ddr3 1333mhz in 1066mhz slot, any advantages? (x120e)

Hi All,

I am looking at buying a x120e, I of course am not going to pay 80 dollars to upgrade to 4gb when 8gb costs 80 on Newegg. Is there any advantage to running 1333mhz ram, which they spec, in a 1066mhz slot? It is just like my m11x which came with 1066mhz ram in an 800mhz slot, whats the reason?

 

nope, it will automatically down-speed and run at 1066.


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That's what I figured, why do companies spec like this? I guess I can understand the m11x more so because it is factory overclockable, under warranty.

 

while technically the memory can down speed, there may be issues in reality.

I had an old core duo system that spec for 533 DDR2. I tried combination of 667 + 800 and it can randomly BSOD on resume from sleep. Then I tried 2x667 which is more stable yet for some reasons, I see fewer usable memory(could be due to the ATI 1250 which is a shared memory GPU). Finally, switch back to 2x533 and I have a stable system and 3.2GB usable memory(what it should be).

 

In reality faster memory is not noticeable in real world use. Only really in synthetic benchmarks and rendering will you see maybe seconds shaved off. Sometimes manufacturers just put in higher rated RAM as they buy mass quantities at once.

 

There we go, that makes sense, well I will save a few dollars and get a 2x4gb 1066mhz set. One more queston, if I were to purchase a 1066mhz 2gb stick to put in with the stock 1333mhz 2gb stick, would this cause any problems?

 

Generally should be no problems, but occasionally mixed memory doesn't play nice.

 

So instead buy a 4gb stick for 40, if they don't work at least I have 4gb till i get another

 

there is certainly no speed advantage in doing such thing.

 

x120e only take advantage of single channel dimm, so there is no benefit in matching pair of dimm.

 

There are absolutely no problems to be expected from using a faster RAM!! I am doing it myself! The only advantage however is that it can be later transferred to a new PC that would use it as 1333 or can be resold easier.

That's why I bought faster myself too. Running it together with the a slower module - absolutely no issues.

 

Did you actually read any of the other posts? Don't speak in absolutes.

 

Don't see how any of those contradict what I wrote?

If one person has problems that can be due to many things - defective MB, defective RAM module, etc.

In general - RAMs are clocked down without any problems.

I've had different RAM modules on my previous laptops as well and never had a single issue.

So what is it that bothers you in my post?I'm sharing my opinion the same way you are! It might be slightly different, yes, but so what? Or do we all have to have the same one?