexillarius]

2666MHz DDR3 RAM will work with most DDR3 motherboards, even if it's above the supported limit. All you need to do is activate the XMP profile (EOCP or DOCP on AMD boards). Technically this is overclocking so it's not officially supported on the mobo, but it works fine.
EDIT: Sometimes you'll need to raise northbridge or IMC voltage a little bit to get high speed RAM to work, depending on the mobo and CPU.

RAM frequency makes very little difference in real world applications, except when using an iGPU.

 

[Flamo353]

2666MHz DDR3 RAM will work with most DDR3 motherboards, even if it's above the supported limit. All you need to do is activate the XMP profile (EOCP or DOCP on AMD boards). Technically this is overclocking so it's not officially supported on the mobo, but it works fine.
EDIT: Sometimes you'll need to raise northbridge or IMC voltage a little bit to get high speed RAM to work, depending on the mobo and CPU.

RAM frequency makes very little difference in real world applications, except when using an iGPU.

it has 13 CLS as well, is that significant?

 

[Tradesman1]

What mobo and CPU? First of all you want a mobo that can support it, but the big thing with high freq DRAM is having a CPU that can carry it. This basically eliminates all AMD CPUs and most Intel CPUs other the the Haswell K models and the CPUs for the 2011 mobos (excluding the v3 2011 which all run DDR4).
Additionally to your CL13 question the better 2666 sets run at CL12 though at that data rate the difference is very slight. At 2666 the Tridents from the GSkill are the best I've run (strongest w/ OC headroom) followed by Corsairs Vengeance Pro sticks

 

[Flamo353]

What mobo and CPU? First of all you want a mobo that can support it, but the big thing with high freq DRAM is having a CPU that can carry it. This basically eliminates all AMD CPUs and most Intel CPUs other the the Haswell K models and the CPUs for the 2011 mobos (excluding the v3 2011 which all run DDR4).
Additionally to your CL13 question the better 2666 sets run at CL12 though at that data rate the difference is very slight. At 2666 the Tridents from the GSkill are the best I've run (strongest w/ OC headroom) followed by Corsairs Vengeance Pro sticks

I'm going to use an Intel Pentium G3258 + asrock z97 both anniversary edition (they were made for each other :') and it turns out my mobo is compatible with the ram. I still don't understand how to take advantage of the 2600 mhz frequency and 13 cls and whether or not it's good. I'm paying $25 extra for a 1000mhz and 4cls boost, idk if its worth it. What do you think?

 

[Tradesman1]

To be honest, not sure if the 3258 can even get there, I'd go prob 2133, and maybe 2400 if you expect to try a large CPU OC. The mobo may be fine with 2666 but you'll need a strong CPU for 2666 (I normally only use that with the K model Haswells)

 

[Flamo353]

To be honest, not sure if the 3258 can even get there, I'd go prob 2133, and maybe 2400 if you expect to try a large CPU OC. The mobo may be fine with 2666 but you'll need a strong CPU for 2666 (I normally only use that with the K model Haswells)

Argh, what do you recommend I should upgrade my processor to? It's only $70 at the moment with free shipping. I feel like this is a really good processor for the price, and I'm hoping that it can handle OC at 4.5ghz as well as take advantage of my ram's frequency and cls.

 

[Tradesman1]

For $70 it's a great CPU, though it dual Core while most go quad these days. For the price it's hard to beat - I'd look at an i5 at a minimum and to run 2400 you basically will need a 4670K or 4690K