DDR3 1600 combining question

[JET827]

So I just built a new PC and I used some of my old PC RAM in it.

I originally had 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1600 gaming ram by a-data when I built my first PC in 2010. It cost me $109 then. Earlier this year I picked up some new RAM to add to my slots (before I decided to full on build a new rig) which was this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345&cm_re=vengence-_-20-145-345-_-Product

Now I upgraded to an i7-4790k and I wasn't sure if my newer RAM was matching well with my old RAM because the voltages were 1.5 (new) and 1.65 (old) but both 9-9-9-24 latency in CPUID.

So I just used the 8 GB of the corsair vengeance in my new rig and left the 2 x 2 out.

Anyways, while streaming and firefox open I have about 80% of my RAM taken up so I want to add more and I have 3 questions about that.

1) Should I just get the same exact RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345&cm_re=vengence-_-20-145-345-_-Product
and fill up 4 slots with 16 GB

2) Is DDR3-1600 good enough for the i7? Or should I get a higher clocked RAM like 8GB x 2 of DDR3-2400 to match my new processor & also have room to upgrade later

3) Put my 2 x 2 GB a-data old 1.65v ram in with the 8gb of corsair vengeance and try to wing it with 12 GB?..


Feel like I'm kind of rambling but I would appreciate if someone would drop some insight on this topic or a recommendation, thanks!

 

[George Phillips]

1)I have some Patriot DDR3-1833 ram running at 1.65v and these modules perform extremely well. However, I definitely don't mix them up with the new rams that run at 1.5v or even 1.35v because the built-in memory controllers in new Intel processors like Haswell also uses less voltage that sync with the voltage of the ram you install in the system. Rams are so cheap now a days, I will definitely recommend to buy the same and matching ram and make it 16GB in total, instead of using the old ram.

2) DDR3-1600 is enough for i7. Based on numerous ram tests from many websites, there is minimal difference between DDR3-1600 and some DDR3-2xxx rams. However, if you want the best of the best, just get some DDR-3 2400 modules. I have 3770k and 16GB DDR3-1833 rams made by Crucial. On the other system, there is a Xeon with 32GB ECC ram running at just DDR3-1600 for maximum stability.
3)I don't recommend to do that. I won't even try it. If they fail and take the processor with it, there will be a lot of headache waiting ahead. It's just not worth it. Just stick with the ram that uses voltage within the spec of the processor.

 

[JET827]

1)I have some Patriot DDR3-1833 ram running at 1.65v and these modules perform extremely well. However, I definitely don't mix them up with the new rams that run at 1.5v or even 1.35v because the built-in memory controllers in new Intel processors like Haswell also uses less voltage that sync with the voltage of the ram you install in the system. Rams are so cheap now a days, I will definitely recommend to buy the same and matching ram and make it 16GB in total, instead of using the old ram.

2) DDR3-1600 is enough for i7. Based on numerous ram tests from many websites, there is minimal difference between DDR3-1600 and some DDR3-2xxx rams. However, if you want the best of the best, just get some DDR-3 2400 modules. I have 3770k and 16GB DDR3-1833 rams made by Crucial. On the other system, there is a Xeon with 32GB ECC ram running at just DDR3-1600 for maximum stability.
3)I don't recommend to do that. I won't even try it. If they fail and take the processor with it, there will be a lot of headache waiting ahead. It's just not worth it. Just stick with the ram that uses voltage within the spec of the processor.

Thanks for your input George!

I suppose I will shop around for some 2400 and see prices. I checked them out a bit and I noticed the timings are higher something like 10-12-10-31 or what not. I'm not sure if that is a huge difference from 9-9-9-24 because of the higher speeds.

Do you have a recommendation for the best 2400?
Otherwise I think I'll just get 8g more of the vengeance since it's on sale today for 41 bucks aha

* I guess the biggest reason I wanna upgrade is cause I've been using DDR3 1600 for 7 years almost >.<

 

[Tradesman1]

@400 would be a good choice, here's an article I wrote on 2400 sets, that give figures for both 16GB and 32GB

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dram-benchmark-fluctuations,4080.html

going with 2x8GB is your best bet, there's no guarantee that another set of your 2x4GB set will play nice, more on mixing DRAM in my Fiction part of the article (item 2) here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2741495/ddr3-faqs-fiction.html

 

[George Phillips]

I almost always buy memory modules made by Crucial. Its Ballistix lines are great and Crucial offers life-time warranty on all memory modules. Ballistix Elite, Sport, and TActical don't seem to differ to much except their heatsink designs and of course rated speeds. Crucial is a companies owned by Micron and use the super high quality chips made by Micron. Out of more than many dozens of memory I have purchased from them over the past decade, only 2 memory modules had issues. I filed RMA and got new and updated memory modules in both cases.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory/DDR3?cm_re=top-nav-_-flyout-memory-_-us-memory-shop-for-ddr3

If you like to have some really cool and blinking LED lights on the memory modules, I also suggest their Ballistix Tracer line if you'd be purchasing DDR4 memory in the future. Crucial has discontinued make these with DDR3 chips.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory/SearchDisplay?searchTerm=ballistix+tracer&categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&pageSize=10&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&searchFor=Keyword&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=

 

[JET827]

@400 would be a good choice, here's an article I wrote on 2400 sets, that give figures for both 16GB and 32GB

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dram-benchmark-fluctuations,4080.html

going with 2x8GB is your best bet, there's no guarantee that another set of your 2x4GB set will play nice, more on mixing DRAM in my Fiction part of the article (item 2) here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2741495/ddr3-faqs-fiction.html

Thanks man I checked out your article and it made me decide on:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231589

They are super sexy and match my red/black scheme anyways. I also have room with my CPU cooler. Much better than these blue 1600's

 

[Tradesman1]

Great sticks, the Tridents have my favorites since they were released, high performance, OC headroom. In fact I'm witing for their new model in DDR4 (the Trident Z to be released for my Skylake build)