Intel says Skylake does not support DDR3

Earlier this year we got the first detailed information on the then upcoming Intel Skylake CPU generation, which said the new chips would not support DDR3 memory; instead they would support only DDR3L or DDR4 memory. This was bad news for owners of regular desktop DDR3 memory but a bit later after the launch of Skylake various motherboards with DDR3 memory slots popped up, allowing users of DDR3 to jump onto the Skylake wagon without purchasing new memory. Everyone was happy then but was all this for real?

Apparently not – Intel has officially confirmed that Skylake does not support regular desktop DDR3 memory that runs at 1.5V or 1.65V. Instead, as said before, the new chip needs DDR3L memory that works at 1.35V or DDR4 memory that works at 1.2V. You can still use Skylake with regular DDR3 at 1.5V or higher but Intel says that the chip’s integrated memory controller may become damaged with time passing by. In addition there are problems with DDR4 as well – Skylake’s memory controller supports DDR4 at up to 4133 MHz and not higher because using faster memory may lead to CPU instability. This means that hardware enthusiasts should not get DDR4 memory sticks that run faster than 4133 MHz since this will be a waste of money.

Intel has also said that the next CPU generation, codenamed Kaby Lake, will support DDR4 speeds of above 4133 MHz. The new chip is expected to arrive in the year 2016-2017 timeframe.

Source: Tom’s Hardware Guide