ADATA XPG V1.0 Low Voltage Review: 2x8 GB at DDR3L-1600 9-11-9 1.35 V
by Ian Cutress on December 6, 2013 2:00 PM ESTOverclocking Results
When it comes to memory overclocking, there are several ways to approach the issue. Typically memory overclocking is rarely required - only those attempting to run benchmarks need worry about pushing the memory to its uppermost limits. It also depends highly on the memory kits being used - memory is similar to processors in the fact that the ICs are binned to a rated speed. The higher the bin, the better the speed - however if there is a demand for lower speed memory, then the higher bin parts may be declocked to increase supply of the lower clocked component. Similarly, for the high end frequency kits, less than 1% of all ICs tested may actually hit the speed of the kit, hence the price for these kits increase exponentially.
With this in mind, there are several ways a user can approach overclocking memory. The art of overclocking memory can be as complex or as simple as the user would like - typically the dark side of memory overclocking requires deep in-depth knowledge of how memory works at a fundamental level. For the purposes of this review, we are taking overclocking in three different scenarios:
a) From XMP, adjust Command Rate from 2T to 1T
b) From XMP, increase Memory Speed strap (e.g. 1333 MHz -> 1400 -> 1600)
c) From XMP, test a range of sub-timings (e.g. 10-12-12 to 13-15-15 to 8-10-10) and find the best MHz theses are rated.
There is plenty of scope to overclock beyond this, such as adjusting voltages or the voltage of the memory controller – for the purposes of this test we raise the memory voltage to the ‘next stage’ above its rated voltage (1.35V to 1.5V, 1.5V to 1.65V, 1.65V to 1.72V). As long as a user is confident with adjusting these settings, then there is a good chance that the results here will be surpassed. There is also the fact that individual sticks of memory may perform better than the rest of the kit, or that one of the modules could be a complete dud and hold the rest of the kit back. For the purpose of this review we are seeing if the memory out of the box, and the performance of the kit as a whole, will work faster at the rated voltage.
In order to ensure that the kit is stable at the new speed, we run the Linpack test within OCCT for five minutes as well as the PovRay benchmark. This is a small but thorough test, and we understand that users may wish to stability test for longer to reassure themselves of a longer element of stability. However for the purposes of throughput, a five minute test will catch immediate errors from the overclocking of the memory.
With this in mind, the kit performed as follows:
Test | PovRay | OCCT |
XMP | 1603.85 | 76C |
---|---|---|
XMP, 2T to 1T | Already 1T | Already 1T |
1800 9-11-9 | 1598.21 | 76C |
1866 9-11-9 | 1593.88 | 76C |
2000 9-11-9 | No POST | No POST |
Off the bat our 1600 kit will jump to 1866 MHz in its stride, but 2000 at the same timings is a no-go.
Subtimings | Peak MHz | PovRay | OCCT | Final PI |
7-9-7 | 1400 | 1613.60 | 77C | 200 |
---|---|---|---|---|
8-10-8 | 1600 | 1610.20 | 77C | 200 |
9-11-9 | 1866 | 1623.81 | 78C | 207 |
10-12-10 | 2000 | 1596.91 | 78C | 200 |
11-13-11 | 2133 | 1620.29 | 78C | 194 |
12-14-12 | 2200 | 1619.96 | 77C | 183 |
13-15-13 | 2200 | 1609.89 | 77C | 169 |
A base-line PI of 200 is a good result (1400 C7 through 2000 C10), showing that there is some headroom from the basic settings of around 10%.
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MrSpadge - Sunday, December 8, 2013 - link
> Does low voltage ram avoid this?Nope. It's actually the signal quality and not the power draw which causes them to downclock. I've got a X79 build with 8x8 GB where I simply set XMP at stock frequency (1600 or 1866) and it works without problems. I think it's the same as overclocking memory and controller: Intel doesn't want to validate this, but this doesn't mean it would not work.
BlueReason - Saturday, December 7, 2013 - link
Do you ever look at all the charts full of near-identical sized bars and ask yourself just how worthwhile these RAM reviews are?ShieTar - Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - link
Well, some RAM testing is fundamentally important, in order to understand how much impact there is with current CPUs, RAM, Software, etc.What may be less useful is posting a full article that shows just how little impact there is right now, and then following it up with a steady stream of single RAM tests that only keep on reporting the same conclusion over and over.
cjs150 - Monday, December 9, 2013 - link
I use low profile/low voltage samsung green for my HTPC (which is fanless). Lower voltage = less heat which is obviously beneficial in a fanless computer. The fact that the samsungs were the same price as a good name standard ram meant the decision was very simple.If not going fanless then I would still go for the samsungs where memory height was an issue for a big CPU cooler.
Low voltage is a niche
blackie333 - Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - link
A have a brand new Haswell build with 4670K, Asus Z87-Pro and G.Skill 2400C10 memory. I was quite surprised that in idle mode G.Skill@2400Mhz is consuming much more energy(10Watts) than CPU cores (1-5 watts).Is there any bios setting (except setting DRAM frequency manually too low) to make memory be more effective in idle state(s)? Thank you in advance for advice