Is faster RAM really worth it, real-world?

[WWSandMan]

S! I'm looking to wring the last final measure out of my motherboard/processor combo (Asus P8Z68-V, Intel i7-2700k o/c to 4.25 ghz using air cooling, two 1TB SSD's on 6gb/s SATA for main apps and OS, two 4TB HDD on 3 gb/s SATA, and various other stuff.)

The final building block is my RAM. I'm currently using four 4gGB Corsair PC3 1333 running at 842mhz, not overclocked manually at all, the BIOS may have done a little since that speed doesn't match precisely with listed speeds I've found. Since I intend to push this thing a little, I wanted to get more, and faster, RAM. So I've got four Kingston HyperX PC3 1886 8GB modules coming. Timing seems a little faster than the older Corsair sticks, but as I've said, I've never o/c'd the RAM manually... 

What bothers me is how slow my current RAM seems to be, compared to what it should be. And will the newer RAM, other than being double the capacity, have any noticeable impact on apps or games? I'll find out tomorrow when the box arrives. Would love to hear thoughts on overclocking RAM. 

[WWSittingduck]

does not appear to be xmp enabled, so think you would be looking at fiddling with BCLK frequency and Memory Frequency.

Personally, I would leave it alone........lol....

my impression of memory these days (which could be entirely wrong) is it is no way near as important as it used to be.....timing wise

 

[WWSandMan]

My motherboard does have XMP enabled, ver 1.3 I think (eight or nine years old, so ... ) and I know the Corsair RAM is XMP. The HyperX (Kingston rebranded) is not XMP, but JEDEC or something... which my motherboard also supports (it's one of the options in BIOS for RAM setup.) I'm not looking forward to futzing with RAM timings individually. I want the dang stuff to automagically do it's best and stay that way. Too much to hope for?? 

[WWGriphos]

I think having more memory matters, memory speed makes very little difference. 

[WWScreamer]

Yep what Griph said speed is almost un Noticable but Total Ram 16-32 or 32-64 is Very Noticeable.. The main Bottle Necks are CPU and GPU rest really don't Mean Squat!!!

 

[WWSandMan]

Well, new RAM is installed. And yes, there seems to be a noticeable improvement in how fast apps open, page transitions, etc. Some of that might be the extra nudge I gave to the CPU (now at 4.6ghz). But I'm feeling really good about the 32gb of RAM ... I saw in a couple different apps (PhotoShop primarily) that I had gone over the previous 16gb max, so yes, that was a bottleneck. The CPU is now the main drawback. Even over-clocked from 3.4 stock to 4.6, it's still a nine-year old (or more) processor. In computer terms that's like a 200 year old museum piece. My sense of devotion is too strong though... I think I'd rather work it to a glorious death than retire it prematurely.

Here's the hardware run-down...

• Thermaltake mid-tower case
• Asus P8Z68-V motherboard
• Intel i7 2600k (LGA 1155 <"Sandy Bridge"> ) (stock at 3.4ghz, overclocked to 4.6ghz, on air cooling)
• Noctua NH-D14 CPU air cooler
• 32gb Kingston HyperX Fury PC1866 DDR3 dual channel running at 970mhz, timing: 10-11-10-29
• Storage: 3x Crucial 2.5" SSD's (two @ 1tb/ea <Win10 Pro OS on one; IL2, P3D and FS2020 on the other>, one @ 512gb), 1 1.5tb HDD, 1 4tb HDD (a second one died along with a Marvel SATA controller card, dammit!)
• EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 video card, 8gb GDDR5 VRAM, core clock at 139mhz, mem clock at 405mhz
• Planar PX2710 main display (27" 1920x1080); Dell 2007 WFP  (20" 1680x1050) secondary display (these both suck, looking hard at a 32" curved 4K monitor)
• Add-in cards include: 1) 6-port USB 3.0 (4 external, 2 internal) 2) Xonar DG audio card (crappy on board sound disabled via BIOS) 3) Wireless network receiver card at 5ghz band
• Anker 10-port USB 3.0 external hub
• Logitech G613 wireless keyboard, G603 wireless mouse
• HyperX Cloud Orbit headphones/boom mic (utilizes Audeze planar magnetic drivers ... the sound is effing incredible!)
• Bose desktop speakers
• Track-IR 5 with track-clip pro
• ThrustMaster WartHog HOTAS system (dual throttle and A-10 style stick)
• ThrustMaster F16 MFD system (two MFD's)
• CH Products Pro Rudders (can't kill'em, and I've tried!)

[WWDubya]

Man, those Sandy Bridges really were/are a bargain work-horse. Best CPU series ever. Very happy you are able to still get good performance from yours. 

New display... I'd look real hard at getting the largest and fastest monitor available in your budget, even though it might not be at 4K. 2k would be completely serviceable at 34" x true 144mhz. 144mhz (regardless if non-Gsynch) speed is really noticeable regarding lack of ghosting -there is still some, but not near as bad as 60mhz)