Faster RAM in slower MOBO

Frank Perez

Honorable
Sep 10, 2013
8
0
10,510
I'm looking at a memory upgrade.
Questions is:

Can I buy faster memory (2133) now and run it in my system at the MOBO peak? (2000)

Reason, want to buy memory that would be future proof for a mobo/cpu upgrade next year.

Current System Spec:
AMD Phenom II 965 BE Quad (OC'd 3.9Ghz)
Asus M4A87TD Evo MOBO
Corsair HX750
G.Skill 4x2G DDR3-1600 (7-8-7-24 1.6V)
Gigabyte GTX760OC 4G
Samsung SSD

Specifically, here is the link to the memory I'm considering...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503

Thanks in advance for any input and opinions.
 
Solution
D
If you need 16GB right now and the faster RAM is only a few dollars more then by all means get it. It will not run at it's rated speed in your existing system but running it slower will not hurt. And you may be able to use it in an upgrade. Who knows when AMD will go to DDR4.
The faster RAM will not give you a performance increase. The memory controller on modern AMD and Intel CPUs is on the processor. It just can't use and does not need anything faster than what you have. The only reason to use very fast RAM is with an Intel Haswell system or with an AMD APU. An APU needs the fastest RAM you can give it.

Next year will be when DDR4 is implemented. At least with Intel systems. I don't know about AMD.
 


 
Thanks for responding!

I'm sorry, should have said this on the op. I'm wanting to increase from 8G to 16G. I know I'm not going to get faster speeds out of faster ram at the moment. My current goal is just to increase my total ram.

I'm asking because on newegg 2133 kits are only $30 more than the 1866 kits. I know next year I want to upgrade to a new mobo with an AM3+ socket. So I want to determine if dropping $30 extra right now would be good foresight. I just dont want to buy ram that wont even work on the system i have at the moment. Am I making any sense? Lol.
 
With the current generation of CPUs you don't need anything faster as I said they onboard memory controller just can't use it.

If you are waiting until next year then I would just wait to buy it. You may very well need DDR4 depending on what you buy. Also there was just a fire at one of the largest RAM manufacturing plants in the world. RAM prices are going to be higher for a while. So waiting may be cheaper for you.
 
If you need 16GB right now and the faster RAM is only a few dollars more then by all means get it. It will not run at it's rated speed in your existing system but running it slower will not hurt. And you may be able to use it in an upgrade. Who knows when AMD will go to DDR4.
 
Solution