Question Different RAM speed in CPU-Z, on the sticker on the RAM modules and in the BIOS

[DanielThommen]

I wanted to upgrade my PC as it felt slow and laggish. So I checked and researched and put in 4 sticks of 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz (my motherboard accepts max 16GB and has 4 slots, I tried 2 x 8GB, that did not work, so I sent it back and got 4 x 4GB instead).

However,...
- CPU-Z shows: 16 GBytes with DRAM frequency 399.0 MHz
- BIOS shows: 16384 MB - DDR3/800 MHz - Dual Channel
- Stickers on the RAM modules show 4GB - 1333MHz
- Task Manager (under "Memory") shows 1333 MHz DIMM (right now, in use: 5.0 GB, available: 10.7 GB)

So the 16 GB is correct everywhere.
However, the frequency is not... Anywhere from 399 MHz to 1333 MHGz. I know that, because they're DUAL, the 399 MHz is kind of only half, so per cycle 399MHz (x2 = ~800MHz. Would explain the BIOS reading of 800 MHz per stick. But they should be 1333MHz, not 800MHz...

I am using Channel A with 2 sticks and channel B with 2 sticks, so my MOBO has 4 slots, 2 slots per channel, and I have 4 of the same DDR3 sticks in each slot, hence using both channels (A&B) with two 4GB each. All sticks are the same brand, the same manufacturer, the same speed (1333MHz) and put in at the same time with the PC off and power cable out, then restart and here we are.

The PC seems a bit faster than with the 8GB I had before, but not a bunch. And the MHz issue is bothering me...

Please help, what am I reading wrong?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Aeacus]

But they should be 1333MHz, not 800MHz...

MoBo make and model is?

RAM does not automatically set itself to the highest frequency. That, you have to do from BIOS, by enabling XMP. That is, IF the XMP holds and RAM is stable. If not, you're stuck with 800/1066 Mhz (whatever is stable).

All sticks are the same brand, the same manufacturer, the same speed (1333MHz) and put in at the same time with the PC off and power cable out,

But did all 4x DIMMs came in one, sealed package? Or did you buy them separately? E.g 2x 4GB + 2x 4GB? Or 4 times 4GB (e.g individual DIMMs)?

 

[DanielThommen]

MoBo make and model is?

RAM does not automatically set itself to the highest frequency. That, you have to do from BIOS, by enabling XMP. That is, IF the XMP holds and RAM is stable. If not, you're stuck with 800/1066 Mhz (whatever is stable).


But did all 4x DIMMs came in one, sealed package? Or did you buy them separately? E.g 2x 4GB + 2x 4GB? Or 4 times 4GB (e.g individual DIMMs)?

Thanks for your response!

MOBO Model is HP 3048h.

Per HP, MOBO accepts max 4 sticks with a total of 16GB (it also says that, even though it accepts 1333 MHz, it will run at max of 1066 MHz, so I guess my max speed will be 1066 MHz either way)...

I learned that the 4 slots on my MOBO accept max 4GB each, as I had 2 8GB sticks in beforehand, one per channel, one in slot 1 and one in slot 3 (as mentioned in the HP manual although I read somewhere else to always do 2 and 4, but I did not do that, HP clearly says 1 and 3). Didn't work, I sent them back and got 4 sticks with 4GB each.

The RAM came in the same shipment from the same seller, same sticker on it from the same brand. They were packaged in 4 plastic housings, so I got 4 plastic packages with each of them containing one 4GB DDR3 1333MHz PC3-10600 1.5V stick.

Am I correct?: DDR is single speed. DDR2 is double-speed and DDR3 is quadrouple-speed? Kind of all new DDR version is around double the speed of the one before?
If so, that would mean that DDR3 (mine) would have double the speed shown in CPU-Z, hence 2 x 399 = 800 MHz, what the BIOS shows. Stick would be 1600MHz then but it is not as the MOBO accepets only max 1333MHz, hence why I got 1333MHz. But because of the DDR3 slot limitation on my MOBO of only reading 1066MHz, well it only reads 1066MHz...
Still would not make sense why BIOS and CPU-Z shows different numbers...

Thanks for clarification, if you have time! Greatly appreciated!!!

 

[DanielThommen]

RAM does not automatically set itself to the highest frequency. That, you have to do from BIOS, by enabling XMP. That is, IF the XMP holds and RAM is stable. If not, you're stuck with 800/1066 Mhz (whatever is stable).

So I will go into the BIOS and see what I can do there... Changing it to XMP (If I can find it lol)... Although in my Task Manager it shows me that my memory is running at Full Speed of 1333 MHz already... So do I need to try to make it faster than the RAM itself is made to run to begin with?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Am I correct?: DDR is single speed. DDR2 is double-speed and DDR3 is quadrouple-speed?

