downclocking RAM?

Perhaps you guys can help me figure this one out. I ordered my NP8170 with 8gb DDR3 1600 ram and noticed today that the CL = 11. I was expecting CL9 and I probably should have checked into this before spending an extra 40 bucks on slower ram. Is there any way possible to drop the bus speed down to 1333 in effort to achieve a lower CL?

 

You are better off keeping as is.

The 1600 with 11 vs 1333 with 9 you will have no improvement going down to 1333.

The 1600 is actually still a tad faster even with the higher times, heck even the WEI gives it .1 higher

But to answer your question that is not possible to do.

The best you could do is get another 4 or 8GB stick of 1333 and stick it in a free slot and gain even more ram but because it's slower it would down clock the other memory.

Personally I see 12GB as a sweet spot, anything beyond 12 seems to have 0 gain, but hey I went for 16gb anyway and am using 1600. lol

 

Thanks Bryan. Something in my head was telling me that the lower latency would negate the speed loss by dropping the bandwidth. Perhaps I should stop listening to the voices in my head. +1 rep to you!

 

Bandwidth > Timing.

You're actually at a faster state, and as Bryanu put it, there's no need to hassle over changing RAM timings / frequency as the gains are so minimal compared to the risk and hassle.

The thread has served its purpose and will be closed.