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September 17th, 2024 00:01
XPS 8960, Kingston 5600 MT/s running at 4800 MT/s
i have installed 5600 MT/s memory as the specifications I saw before buying the machine. however, when I pull up the BIOS, it reads as 4800 MT/s.. I have checked Kingston’s website and checked the numbers and it is correctly 5600, the speed I saw on Amazon. There seems to be no option anywhere like in some of the bios settings like “enable”, etc. Does anyone have the same problem?
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RoHe
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September 17th, 2024 00:20
There's a note in the XPS 8960 specs saying:
"NOTE: 5600 MT/s memory is only available on computers with Intel Core 14th Gen processors. " <emphasis added>
So if you have a 13th Gen CPU, 5600 MT/s RAM will clock down and can only run at 4800.
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Tom_XPS_owner
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September 17th, 2024 05:54
@RoHe HI, thanks again so much for your help! I actually do have a 14900K. Is it possible that I got 4800 speed motherboard because I asked for a barebones system with only 8 GB memory and 512 GB SSD?
I mean, its not mission critical to have the higher speed, but if there was a way to get it, it would be a plus.
Thanks
RoHe
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September 17th, 2024 16:05
Need more info... Is 8 GB the total RAM installed? Or are you mixing 8 GB of Dell OEM RAM with 8 GB of (retail) Kingston RAM?
If you're mixing OEM and retail RAM, they may not be totally compatible so they may clock down to a speed they both can agree on...
Another possibility is if you're mixing OEM RAM that's 4800 with 8 GB Kingston that's 5600, they can only run at the speed of the slowest RAM.
I would doubt there's a difference in the motherboards. The max RAM speed appears to be determined by the CPU, based on the note in the specs.
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RoHe
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September 22nd, 2024 01:14
@mikehood1 - The 12% increase doesn't necessarily mean the RAM is running at 5600.
The RAM is likely now running in dual channel mode which is faster and more efficient than single channel mode. That could account for the increase you see without an actual increase to 5600.
You need 2 matching RAM modules to run in dual channel mode, while a single module, even one from the same pair, can only run in the slower and less efficient single channel mode.
AFAIK, XPS 8960 doesn't support XMP (no XMP options in BIOS setup). So just because the RAM is listed as XMP 5600 by CPU-Z doesn't mean you can get that speed in a system that doesn't support XMP. What DRAM Frequency is CPU-Z showing on its Memory tab with the pair installed? That can settle the issue...
I'd believe what BIOS and Windows are telling you abut RAM speed. And a quick query to Kingston Support might clarify things for you...
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Tom_XPS_owner
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September 22nd, 2024 13:51
Hi everyone, thank you for all your insights. It will be a good base on which to do research. Just wanted to clarify, the new KIngston RAM modules came together in the same package and are equal in memory if you are still puzzled by this question I raised.
I just wanted to thank everyone for their knowledge and experience. I am truly impressed by all that you know. I have a long way to go when it comes to pc hardware and thanks for the starting base!
RoHe
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September 22nd, 2024 18:32
Yes, you have to double the DRAM Frequency shown by CPU-Z. So if it shows ~2400, the RAM is running at ~4800. XPS 8960 doesn't support XMP, so fastest "XMP 5600" RAM can run is 4800.
And if CPU-Z says Channel # = 4x 32-bit, it's running in dual channel mode. If it were running in single channel mode, CPU-Z would show 2x 32-bit.
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