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What effect does using 3000MHz DDR4 RAM have on an i7-6700k?

MWolf7
Beginner
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My setup:

Processor: Intel Core I7-6700K @ 4GHz

Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H90

Motherboard: MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition

RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB DDR4 24000 (CMD16GX4M2B3000C15)

PSU: Corsair HX850 850W 80PLUS

GPU: MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G LE

Sound: SB Recon3D Fatal1ty Pro

Optical: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE

HDD0: OCZ Trion 150 SSD

HDD1: WD Velociraptor 300

HDD2: WD Raptor 150

HDD3: Seagate 1TB

HDD4: Seagate 1TB

OS: Windows 10 Pro 1607

Case: Thermaltake Level 10 GT (AWESOME!!!)

When I built this setup end of 12/2016, I really wasn't planning on overclocking. I just like to buy higher end hardware for proper and solid operation. However, I started having clock_watchdog_timeouts BSODs and freezing happening, about 5 months of solid PC use. I noticed a high amount of WHEA-logger Event ID 19 errors in the System Event log related to APIC ID 4 and 5.

Something to note, I don't generally hard boot my computer. I generally only use soft boots for system sluggishness and odd issues, driver updates, etc. My computer stays on, all the time.

So, I started doing doing some investigating and found that it could be core 4 and 5 failing.

Long story short. RMA'd the processor and I'm back up and running. Did a Prime95 stress test overnight and system is working properly now.

 

Since the processor only has a 2,133MHz memory controller, what is the effect of running RAM at 3,000MHz on that processor/memory controller? Should I overclock/upvolt the processor for reliability? Should I just run the RAM at 2,133MHz?

Suggestions/Comments welcome.

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idata
Employee
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Hello sniperdoc,

 

 

Thank you for contacting the Intel community.

 

 

In this case, please bear in mind that Intel does not support overclocking; the support we provide is under the processor specifications. Running the RAM at 3000MHz will be under your own risk if you are interested in doing so, please be aware that your processor will fail sooner or later even though the processor is unlock and can be overclocked.

 

 

Now, if you overclock this processor the warranty will be void but you can purchase the https://click.intel.com/tuningplan/purchase-a-plan Intel® Tuning Protection Plan. The Performance Tuning Protection Plan is an additional plan that a customer can purchase to cover processor failures caused by operating the eligible processor outside of Intel's published http://ark.intel.com/products/88195/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz specifications. You can read https://click.intel.com/tuningplan/faq FAQ.

 

 

If you need assistance overclocking your system, you can get assistance at the following link:

 

http://www.overclock.net/f/5/intel-cpus http://www.overclock.net/f/5/intel-cpus

 

NOTE: This link is being offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel of the content, products, or services offered there.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

 

Ivan.

 

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MWolf7
Beginner
1,765 Views

Thank you for that information. I guess I was looking for answers to my questions. But, I appreciate the warranty info. I'll take my questions elsewhere.

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idata
Employee
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Hello sniperdoc,

 

 

I sorry, to answer your questions:

 

 

What is the effect of running RAM at 3,000MHz on that processor/memory controller?

 

The effect will be better performance and more speed especially when playing games. For how long? It is hard to tell since it is running out the processor specs. This also depend on your motherboard manufacturer if it supports this frequency.

 

 

Should I overclock/upvolt the processor for reliability?

 

If you overclock/upvolt the processor I'm sure it will have reliability but since it is running out of the processor specs it will start failing at some point, you will experience overheating issues and BSOD when overclock, perhaps not at the beginning but it will start happening sooner or later.

 

 

Should I just run the RAM at 2,133MHz?

 

For reliability and to get better support and a stable system I suggest you to run it either at 2133 MHz or 2400 MHz.

 

 

 

I hope that can help.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

Ivan U.

 

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MWolf7
Beginner
1,765 Views

Thanks for the reply. My assumption was even though the memory controller was rated for 2,133MHz, that it shouldn't be overheating that much, since I'm not adding any extra voltage.

Thanks again.

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idata
Employee
1,765 Views

Yes, that's right, the temperature TCASE should be below 64°C or at least at that temperature depending on the system load.

 

You can also check for this processor specs here:

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/88195/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz?q=%20i7-6700k http://ark.intel.com/products/88195/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz?q=%20i7-6700k

 

 

Please let me know if you need anything else regarding this matter and I will be more then glad to assist you.

 

 

 

Best wishes,

 

 

 

Ivan U.

 

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