i3 8100 -- will a 2666 MHz RAM work as a 2666 one, or be limited to 2400 MHz?

[Stefan_77]

Hello.

Intel ARK metions DDR4 2400 MHz on i3-8100's page. Is that a maximum? A minimum? Or maybe just a recommandation?

I googled and found people saying that a 2400 MHh RAM is a maximum for the i3 Coffee Lake CPU's. But the H370 motherboard supports 2133 / 2400 / 2666.

If I use a 2666 RAM what will happen?
Will the RAM be limited to 2400 MHh, or will it work as a 2666 MHh one?

Not that I'd expect a big difference, but there should be some sort of improvement there. And I found a good price for a 2666 MHh Crucial Ballistix 2x4GB RAM.

Thanks!


Later edit:

Ballistix Sport LT 4GB - 2666MHz CL16
16-18-18

Patriot Viper Elite 4GB - 2400MHz CL 15
15-15-15-35

I found both on sale, at the same price. Which will do a better job for the i3-8100?

 

[Lutfij]

2400MHz for the i3-8100 is the maximum frequency it can handle. Meaning if you have a Z370 series board and you have DDR4-4000, the CPU will cause the rams to run only at 2400MHz. According the Gigabyte, the chipset will allow you to go to a max of 2666MHz, so your limiting factor is the CPU and as such your 2666Mhz ram kit will run at 2400MHz, though fret not, you can tighten the timings on the ram kit and get it to be snappier for the system.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

2400mhz is the native frequency the CPU supports. Pending the motherboard, other speeds are supported. If you get a H370 motherboard and it supports 2666mhz RAM, and you buy 2666mhz RAM, it will run at 2666. Whereas if you get 3200mhz RAM on the same motherboard, it will only run at 2666.

But honestly, Intel CPUs don't scale well with high speed RAM for the most part. So running 2133, 2400, 2666, or 3200 is not going to make much of a difference.

 

[Stefan_77]

2400mhz is the native frequency the CPU supports. Pending the motherboard, other speeds are supported. If you get a H370 motherboard and it supports 2666mhz RAM, and you buy 2666mhz RAM, it will run at 2666. Whereas if you get 3200mhz RAM on the same motherboard, it will only run at 2666.

But honestly, Intel CPUs don't scale well with high speed RAM for the most part. So running 2133, 2400, 2666, or 3200 is not going to make much of a difference.

LOL, love your profile image... I think I'm gonna spend the evening watching my favorite episodes, haha.

Thanks for the answer.

 

[Stefan_77]

2400MHz for the i3-8100 is the maximum frequency it can handle. Meaning if you have a Z370 series board and you have DDR4-4000, the CPU will cause the rams to run only at 2400MHz. According the Gigabyte, the chipset will allow you to go to a max of 2666MHz, so your limiting factor is the CPU and as such your 2666Mhz ram kit will run at 2400MHz, though fret not, you can tighten the timings on the ram kit and get it to be snappier for the system.

Thanks for the answer. I wouldn't know how to tighten the timigs, though. But I'll look that up.

Ballistix Sport LT Red 4GB - 2666MHz CL16
16-18-18

Patriot Viper Elite 4GB - 2400MHz CL 15
15-15-15-35

So... Those are the specs where I found them at the same price. Which one would do a faster job for the i3-8100? Thanks again.