Can I use ordinary DDR3 sticks with i5-6600K?

WodaPoParowkach

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Aug 2, 2015
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Hi. I'm thinking about switching to a new Intel's platform and I see this motherboard: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170-P-D3/overview/

It says that it supports both DDR3 and DDR3L memory but Intel says that its new i5-6600K supports "DDR3L 1600/DDR4 2133": http://ark.intel.com/products/88191/Intel-Core-i5-6600K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

My question is: can I use 1866 MHz DDR3 CL8 1.5V memory sticks with i5-6600K and this Asus motherboard I posted and will it run as fast as it runs on older platforms?
 


listen, this is how skylake works.

Yes. it does support DDR3L and DDR4, but desktops will (probably) only have DDR4 support. DDR3 and DDR3L isnt the same. the L version runs at a much lower volage, hence lower power consumption, so its for mobile processors. tablets, phones, ultrabooks ect.
on the desktop, you can't use a DDR3 kit.
 


Well, this 1151 motherboard I posted supports DDR3 but still it is not possible to use them with i5-6600K right?

It's a shame because I've read many articles on the Internet commending Intel for a possibility to switch to a Skylake without buying new RAM and switching to DDR4 when you are ready... so it is not true.

Thank you for your answer.
 


ok then, I havent noticed that it supports DDR3, but in this case, DDR3 will work.
what I ment to say is that most motherboards will use DDR4, but because this is a value board, it uses DDR3.
 


that motherboard is actually the first one I see that supports DDR3, because most motherboard designers with a brain will go for DDR4 for a little bit higher end boards, because it's just better then DDR3, but for value boards like this one (and probably even more when h170 boards will start showing up), DDR3 makes sence.
 


It also seemed weird to me that Asus released a motherboard that will not work with any processor available on the today market...

MOST LIKELY Skylake WON'T support DDR3.

Oh, well... That confuses me a little bit 🙂

that motherboard is actually the first one I see that supports DDR3, because most motherboard designers with a brain will go for DDR4 for a little bit higher end boards, because it's just better then DDR3, but for value boards like this one (and probably even more when h170 boards will start showing up), DDR3 makes sence.

I have also heard about special RAM slots that will be able to accept DDR3 and DDR4 (one type at the time ofc) sticks in them. That would be awesome since not everybody has enough money to buy everything at once and DDR3 memory is very cheap at the moment and you can buy very fast sticks for a very nice price now and they are more than enough for today games so I don't see anything bad in this decision.

Thank you for your answers guys. If anybody has anything more to say (maybe some confirmation about this ddr3 support?), please feel free to do this.
 
I didnt say DDR3 isnt compatible with skylake, I ment to say that on the desktop platform, most motherboards will have DDR4, and DDR4 only, but on some (like this asus one) DDR3 is present, because of its lower cost.
there is no such thing as "special ram slots that support both DDR3 and DDR4". the DDR3 and 4 connectors are ment to be different, so people wont use the wrong kind of RAM, as DDR3 and DDR4 wont work at the same time, only one at a time...
 


Of course I know it can't work simultanously, I edited my post in the meantime 😉
Maybe I was wrong about this universal slot type then. I don't remember where I read about this. Nevermind.

no need to speculate, skylake is out! we have the specs, and this is what they are.

Yes but I would still like to be 100% sure. It would be awesome if someone with DDR3 and Skylake could confirm this. I'm not in hurry anyway.
 


almost no-one has skylake by now (only reviewers and such), and as long the motherboard has the right RAM slots, it will support DDR3.
 
All of the Skylake processors are inherently going support DDR3 and DDR4. It is not the processors/architecture that is going to determine which memory you use with the new 1151 boards, but instead the motherboards. For instance This Asus Z170 board will support exclusively DDR3 while others will support only DDR4. There are also those boards that will support DDR3L and DDR4. This is a lot like towards the end of the 775 socket when they started to make boards that supported either 2 dimms of DDR2 or 2 dimms of DDR3. In the end they weren't a huge success and I feel that until they unify and adopt exclusively DDR4 it would be better to let the more enthusiast level techies be the early adopters.

If you DO want to jump to a new socket motherboard and use your current memory I'd use the board I just linked to, but frankly I don't see the practical reason to go to the newest chipset with a new motherboard and processor to only stick with DDR3. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
 
Im running DDR3 in my PC with a 6600k whilst posting this, although i have read some posts that even the motherboards that support DDR3 with skylake are probably not not that healthy over time...really if the mother manufacturer supports it then go for it, so far ive had no issues but what i would say is make sure you buy decent ram at least £50 and a trusted company like corsair (etc) also try to make sure you buy DDR3 with as low voltage as you can find since the new Skylake architecture only support 1.35v ram and under being DDR3L and DDR4 as over time you run the risk of damaging the Skylake Cpu's IMC's overtime according to some posts.

Overall i would go for it if you dont have the extra bucks to spare but maybe look into DDR4 and buy it later, not much difference between them but under bigger loads i would imagine a slight improvement. :)

 
If it was a matter of simply "working", this could have been solved long ago because even "regular" DDR3 RAM will usually "work" (in a compatible board, of course), BUT 1.5V and 1.65V modules WILL degrade the memory controller over time, and it certainly isn't covered under warranty.

Basically, DON'T do it, but if you don't mind the consequences, then more power to you.
 
i bought the motherboard for my future pc build and i was a bit confused since the motherboard only supports DDR3, But some reviewers said that it wont work with DDR3, If it will not work with DDR3, Then why would asus even make the motherboard??
THIS DOESNT MAKE SENSE!?
 
Skylake officially supports DDR3L, which is the 1.35v version of DDR3, plus the 1.2v and 1.35v versions of DDR4. Anything above 1.35v will shorten the life of your CPU. Manufacturers can get away with saying it supports regular 1.5v DDR3 just like they can get away with saying it support 3200 RAM -- by saying it's "overclocked" and not guaranteed to work. That's how they cover their butts. They don't tell you that it will likely damage the CPU over time by running it that way.
 
Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3L 2x4GB kit
Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3L 2x4GB kit

Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3L 2x8GB kit
Crucial Ballstix Sport DDR3L 2x8GB kit

G.Skill DDR3L list

Corsair Vengeance DDR3L list
Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3L list

Kingston also has HyperX Fury 2x4GB (HX316LC10FBK2/8) and 2x8GB (HX316LC10FBK2/16) DDR3L kits, but they don't have their own web page for them.

Other manufacturers likely have them, but I searched for five whole minutes to get these -- you can search for more yourself.