DDR3 vs DDR4 - is what I have OK, or do i need to upgrade further? OCing: AMD 1090T

[mordanti]

Hi all,

I'm hoping a few folks might chime in on this, as my last post didn't generate any answers when I'd hoped to get some CPU / mobo upgrade advice - so it goes.

In any case, I've upgraded my OLD system to Win10 with an AMD 1090T in an MSI 970 Gaming mobo cooled with a Hyper 212 and running on an OCZ Stealth 700W PS - no issues there. I've also taken along 2x HD 5770 Radeon cards in Crossfire, running nicely along until I get an RX470.

The question is: should I keep my 16gb of Mushkin Silverline DDR3, or upgrade?

There's some good sales coming up in November( Black Friday / Cyber Monday )and I'd like to grab some *better* RAM, but the issue is, I don't know if the RAM I have is doing just fine... I've been overclocking the CPU to 3600mHz using MSI's OC Genie and it's running great, but I think the ram's reached its limits, as you can see from this screenshot:

Thing is, ALL of the DDR3 / DDR4 RAM I've been looking at, no matter how pricey or fancy, seems to have WORSE timings than what I already have( 8-8-8-24 ). I mean, a set of Kingston HyperX 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) DUAL/QUAD Channel going on eBay right now is 11-11-11-28, and that's stuff that's 4 years old... the newer sets have 15-15-15-35 timings or higher.

What gives?

I understand that if I want to manually overclock my CPU further, I'll need some better RAM than PC-10700 that can push past 667mhz, but if the timings are MUCH higher, isn't that worse?

I've read various Guides To Overclocking, specifically the parts about memory timings, and I just can't seem to see how RAM with higher timings than mine make a rig BETTER for overclocking. If anyone can point me in the right direction so I can make an INFORMED purchase this coming month, I'd be REALLY grateful - going to 32gb on this PC with room for casual OCing in my spare time would be GREAT, especially as tweaking the Northbridge with a PhenomII seems to be a good way to go with my setup before adding a 470 when they drop a little more in price.

Thanks!

 

[damric]

The Phenom II 1090T does not have a DDR4 controller so it's a moot point.

 

[Multipack]

Your board doesn't support DDR4 RAM so you'd need a new motherboard, and your RAM is running at 1333Mhz not 667. Upgrading the frequency to 2133MHz (the highest your board supports) wont make a great deal of difference, and the RAM you have is fine for the system.

 

[mordanti]

The Phenom II 1090T does not have a DDR4 controller so it's a moot point.

Your board doesn't support DDR4 RAM so you'd need a new motherboard, and your RAM is running at 1333Mhz not 667. Upgrading the frequency to 2133MHz (the highest your board supports) wont make a great deal of difference, and the RAM you have is fine for the system.

Thank-you for the fast responses! ( still working on the screenshot, btw )

So if DDR4's out of the picture, then would getting some faster DDR3 still be a good idea, with 'worse' timings, like that HyperX I mentioned?

I also wondered if I found some DDR4 for a good price, if I should pick it up to use and then be able to take it along to a new system in late 2017/early 2018 when Zen's out on the market in force. Would the DDR4 function in my mobo as DDR3, or just not at all?

 

[Martell1977]

To get DDR4 you would have to upgrade to a Skylake CPU or wait for ZEN and AM4. Totally different modules.

For AMD CPU's, it's the ones with iGPU's that benefit from very fast RAM. Yours is likely fine as it is. Also, unless you are running things like AutoCAD or video editing, 32gb is big time over kill, 16gb is the current "sweet spot" for RAM.

As for the timing, yes, they are higher, but the frequency is as well.

 

[USAFRet]

Would the DDR4 function in my mobo as DDR3, or just not at all?

DDR4 won't even plug in. The positioning slot is different.

 

[mordanti]

To get DDR4 you would have to upgrade to a Skylake CPU or wait for ZEN and AM4. Totally different modules.

For AMD CPU's, it's the ones with iGPU's that benefit from very fast RAM. Yours is likely fine as it is. Also, unless you are running things like AutoCAD or video editing, 32gb is big time over kill, 16gb is the current "sweet spot" for RAM.

As for the timing, yes, they are higher, but the frequency is as well.

Thank-you, thank makes perfect sense to me... there's a ton of info out there, but not a lot of concise answers. Hence my asking here, and your answer is appreciated.

I'll stick with my 16gb for now( have had the Silverline for 4 years now, VERY happy with them )and I've now got access to a free RAMdisk for some light video editing thanks to the MSI mobo software, should be all I need until I go to Zen.

Much obliged - you've all saved me from spending unnecessary $$ this season - more saved for Zen!

 

[USAFRet]

I'll stick with my 16gb for now( have had the Silverline for 4 years now, VERY happy with them )and I've now got access to a free RAMdisk for some light video editing thanks to the MSI mobo software, should be all I need until I go to Zen.

I tried a RAMDisk for a while, specifically for Lightroom and video editing. i5-3570k, 16GB RAM.
Saw zero actual difference.

 

[mordanti]

I'll stick with my 16gb for now( have had the Silverline for 4 years now, VERY happy with them )and I've now got access to a free RAMdisk for some light video editing thanks to the MSI mobo software, should be all I need until I go to Zen.

I tried a RAMDisk for a while, specifically for Lightroom and video editing. i5-3570k, 16GB RAM.
Saw zero actual difference.

Yes, I've noticed little difference in the short test I've done on my new rig with a newer 1tb SSD. Back in the days of my platter drive, it was a different story, but the SSD seems to be close enough not to matter.

Still, free is free, so I'll find some way to make use of it; I'm already using it for browser caches to reduce wear on the SSD, and for smaller video edits it seems to be about 10-15% faster in a 'busy' system OS environment.