Still running Nehalem or Westmere? Maybe it is time for a memory upgrade

Subject: Memory | December 13, 2011 - 01:23 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: nehalem, westmere, lga 1366, ddr3, ddr3-2133

If you are running a triple channel motherboard you could consider an upgrade to your memory, thanks to the reduced demand for triple channel kits as well as the general lowering of RAM prices.  Crucial's Ballistix DDR3-2133 6GB kit recently hit Techware Labs review desk, though it does not yet seem to be for sale.  Their testing was only partially successful, the MSI Big Bang XPOWER motherboard they used was only able to push these DIMMs to 1866MHz @ 9-10-9-28.  Some motherboards might be able to get these DIMMs to 2000MHz+, but even if yours cannot manage it you may be able to tighten the timings.  While buying a triple channel kit seems odd for a SandyBridge system, that will be the only way you can full expect to reach the advertised speeds.

"The price of DDR3 has fallen rapidly lately, making it much more affordable to populate all of your RAM slots. Crucial introduces their new DDR3 2133 MHz Ballistix RAM in a triple channel kit. Find out if you should be using this with your i7