Question Motherboard default is 2133 and RAM 3200 MHz, how do i get say 2666?

[meerkato]

Hi.

My motherboard has 2133 Mhz default RAM speed and my RAM 3200 with XMP enabled. Since i think 3200 is overkill for me i'd like to get something in between. What is the best/easiest way to get say 2666 or 2800 MHz? Ideally without having to increase the voltage.

My specs:

Intel 9900K
ASUS Z390-F Gaming
Corsair 2x32 GB CMK64GX4M2E3200C16

Thanks for your help

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Simply enable XMP profile in the bios, and your ram should/could run at it's rated speed. The IMC for Intel CPU's is always capable of going beyond rated mem speeds. The z390 is good for 4266mhz, so 3200 should be a breeze to set and optimize your performance.

Edit: Ah, I completely misread your post. Well, in this case there is absolutley no need to downclock the mem. It functions fine at XMP, and will give you the best performance. It will save you nothing in terms of efficiency or electricity bill.

You want your ram running as best as possible to ensure your CPU (which is still pretty stellar CPU) runs as best it can too!

With all of that said, if your partciular ram only has 1 XMP profile plus the default jedec (2133mhz) then it's unlikely it will run at 2666 or anything other than 2133/3200. It depends on the DIMM itseld and what backup jedecs are in place. Normally only 2.

In your bios you may find a drop down tab with different rated speeds to choose from. If so, select another speed, save changes and reboot. If it wors as intended, then great. If not, you know you are limited (with the ram you have) at 2133/3200.

Some DIMMs have default 2400, with XMP for 2666/2993.3200 or whatever.

TBH though, stick with 3200mhz, and don't sweat it

 

[meerkato]

Hey there,

Simply enable XMP profile in the bios, and your ram should/could run at it's rated speed. The IMC for Intel CPU's is always capable of going beyond rated mem speeds. The z390 is good for 4266mhz, so 3200 should be a breeze to set and optimize your performance.

Thanks but i wanted to go a little lower than the XMP setting since i don't anticipate much performance gains with 3200 in my DAW workload. The idea is to safe some energy.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Thanks but i wanted to go a little lower than the XMP setting since i don't anticipate much performance gains with 3200 in my DAW workload. The idea is to safe some energy.

Sorry, have made some edits.

Sure, I appreciate that and what you are saying. But, as I mentioned there is no saving on energy with the downclock. XMP for DDR4 ram typically peaks at 1.35v. Running at 2133. it will be 1.2v. In terms of your overall power draw/efficiency, the change will have pratically zero impact on energy usage or savings that could be made over the course of a day/week/month/year.

When you have a power hungry CPU that will be exponential in terms of power usage compared to ram, changing the voltage or speed for the ram, will yield zero effect.

Downclocking your CPU, or disabling turbo would bring far higher savings in terms of efficiency, power used or savings to be made. Power draw for a single 8gb DIMM is 3w! Do you see what I mean?? You've a CPU that can consume 200w, but you are trying to save energy by reducing ram speed, which will reduce power consumption from 3w to 2.9w only on the ram, when overall system draw will be about 400-500w depending on what GPU you have.

The ram is not the issue.

 

[meerkato]

Thanks @Roland Of Gilead

I know that we are talking about 3W or something here, but i'd like to keep the idle power consumption low. For that it's relatively signifcant. I thought i may can squeeze out a little more speed while staying at 1.2V. That way i'd have no additional power consumption.

The CPU must stay at high performance settings, because that's very relevant for DAW use. I may simply leave the RAM at default 2133 and will enable XMP when the machine starts to struggle with a specific project. Idk

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey again,

Well, if your CPU needs to be at high performance, then really, 3200mhz gives you that.

If your are using it for DAW then best performance gets you results faster.

In terms of idle load, again, and sorry to repeat, but you're not saving anything. What may help more, is undervolting your CPU, with Intel XTU or Throttlestop. You may be able to really reduce idle power draw to your liking. Not only that but high end power draw too, with lower temps (whilst yielding even higher boosts speeds for your CPU).