Uncertain about your CPU's memory speed? It's a common question!
Uncertain about your CPU's memory speed? It's a common question!
I possess an i5-9600K and was considering a RAM upgrade. When checking my CPU, I noticed only one memory speed mentioned as supported. It states my processor only allows 2666Mhz, but does this imply I can't use faster RAM? My motherboard supports any speed and is overclockable. You can observe the listed speed in the accompanying image. This information comes from Intel's official site, and other sources confirm it.
This refers only to the fundamental frequency, indicating anything above it could be considered an overclock for the imc and isn't assured to function. That's confusing! This information is clearly incorrect and appears to be misinformation. Edited August 30, 2020 by TofuHaroto
I possess the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 board, which includes memory speed options in its specs, covering overclocking rates and my CPU (i5-9600K) supports 2666MHz. Does this address your query? Since I'm not completely clear on what you asked, I currently have XMP enabled, but it only sets the memory to run at 2666MHz as intended. In factory mode, it defaults to 2133Mhz.
Generally anything above 2666MHZ is considered overclocked according to Tofu, though most 9000 series chips can handle a single rank setup above 3200 without issues. Running them outside those limits isn’t guaranteed to work unless you explicitly inform the manufacturer. Essentially, any listed spec means it’s officially supported, but performance beyond that won’t be assured.
If you're not among those who struggle to keep up with stock speed, those situations are pretty uncommon. The performance gap isn't really worth the cost of buying faster dimmers, honestly.