No. DDR is always double data rate. That's what DDR means.
At least for normal system ram (not talking about GDDR for graphics cards here).

If so, that would mean that DDR3 (mine) would have double the speed shown in CPU-Z, hence 2 x 399 = 800 MHz, what the BIOS shows.

Show screenshots:
CPU-Z - memory and spd sections.
(up[load to imgur.com and post link)

 

[Aeacus]

MOBO Model is HP 3048h.

Per HP, MOBO accepts max 4 sticks with a total of 16GB (it also says that, even though it accepts 1333 MHz, it will run at max of 1066 MHz, so I guess my max speed will be 1066 MHz either way)...

Looks like HP has scrubbed the MoBo specs from net, so, i can't look up from holy bible of PCs, what options you'd have in terms of RAM XMP in BIOS. Or which RAM DIMMs, at what speed would be compatible (memory QVL). Oh well.

I learned that the 4 slots on my MOBO accept max 4GB each, as I had 2 8GB sticks in beforehand, one per channel, one in slot 1 and one in slot 3 (as mentioned in the HP manual although I read somewhere else to always do 2 and 4, but I did not do that, HP clearly says 1 and 3). Didn't work, I sent them back and got 4 sticks with 4GB each.

Yes, that ancient MoBo doesn't support 8GB DIMMs. Max 4GB DIMM.

The RAM came in the same shipment from the same seller, same sticker on it from the same brand. They were packaged in 4 plastic housings, so I got 4 plastic packages with each of them containing one 4GB DDR3 1333MHz PC3-10600 1.5V stick.

So, you got 4 individual sticks.

As of why all 4 doesn't want to work together at 1333 Mhz, further reading (especially 2nd, "mixed memory" chapter),
article: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq...y-ram-and-xmp-profile-configurations.3398926/

There is a reason why i asked if you bought the RAM in a set or as individual DIMMs.
Have you ever wondered why RAM sticks are sold in a set? I take that you don't.

Explanation time:
When RAM DIMMs are made; same make, model, speed, CL and timings RAMs are tested with each other by RAM manufacturer and those sticks that get along well, are put into sets.
First set to be made is the set of 8x RAM sticks and sold as 8x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 8x 8GB, total of 64GB). If the set of 8 doesn't work, it's divided into half which makes up two sets of 4.
If the 4x RAM sticks do work together, the are sold as 4x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 4x 8GB, total of 32GB). But if the set of 4 doesn't work, it's again divided into half, making two sets of 2.
Two RAM sticks that work well with each other are sold as 2x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 2x 8GB, total of 16GB).
Those RAM sticks that doesn't want to work together at all are sold as single RAM sticks.

So, if you need 4x sticks of RAM, buy the set of 4. Sure you can buy all 4x sticks individually but chances of them all working together would be slim. If you'd get only 2x individual sticks, chances would be 50:50.

With DDR, DDR2 and DDR3, using individual sticks is quite lenient and RAM, for the most part, usually works fine. You can run into issues of RAM not achieving the max rated speed, if it is above JEDEC standard.

But with old RAM, all sorts of shenanigans have been made, e.g running 3x 4GB for total of 12GB or one 8GB alongside 4GB (again, for total of 12GB).

DDR4, in the other hand, isn't so forgiving. Getting different capacity sticks running in one machine is next to impossible. And getting individual sticks working together (despite them being otherwise seemingly identical), is also another headache. So, for DDR4, do get the set, if you need more than one DIMM.

DDR5, is looking to be more forgiving again. Big part of it is the fact, that for DDR5, you do not need 2x DIMMs to achieve dual-channel RAM. Instead, DDR5 is made such, where individual DIMM is already running in dual-channel configuration. This eliminates most of the issues when pairing individual sticks. Still, getting individual sticks operate above JEDEC standard (which for DDR5 is above 4800 MT/s), can still be 50:50 chance.

Am I correct?: DDR is single speed. DDR2 is double-speed and DDR3 is quadrouple-speed?

No. Far from it.

DDR = Double Data Rate.

1st revision of DDR (let's call it DDR1) clock rates were: 100 Mhz, 133 Mhz, 166 Mhz and 200 Mhz. But since the SDRAM is DDR, it's actual transfer rate is double of the clock rate. So for DDR1 at 100 Mhz clock rate, transfer rate is 200 MT/s. If it is 133 Mhz, transfer rate is 266 MT/s.

MoBo BIOSes and other software often doesn't show the transfer rate with MT/s, instead it is shown as Mhz. I don't know why this is so, but i guess it is to make it easier for consumers to understand. Then again, when you look RAM speed from the software that shows the clock rate, rather than transfer rate, you'd see half of what would be expected. And this is the source of confusion for many.

For DDR2, the clock rates are: 200 Mhz, 266 Mhz, 333 Mhz, 400 Mhz and 533 Mhz.
But since SDRAM is DDR, it's transfer rates are: 400 MT/s (often labeled as Mhz instead), 532 MT/s, 666 MT/s, 800 MT/s and 1066 MT/s.

