MSI X99A RAIDER ATX RAM questions

[ddrsquirrelz]

Hi all,

I just bought some computer parts to build my first custom PC. I have some questions concerning my mobo and the RAM specifications.

This is the mobo that I bought:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9793816

It's the MSI X99A RAIDER ATX, and it says the following for the RAM specifications:

Supported RAM
Max Size: 128 GB
Technology: DDR4
Bus Clock: 2133 MHz, 2666 MHz (O.C.), 2600 MHz (O.C.), 2400 MHz (O.C.), 2200 MHz (O.C.), 3000 MHz (O.C.), 2750 MHz (O.C.), 3110 MHz (O.C.), 3333 MHz (O.C.)
Supported RAM Integrity Check: Non-ECC, ECC
Registered or Buffered: Registered, unbuffered
Features: Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP), quad channel memory architecture

My question is in regards to the Bus Clock. It says that it supports RAM speed of 2133 MHz, but also lists many other speeds once overclocked. I don't understand what this means. Does it mean that the mobo only supports 2133 MHz RAM, but that I can overclock said RAM to any of the mentioned speeds? What if I bought 3333 MHz RAM? Will the mobo support it?

It's my first build, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have a Intel Core i7-5930K CPU - Six Cores, 3.5GHz if this information is relevant.

Thanks!

 

[smorizio]

intel on haswell and older cpu the memory controller was rated for 1600 speed ddr3 ram. on the newer skylake intel changed it to 2100. the stock speed is the non overclocked speed for the memory controller. you can overclock it and use intel xmp profile. when you do if you burn out the cpu memory controller as it built in. and you did not buy the overclocking insurance intel may void your rma. most times they cant tell if you over cloced the memory controller unlesss you burnt it out wiht high voltage. the memory controller has a stock voltage and max voltage it can run at. the newer cpu do run better with faster ram to a point. after a set speed the cost to buy faster ram is more then the gain would be.

 

[BertRobinson1982]

well, how about this
bus clock = price
higher clock = higher price
if you are not the extreme overclocking, you may only need to pick the memory between 2133 - 2750

 

[ddrsquirrelz]

intel on haswell and older cpu the memory controller was rated for 1600 speed ddr3 ram. on the newer skylake intel changed it to 2100. the stock speed is the non overclocked speed for the memory controller. you can overclock it and use intel xmp profile. when you do if you burn out the cpu memory controller as it built in. and you did not buy the overclocking insurance intel may void your rma. most times they cant tell if you over cloced the memory controller unlesss you burnt it out wiht high voltage. the memory controller has a stock voltage and max voltage it can run at. the newer cpu do run better with faster ram to a point. after a set speed the cost to buy faster ram is more then the gain would be.

Thanks, do you mean that I could buy 3333 MHz RAM for this mobo and use it, but that it would burn out the memory controller sooner?

 

[ddrsquirrelz]

well, how about this
bus clock = price
higher clock = higher price
if you are not the extreme overclocking, you may only need to pick the memory between 2133 - 2750

I'm confused, I'd like to have at least 3000 MHz RAM. Maybe my fundamental understanding of "overclocking" is wrong. I thought overclocking was to push the RAM beyond the recommended limits by adjusting the multiplier. My understanding of your explanation is that the mobo itself needs to be overclocked to accept speeds higher than the bus clock. Is that correct?

 

[smorizio]

it a few parts when you over clock. the first part is the ram chips used on the ram you buy. stock ram if forced faster then there rated speed will run hot and can fail sooner then rated life from the ram vendor. most ram vendor short there ram chips so that the fastest ones are sold for more $$. depending on the ram chips used to hit a set speed some ram the voltage may have to be raised from intel stock speck to a higher voltage. again running over inte lspock voltage can shorten the life of a cpu. with overclock ram and or cpu your taking base speed and going faster. most pc base cpu to ram speed is 800 mghz. (800x2=1600) so faster ram pushes the memopry controller a little faster over stock spec. this make a little more heat and power.

 

[Juan_Bijero]

I have the same motherboard, but I'm using the 5820K I7 processor. Depending on your experience level, you may or may not have a problem setting up this motherboard. My new rig has all three PCIe X16 slots filled with 2 Asus Strix GTX 970 video cards running in a dual sli configuration and an Intel 750 Series 400gb add-in-card. The bios has no problem running 2 8gb Patriot Viper 4 3200 Mhz ram sticks, but the computer won't even post with more than 2 ram sticks - This is even after flashing the bios in M-Flash. The board is a good board but its not quite ready for prime time if you plan on using more than 2 sticks of ram. Also be aware that in order to flash your bios you will need to create a bootable usb thumb drive that is formatted in Fat32 and not NTFS.

 

[Juan_Bijero]

After updating the bios and re-configuring the ram, I am now able to fully utilize 4 sticks of Patriot Viper 3200 Mhz ram. Although the motherboard manual recommends putting the ram in slots 1, 3, 5 & 7, I'm using slots 1-4; and the computer works fine.