memory voltage

[brian983]

hi i have a quick question can you use ram that is 1.65 volts on a z77 motherboard that uses 1.5 volts

 

[WillSK]

You probably can but it's definitely not recommended. If i were you i'd get some new RAM instead that is 1.5 or lower

 

[jamesriley94]

hi i have a quick question can you use ram that is 1.65 volts on a z77 motherboard that uses 1.5 volts

The memory controller on Ivybridge is at 1.5v, so running RAM at 1.65 is thought to be too much for it.
However, there are a fair few users who don't have any problems with it.

If you have it lying around, I'd use it. But if you're buying new, pretty much all the current sets of RAM are 1.5v (unless they're ridiculous speeds) so just go for 1866/2133mhz 1.5v RAM.

 

[Mathius]

Something to note, I'd check your motherboard's Memory supported list (the QVL) first...

I didnt and now I have Corsair XMS3 1600mhz RAM that runs at 1333mhz, and will not boot if I run it at 1600mhz as its not on the QVL list...

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From what I gather most motherboards can handle a slight overvolt above the 1.5v so if you are worried and already have the RAM, use it but boot into Bios and manually set the RAM voltage to 1.5 (might need to downclock the ram speed though)

 

[Master&Puppet]

For 24/7 use 1.57v is about the not-at-all risky level. There are plenty of people who put 1.65v RAM into Ivy/Sandy but that's a pretty poor idea given that there is a good of selection of 1.5v out there now.