For DDR3, the clock rates are: 400 Mhz, 533 Mhz, 666 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 933 Mhz and 1066 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 800 MT/s, 1066 MT/s, 1333 MT/s, 1600 MT/s, 1866 MT/s and 2133 MT/s.

For DDR4, the clock rates are: 800 Mhz, 933 Mhz, 1066 Mhz, 1200 Mhz, 1333 Mhz, 1466 Mhz and 1600 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 1600 MT/s, 1866 MT/s, 2133 MT/s, 2400 MT/s, 2666 MT/s, 2933 MT/s and 3200 MT/s.

There can be variations of RAM clock rates with DDR4, often higher than the standard. E.g my Kingston Savage RAM clock cycle is 1500 Mhz while it is currently running 3000 MT/s (my BIOS shows 3000 Mhz). There are DDR4 RAM DIMMs out there, that go as high as 4800 MT/s.

And for DDR5, the clock rates are: 2000 Mhz, 2200 Mhz, 2400 Mhz, 2600 Mhz, 2800 Mhz, 3000 Mhz, 3100 Mhz, 3200 Mhz, 3400 Mhz, 3600 Mhz, 3800 Mhz and 4000 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 4000 MT/s, 4400 MT/s, 4800 MT/s, 5200 MT/s, 5600 MT/s, 6000 MT/s, 6200 MT/s, 6400 MT/s, 6800 MT/s, 7200 MT/s, 7600 MT/s, 8000 MT/s, 8400 MT/s and 8800 MT/s.

So, where-ever last revision of DDR left off, the next revision started (more-or-less).

E.g: highest DDR1 is 200 Mhz, while lowest DDR2 is also 200 Mhz.
Highest DDR2 is 533 Mhz, lowest DDR3 is 400 Mhz.
Highest DDR3 is 1066 Mhz, lowest DDR4 is 800 Mhz.
Highest DDR4 is 1600 Mhz, lowest DDR5 is 2000 Mhz.

 

[DanielThommen]

No. DDR is always double data rate. That's what DDR means.
At least for normal system ram (not talking about GDDR for graphics cards here).

Show screenshots:
CPU-Z - memory and spd sections.
(up[load to imgur.com and post link)

I hope this works, did it the first time lol...

https://imgur.com/a/RvN3vJU

View: https://imgur.com/a/RvN3vJU

 

[DanielThommen]

Looks like HP has scrubbed the MoBo specs from net, so, i can't look up from holy bible of PCs, what options you'd have in terms of RAM XMP in BIOS. Or which RAM DIMMs, at what speed would be compatible (memory QVL). Oh well.


Yes, that ancient MoBo doesn't support 8GB DIMMs. Max 4GB DIMM.


So, you got 4 individual sticks.

As of why all 4 doesn't want to work together at 1333 Mhz, further reading (especially 2nd, "mixed memory" chapter),
article: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq...y-ram-and-xmp-profile-configurations.3398926/

There is a reason why i asked if you bought the RAM in a set or as individual DIMMs.
Have you ever wondered why RAM sticks are sold in a set? I take that you don't.

Explanation time:
When RAM DIMMs are made; same make, model, speed, CL and timings RAMs are tested with each other by RAM manufacturer and those sticks that get along well, are put into sets.
First set to be made is the set of 8x RAM sticks and sold as 8x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 8x 8GB, total of 64GB). If the set of 8 doesn't work, it's divided into half which makes up two sets of 4.
If the 4x RAM sticks do work together, the are sold as 4x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 4x 8GB, total of 32GB). But if the set of 4 doesn't work, it's again divided into half, making two sets of 2.
Two RAM sticks that work well with each other are sold as 2x RAM sticks in a set (e.g 2x 8GB, total of 16GB).
Those RAM sticks that doesn't want to work together at all are sold as single RAM sticks.

So, if you need 4x sticks of RAM, buy the set of 4. Sure you can buy all 4x sticks individually but chances of them all working together would be slim. If you'd get only 2x individual sticks, chances would be 50:50.

With DDR, DDR2 and DDR3, using individual sticks is quite lenient and RAM, for the most part, usually works fine. You can run into issues of RAM not achieving the max rated speed, if it is above JEDEC standard.

But with old RAM, all sorts of shenanigans have been made, e.g running 3x 4GB for total of 12GB or one 8GB alongside 4GB (again, for total of 12GB).

DDR4, in the other hand, isn't so forgiving. Getting different capacity sticks running in one machine is next to impossible. And getting individual sticks working together (despite them being otherwise seemingly identical), is also another headache. So, for DDR4, do get the set, if you need more than one DIMM.

