Question Help with options for upgrading ram

[defiantsnack]

My Dell XPS 8950 desktop currently has an i9-12900K 3200mhz processor and 1x16GB DDR5 4800mhz ram. I want to upgrade the ram from 16GB to 64GB and I was looking at the Crucial RAM 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5 4800MT/s, but I also saw that the Crucial Pro RAM 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5 5600MT/s is the same price. Since Intel says i9 processors only support up to DDR5 4800 MT/s ram, I have a few questions:

1. Would it be more cost effective to go for the Crucial Pro 64GB 5600MT/s since it has heat spreaders and is downclock capable to 4800MT/s?
2. Would going with 5600MT/s ram give me issues because it's higher than what my cpu supports despite the downclocking capability?
3. Would it be necessary to utilize the downclocking capability of the 5600MT/s ram for it to work in my pc?
4. Is it just a safer move to go with the 4800 MT/s ram even though it doesn't have heat spreaders?

*for context- I don't use my desktop for gaming, but I do regularly use it for photo editing and multitasking and right now with the 16GB ram my in use memory is typically 90-95% in use

 

[Darkbreeze]

What Intel says only applies to what it supports NATIVELY. It has nothing to do with what memory speed can actually be run on a given motherboard with a given CPU model. That is generally the determining factor, with only a few cases dependent additionally on the CPU model aside from what the board indicates is supported. If the motherboard supports XMP profiles then you may be able to use MUCH faster memory than what it indicated on the Intel data sheets.

What is the model of your motherboard? If you are unsure look on the board itself. The model should be printed on there somewhere.

 

[defiantsnack]

What Intel says only applies to what it supports NATIVELY. It has nothing to do with what memory speed can actually be run on a given motherboard with a given CPU model. That is generally the determining factor, with only a few cases dependent additionally on the CPU model aside from what the board indicates is supported. If the motherboard supports XMP profiles then you may be able to use MUCH faster memory than what it indicated on the Intel data sheets.

What is the model of your motherboard? If you are unsure look on the board itself. The model should be printed on there somewhere.

My motherboard model is 0R6PCT

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, according to Dell, the fastest memory that is supported on that motherboard, and that machine, is 4800MT/s. But that is based on their original documentation I'm sure, and that was probably the fastest DDR5 memory that was available at that time. Because Crucial says that machine will support up to 5600MT/s. But it also seemingly depends on whether you have two or four DIMMs installed as well. Because the supported speed drops when there are four DIMMs and it also drops if the DIMMs are larger and there are four.

• 8 GB, 1 x 8 GB, DDR5, 4400 MHz
• 16 GB, 2 x 8 GB, dual-channel DDR5, 4400 MHz
• 16 GB, 1 x 16 GB, DDR5, 4400 MHz
• 32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, dual-channel DDR5, 4400 MHz
• 64 GB, 4 x 16 GB, dual-channel DDR5, 4000 MHz
• 64 GB, 2 x 32 GB, dual-channel DDR5, 4400 MHz
• 128 GB, 4 x 32 GB, dual-channel DDR5, 3600 MHz

So, since we already know that the OEM manufacturers like Dell, HP and Lenovo are terrible about updating documentation, but also terrible about providing BIOS firmware updates that will allow for things like faster memory than what was initially supported, you kind of have to decide if you want to roll the dice unless you can find ACTUAL evidence from somebody with one of those machines that has had success with a faster memory kit and as much as I hate to send somebody somewhere else, the Dell forum is probably where you are most likely to find somebody that would have that information. Plus, when the manufacturer is doing evidently stupid crap like listing memory speed in Mhz rather than MT/s, you really have to somewhat question if the person or department in charge of arranging the documentation even knows wth they are talking about in the first place.

Or, you can simply roll the dice and go with a faster kit. Since this page indicates your board SHOULD be a Z690, and since Z690 boards support XMP, at least all of them that I'm aware of, it SHOULD support faster memory but that is only if Dell has provided support for it in the BIOS.

If there is a newer BIOS version available than what you currently have installed, you probably want to upgrade that before trying any faster memory.

https://www.dell.com/support/manual...2dc450-441c-4a82-894b-f0e48e84c89b&lang=en-us


Worst case scenario, if it won't run at that speed it will run at the lower supported speed.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you ever resolve your situation?