If I have 8-8-8-27 RAM, shouldn't it run that way at stock?

[rebelx]

Based on the thread here I upgraded my RAM to the Crucial, but when I run CPU-Z, it shows my timings of 9-9-9-27 instead of the 8-8-8-27 that the new RAM (compared to the Corsair from that thread). Is this normal? Am I supposed to overclock it from bios to have it run at the 8 speed? Also, it says that the DRAM frequency is 668.7mhz. Is this normal? Shouldn't it be 1600mhz?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Yes, you need to either set it manually or use the XMP profile in the BIOS. And it will show 800Mhz when set right. 667Mhz is 1333 RAM and 800Mhz is 1600 RAM.

 

[rebelx]

Yes, you need to either set it manually or use the XMP profile in the BIOS. And it will show 800Mhz when set right. 667Mhz is 1333 RAM and 800Mhz is 1600 RAM.

Great, thanks! Do you recommend that I keep this ram at 8-8-8-27 1600mhz or do I bump it up (same price basically) to 9-9-9-27?

Also, is there a particular guide at Toms or somewhere else on how I can properly change timings either through XMP (??) or through the BIOS?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

XMP is easy. It's just a simple one click thing in the BIOS. But it'll basically have to be 8-8-8-24 for 1600 on that RAM because it would probably be unstable at anything less. A voltage bump might change that, but there's no reason to do it.

You don't want to go higher on the timings, by the way. Lower is faster.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

What motherboard do you have?

 

[rebelx]

XMP is easy. It's just a simple one click thing in the BIOS. But it'll basically have to be 8-8-8-24 for 1600 on that RAM because it would probably be unstable at anything less. A voltage bump might change that, but there's no reason to do it.

You don't want to go higher on the timings, by the way. Lower is faster.

Sorry, I think when I said 24 earlier I meant 27. I think 27 seems to be a general timing thing.

My mobo is: GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3

Yea, I'm definitely not trying to over or underclock the RAM at this point, but rather just keep it stock. But I definitely do want to get what I am entitled to at least.

I'll look at the BIOS settings when I get a chance to tomorrow. I was looking there earlier but I didn't see anything for RAM per say. Perhaps I missed something or I might have to pull out the manual to see how to edit the timings, I suppose. Do I need to do anything major or will the program itself do anything?

Should I pass on the 1866mhz RAM for only $4 more (+ time, driving to get it) or will the 1600mhz to 1866mhz bump not be noticeable?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The XMP profile in your CPU-Z screenshot says 8-8-8-24, so that's what it will be with the XMP profile active.

You can get the 1866 RAM, if you want, but there's no need for it. 1600 RAM is plenty fast enough and you would never notice the difference between the two in anything other than benchmarks.

The setting for the XMP profile for that mobo, according to the manual, is in the "Advanced Memory Settings" section of the BIOS and it's listed as "Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)"