DDR5, is looking to be more forgiving again. Big part of it is the fact, that for DDR5, you do not need 2x DIMMs to achieve dual-channel RAM. Instead, DDR5 is made such, where individual DIMM is already running in dual-channel configuration. This eliminates most of the issues when pairing individual sticks. Still, getting individual sticks operate above JEDEC standard (which for DDR5 is above 4800 MT/s), can still be 50:50 chance.


No. Far from it.

DDR = Double Data Rate.

1st revision of DDR (let's call it DDR1) clock rates were: 100 Mhz, 133 Mhz, 166 Mhz and 200 Mhz. But since the SDRAM is DDR, it's actual transfer rate is double of the clock rate. So for DDR1 at 100 Mhz clock rate, transfer rate is 200 MT/s. If it is 133 Mhz, transfer rate is 266 MT/s.

MoBo BIOSes and other software often doesn't show the transfer rate with MT/s, instead it is shown as Mhz. I don't know why this is so, but i guess it is to make it easier for consumers to understand. Then again, when you look RAM speed from the software that shows the clock rate, rather than transfer rate, you'd see half of what would be expected. And this is the source of confusion for many.

For DDR2, the clock rates are: 200 Mhz, 266 Mhz, 333 Mhz, 400 Mhz and 533 Mhz.
But since SDRAM is DDR, it's transfer rates are: 400 MT/s (often labeled as Mhz instead), 532 MT/s, 666 MT/s, 800 MT/s and 1066 MT/s.

For DDR3, the clock rates are: 400 Mhz, 533 Mhz, 666 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 933 Mhz and 1066 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 800 MT/s, 1066 MT/s, 1333 MT/s, 1600 MT/s, 1866 MT/s and 2133 MT/s.

For DDR4, the clock rates are: 800 Mhz, 933 Mhz, 1066 Mhz, 1200 Mhz, 1333 Mhz, 1466 Mhz and 1600 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 1600 MT/s, 1866 MT/s, 2133 MT/s, 2400 MT/s, 2666 MT/s, 2933 MT/s and 3200 MT/s.

There can be variations of RAM clock rates with DDR4, often higher than the standard. E.g my Kingston Savage RAM clock cycle is 1500 Mhz while it is currently running 3000 MT/s (my BIOS shows 3000 Mhz). There are DDR4 RAM DIMMs out there, that go as high as 4800 MT/s.

And for DDR5, the clock rates are: 2000 Mhz, 2200 Mhz, 2400 Mhz, 2600 Mhz, 2800 Mhz, 3000 Mhz, 3100 Mhz, 3200 Mhz, 3400 Mhz, 3600 Mhz, 3800 Mhz and 4000 Mhz.
Where transfer rates are: 4000 MT/s, 4400 MT/s, 4800 MT/s, 5200 MT/s, 5600 MT/s, 6000 MT/s, 6200 MT/s, 6400 MT/s, 6800 MT/s, 7200 MT/s, 7600 MT/s, 8000 MT/s, 8400 MT/s and 8800 MT/s.

So, where-ever last revision of DDR left off, the next revision started (more-or-less).

E.g: highest DDR1 is 200 Mhz, while lowest DDR2 is also 200 Mhz.
Highest DDR2 is 533 Mhz, lowest DDR3 is 400 Mhz.
Highest DDR3 is 1066 Mhz, lowest DDR4 is 800 Mhz.
Highest DDR4 is 1600 Mhz, lowest DDR5 is 2000 Mhz.

I bought a set of 4 sticks of 4GB each, sold as a set on amazon, delivered in 4 plastic cases with each 1 stick in it, not a bigger plastic case with all 4 in one plastic case...

Amazon had it as:
Rasalas 16GB Kit (4x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz PC3-10600 PC3-10600U Non ECC Unbuffered 1.5V CL9 2RX8 Dual Rank 240 Pin UDIMM Desktop Memory Ram Module

Wow, I did not know about how they produce RAMs in the factory, with the 8x 4x, 2x and single set... Thanks for the enlightenment. I do not know how that manufacturer I got it from does their stuff but it was sold as a set but shipped in 4 different packages all together in one sealed envelope with the mark "4xset" on it... I guess they test it and then put everything in single plastic packages but put the ones that work together in one sealed envelope? My assumption, I do not KNOW per se...

I also JUST wrote a message to the seller on Amazon, asking whether they came from the SAME process or were just randomly put together in the factory (as they came in ONE sealed envelope with a sticker but each stick was packaged in a separate plastic case).

 

[DanielThommen]

If that helps, I found some webpages with info to my motherboard HP 30448h:

Hewlett-Packard 3048h @ HWBOT

HWBOT is a site dedicated to overclocking. We promote overclocking achievements and competitions for professionals as well as enthousiasts with rankings and a huge hardware database.

hwbot.org

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/699016/Hp-Compaq-6000-Pro.html

That's all I have...