What Is The Safe Voltage Range For DDR4 Memory Overclocking?

By Nathan Kirsch

DDR4 memory is very new and we haven’t been told by anyone what the safe range is for DDR4 memory, which is a bit strange if you think about it. One of the key features of DDR4 memory is that the supply voltage has been reduced to just 1.2 Volts, providing a 20% improvement over DDR3 kits that run at 1.5V. JEDEC committee members told us that voltage reduction is an important prerequisite for limiting power consumption and heat generation due to the increase in bandwidth.

In recent weeks we have received kits that are running Intel XMP 2.0 memory profiles at 1.35V and 1.50V, which are both above the the ‘standard’ according to the JEDEC board. We also had one Intel X99 motherboard and Intel Core i7-5960X processor die an untimely death, so we were really curious if the higher than standard voltages played a roll in that situation. Legit Reviews contacted Intel about the safe voltage range on DDR4 memory and we received this response.

“1.5v is the absolute max we allow for XMP certifications. However, good DDR4 memory will run at 1.35v up to 3200. Technically, no “safe” (guaranteed) OC over-voltage but 1.35v or lower is best.” – Intel

So, it sounds like Intel suggests a memory kit that uses 1.35V or less and that 1.5V is the absolute max for Intel XMP 2.0 certifications. This is useful information for the community and we pretty sure that we weren’t the only ones that were curious how much power you could throw at the memory kit before the memory controller on the processor would being to get angry. The memory controller in Haswell-E is the same one used on Xeon processors, so it can technically support both DDR3 and DDR4 memory. DDR3 memory operates at 1.5V, so running 1.5V on Haswell-E shouldn’t be a big deal, but we all know that lower voltages are better.

  • 1.2V or lower = Best for DDR4
  • 1.35V = okay voltage for overclocking kits
  • 1.5V =absolute max voltage allowed for Intel XMP 2.0 profiles and max suggested voltage

Now you know what the save voltage range is for DDR4 memory!

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