Memory Overclocking RAM? How does it work?

[Mortis Angelus]

While a bit confusing in the title, let me elaborate the question:

I know HOW to overclock ram in the BIOS.

What I do not know is: If I have bought memory modules where it says e.g. 2400 mhz. Can I still push these up to e.g. 3000 mhz?

I always thought you had to buy 3000 mhz RAM to be able to push them up to 3000 mhz. But then I saw one techtuber (can't remember which one, think it was bitwit) who had G.Skill 2400 mhz RAM which he then OCed to 2933 mhz.

My current system, which I bought second hand, came with 4x4GB DDR4 RAM HyperX rated at 2400 mhz. They have massive heatsinks, and I am now curious to know: can I try to push these over 2400 mhz?

Are the labled speed-ratings just there as an ensurance that you can push them to said speed (like buying a higher tier CPU), and that it is possible, like with the CPUs, to push RAM over their labled speeds?

 

[BaK]

can I try to push these over 2400 mhz?

Yes, but you will probably have to raise the voltage to reach higher frequencies, while labeled RAM are able to run at the mentionned freq at usual voltage setting (1.5V usually).

IMHO you are only looking for trouble o/c the RAM.
You will get higher scores in benchmarks but are you really going to notice anything in real life tasks? I don't think so...

But well, I know it is always fun to get the max out of our components!
With SFF though, higher voltages often means more heat to deal with inside the case.

 

[Mortis Angelus]

Yes, but you will probably have to raise the voltage to reach higher frequencies, while labeled RAM are able to run at the mentionned freq at usual voltage setting (1.5V usually).

IMHO you are only looking for trouble o/c the RAM.
You will get higher scores in benchmarks but are you really going to notice anything in real life tasks? I don't think so...

But well, I know it is always fun to get the max out of our components!
With SFF though, higher voltages often means more heat to deal with inside the case.

Thanks mate for the reply! This is not for my SFF build, but for my ATX tower.

 

[NateDawg72]

Are the labled speed-ratings just there as an ensurance that you can push them to said speed (like buying a higher tier CPU), and that it is possible, like with the CPUs, to push RAM over their labled speeds?

Pretty much it's like "this ram should work at this speed provided you have a motherboard capable of it and a CPU with a IMC (integrated memory controller) that can handle it". For the more tame speeds like <3200 most any CPU can run it, but when you get to high speeds individual variance in the CPU's IMC can affect your ram overclocks, along with Intel & AMD memory controllers having different limits.

Anyway, back to overclocking your ram - it's perfectly safe and shouldn't be too hard provided you have the time to tinker with it. You're going to need to set timings manually of course since you won't have any XMP profiles for higher speeds, and might need to adjust voltage. Since you have DDR2400 you're probably at 1.2v so you have room to tweak. I'd be surprised if it can't do at least 2666mhz.

You'll just need to test it extensively for stability, running a program like Prime95 for awhile, and I'd recommend running MemTest once you're happy with your results to make sure it is stable.

This is what I've done with my ram, since I just have a cheap 8GB DDR4 2666 kit. I was running it at 2933mhz without too much difficulty, but since I switched from a Ryzen 5 1400 to a 2600 I haven't gotten around to setting it up at 2933 again. If you're using Ryzen there is a handy memory calculator available here: http://www.overclock.net/forum/13-a...lator-1-1-0-beta-2-overclocking-dram-am4.html

 

[Duality92]

With DDR4, "stock" or "default" voltage is 1.2v. I wouldn't be scared to run 1.45V all day. Basically, to keep things as simple as possible, you keep auto settings on all timings, raise your frequency multiplier until the system is no longer stable. Then play with tightening your timings until it won't anymore and voilà, OC'd RAM.

edit : TechPowerUp now has a MemTest64, which allows testing of RAM stability like MemTest86, but in the OS itself.

Also, once you're happy with that, play a few games, do a few intensives daily tasks to see if it's stil stable.

 

[Mortis Angelus]

@NateDawg72 @Duality92

Thanks guys! I will surely try these things. I always suspected the labeled speeds were guaranteed speeds and that you could OC lower tier sticks, but was not sure about it.

And I have an Intel based system. 8700K to be specific with Asus Prime A Z370 mobo (if there is anything special to think about there)


EDIT! Hah! Joke's on me! Now, while typing down my specs into my signature, I realized that the previous owner yet again had fucked up the specs of my PC. I apparently have sticks rated at 3000 Mhz out of the box, while he said they are 2400 mhz sticks. I didn't bother to check the box for the RAM when I bought it, as I just believed him.

3000 mhz here I come!!!! Or perhaps I'll dare to go even further?

p.s. I seriously deliberated this PC from a very unworthy previous owner....