What ram speed should I have?

[chanhill13]

I'm about to upgrade to the kaby lake Intel i5 7600k, and I wanted to know what ram speed I should get. Intel's page says that I should have DDR4-2133/2400. My question is, should I be looking for DDR4 ram with speed only at 2133 or 2400? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I was confused because I thought I should be getting 3200 originally.

 

[sidfrgaming]

Please tell me your motherboards' name
If ur motherboard supports ddr4 2400 mhz then go for it
When it comes to RAM more mhz means better performance

 

[sidfrgaming]

Even if u use ddr4 3200 mhz it will be downscaled to ddr4 2133 or 2400 mhZ

 

[raisonjohn]

The RAM speed would be dependent on the motherboard you will choose. Since you are getting an i5-7600K which is meant to be overclocked, then the motherboard would logically be a Z270. Those Z270 motherboards support factory-OC'd RAM (such as your 3200MHz choice). The Intel page that states DDR4-2133/2400 means stock speeds (non-OC'd).

 

[chanhill13]

The RAM speed would be dependent on the motherboard you will choose. Since you are getting an i5-7600K which is meant to be overclocked, then the motherboard would logically be a Z270. Those Z270 motherboards support factory-OC'd RAM (such as your 3200MHz choice). The Intel page that states DDR4-2133/2400 means stock speeds (non-OC'd).

I am getting the Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard. Also, if I would get the 3200MHz choice, would I need to do anything with overclocking right away or would it be fine to just have it like it is for a while?

 

[chanhill13]

Even if u use ddr4 3200 mhz it will be downscaled to ddr4 2133 or 2400 mhZ

So it will downscale it automatically without causing any problems?

 

[raisonjohn]

The RAM speed would be dependent on the motherboard you will choose. Since you are getting an i5-7600K which is meant to be overclocked, then the motherboard would logically be a Z270. Those Z270 motherboards support factory-OC'd RAM (such as your 3200MHz choice). The Intel page that states DDR4-2133/2400 means stock speeds (non-OC'd).

I am getting the Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard. Also, if I would get the 3200MHz choice, would I need to do anything with overclocking right away or would it be fine to just have it like it is for a while?

The Asus Prime Z270-A runs memory at these specifications (based on the manual/website information):

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3866(O.C.)/3733(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2133 MHz

You would need to check the BIOS settings to set the speed at which your RAM modules are running.

Those faster RAM modules can run at slower speeds (e.g., if you only have a B250 mobo that runs 2400 max.), but, no point in buying faster/more expensive RAM if your motherboard doesn't support faster OC speeds. Since you are getting the Z270 motherboard, you have the option to either: buy the 3200MHz and run it at OC speed or slower; or buy a 2133MHz and stick to that RAM speed. There won't be noticeable real-world performance difference between these speeds (except in benchmarks). What is more noticeable is the RAM capacity (the GB's).

 

[chanhill13]

The RAM speed would be dependent on the motherboard you will choose. Since you are getting an i5-7600K which is meant to be overclocked, then the motherboard would logically be a Z270. Those Z270 motherboards support factory-OC'd RAM (such as your 3200MHz choice). The Intel page that states DDR4-2133/2400 means stock speeds (non-OC'd).

I am getting the Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard. Also, if I would get the 3200MHz choice, would I need to do anything with overclocking right away or would it be fine to just have it like it is for a while?

The Asus Prime Z270-A runs memory at these specifications (based on the manual/website information):

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3866(O.C.)/3733(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2133 MHz

You would need to check the BIOS settings to set the speed at which your RAM modules are running.

Those faster RAM modules can run at slower speeds (e.g., if you only have a B250 mobo that runs 2400 max.), but, no point in buying faster/more expensive RAM if your motherboard doesn't support faster OC speeds. Since you are getting the Z270 motherboard, you have the option to either: buy the 3200MHz and run it at OC speed or slower; or buy a 2133MHz and stick to that RAM speed. There won't be noticeable real-world performance difference between these speeds (except in benchmarks). What is more noticeable is the RAM capacity (the GB's).

Thanks you so much for the help! I feel way more comfortable about my upgrades now.