I have a Gigabyte ga-z170-hd3p motherboard (i7 6700K processor) with an with a maximum rated ram speed of 3400 mhz. But I can get a much much better price on 3600 memory. In another forum I was told that it could throttle back the 3600 to well below 3400. Any truth to that? I understand that the 3600 won't run any faster than the 3400 but are there any drawbacks.
Thanks
Hi,
Your GA-Z170-HD3P supports up to 3466MHZ DDR4 RAM so getting 3600MHz RAM would be a waste of money and won't run at those speeds. It could also cause compatibility problems.
Yeah, the tweak artists (overclockers) will say you could overclock it past the XMP settings of 3466, but that's easier said than done. The short of it is you'd be better off sticking with the supported RAM speeds.
BTW I'm running 3600MHz on my build listed in my system specs (system one) but my Gigabyte Z390 supports those speeds.
Good luck.
If you wish to play it safe, use RAM from the QVL (qualified vendors list) for the board.
If you buy PC3600 RAM, I have no idea whether the board will accept XMP settings above 3466MHz. If not, you may be able to manually set the frequency and timings to get it to run. Maybe at PC3466 or 3400. Or not.
Above all, accept no one's advice as gospel. Including mine.
I would say you can use the DDR4 3600 RAM at 3466MHz or below.
Just to remember, the DDR4 memory base clock is normally 2400 MHz and above this is a certified overclock.
You will only change the multiplier from 36 to 34.66.
You may have to set the parameters manually. If so, use the 3600 parameters (voltage and timings), only changing the multiplier.
I haven't played with those settings for a while, but at least on my AMD X570 motherboard, the RAM frequency isn't set like the CPU frequency. (No base X multiplier.)
The DDR4 frequency setting may be half the nominal for the RAM. (DDR is read twice per clock.)
Aside from those details, the advice looks sound.
With XMP certified RAM and a board supporting such RAM, all you need to do is enable the XMP settings in the BIOS and the RAM will be run at its certified (overclocked) speed rating. Simple. Done. It's what both my systems in my system specs are doing without issue.
However.... since the OP is intending to run modules above the board's supported XMP speed rating, yeah, they may have to with manual settings. Not sure though as I've never done with the OP is intending on doing.
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