MOBO and CPU RAM Compatibility

Hello,

I've got an i7 4790K and the Asus VII Maximus Hero Mobo. And I'm planning on getting this Corsair ram kit: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengean…6gx3m2a2133c11

And I find myself in a pickle.
The i7 4790K I have mentions it is compatible with ram with frequencies up to 1600 Mhz. So what gives? Which is the restriction? the CPU or the MOBO. The Mobo should support that ram kit, but I'm not sure about the CPU.

Thanks

Who told you that CPU can't work with RAM above 1600? They lied.

It'll work with anything. You'll probably have to enable RAM's higer speed in BIOS though.
If it doesn't work flawlessly, and there is no reason it shouldn't, the culprit is the motherboard and then you'll check if there is a BIOS update or contact the manufacturer support which in this case would be ASUS.

QVL
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/…581.1430745166

Memory speed is not a factor in cpu choice.

Originally Posted by joxer
Who told you that CPU can't work with RAM above 1600? They lied.

It'll work with anything. You'll probably have to enable RAM's higer speed in BIOS though.

Not CPUs in general, but the i7 4790K.
The official sheet says: http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/…up-to-4_40-GHz

Memory Types DDR3 and DDR3L 1333/1600 at 1.5V

Does this mean I'll have to increase the voltage for something at 2133?

Originally Posted by Drithius
QVL
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/…581.1430745166

Hmm, I don't see the CMY16GX3M2A2133C11 in there. So does that mean, that's a no? It won't work with that memory kit?

It likely will. Just hasn't been tested.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Not CPUs in general, but the i7 4790K.
The official sheet says: http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/…up-to-4_40-GHz

Memory Types DDR3 and DDR3L 1333/1600 at 1.5V

Does this mean I'll have to increase the voltage for something at 2133?

I ment that particular CPU, not CPUs in general.
Bad wording from my side… Sorry.

In any case that CPU IIRC will theoretically work even with 3200Mhz RAM.
All you'll do is enable XMP on your MoBo - that ASUS model has it. You don't need to increase anything, add wires or go engineering, just a setting in BIOS will do the trick.

Have to warn you that the performance gain will be generally irrelevant.
I'd keep good old 1600 and invest the cash in SSD or 9x GPU. Reasons? Unoptimized loadtimes/loadscreens recently and unoptimized CPUcores/graphics.

Originally Posted by joxer
I ment that particular CPU, not CPUs in general.
Bad wording from my side… Sorry.

In any case that CPU IIRC will theoretically work even with 3200Mhz RAM.
All you'll do is enable XMP on your MoBo - that ASUS model has it. You don't need to increase anything, add wires or go engineering, just a setting in BIOS will do the trick.

Have to warn you that the performance gain will be generally irrelevant.
I'd keep good old 1600 and invest the cash in SSD or 9x GPU. Reasons? Unoptimized loadtimes/loadscreens recently and unoptimized CPUcores/graphics.

Yeah, I initially was thinking about a 2133 one, but I went for the 1866 version instead. I know improvement is not really significant with RAM frequencies.

This is what I bought roughly 1 1/2 years back (I own the same board). Surprised it's still available - testament to quality GSkill Ripjaws 2133MHz

Originally Posted by Drithius
This is what I bought roughly 1 1/2 years back (I own the same board). Surprised it's still available - testament to quality GSkill Ripjaws 2133MHz

Hmm, question. Is it more performant to have 4x4 GB DIMMs or 8x2?

You will sometimes need to lower RAM timings if you have more DIMM slots filled. But that is where the QVL comes into play.

Trust me, there's no connection between RAM speed and CPU compatibility.

I've got the i7-4790K, and I'm using 2400 Mhz RAM. Here's the exact RAM set I've got.

And yeah… always go with less DIMMs if you can. It lessens the chances of getting a bad stick.