1333 ram running at 1066

[ElementBilly]

Just built my first system using a Gigabyte x58-usb3 mobo. I'm using 6g of ram from my old Alienware system which is rated at 1333. In the bios it shows its running at 1066. I have no experience overclocking of any type. Is there an easy way to increase the speed of the ram, or will I not even see a difference in 1066 vs 1333. I know the ram is made by Samsung and i have an i7 960 CPU. CPU-Z shows FSB at 2:8

 

[DesertCat]

Should be able to tweak that easily in the BIOS by just adjusting the memory settings (no other overclocking necessary). If your memory has the XMP profile, you can often just designate that in the BIOS all of the necessary adjustments will be made. Would have to delve into the owner's manual and BIOS settings to tell you much more.

 

[ElementBilly]

after looking through my mobo manual i see it has an xmp profile. it has the options of standard turbo(default) and extreme. so if i set to extreme would it increase the speed. I just don't want to damage anything.

 

[DesertCat]

Well the XMP profile is put on there by the maker of the memory stick. The motherboard just reads the info from the stick and does the adjustments based on what the memory maker says is ok. There really isn't any risk with that.

Even if you were just manually bumping up the memory, about the worst that is going to happen at 1333 MHz and voltages at 1.65V or below is that the system would be unstable and crash. You could then just go into the BIOS and set things a bit lower. A more aggressive attempt at overclocking might cause a system lock and force a person to reset their CMOS (essentially resetting the BIOS back to factory defaults). That procedure is covered in your motherboard manual as well.