Summer 2012 MBP 13" - Memory Upgrade Running Slower Than Stock

Hello all,

I've recently purchased the 13" MBP that was recently refreshed (Ivy Bridge i5 and 4GB Ram @ 1600MHz) I've since bought a kit of memory from NewEgg (Here's the link Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX) which has the same specifications as the stock memory, except that it's an 8GB 2DIMM kit. When I swapped the memory in, the notebook booted fine, but the memory is running at 1333 MHz. Is there anything that I have done wrong? Something incompatible with the kit? Processor?

Currently, I'm not sure why the memory is running slower, but ideally I would like it to run at 1600 MHz, since that's why I paid more instead of buying cheaper 1333 MHz memory.

Thanks for your suggestions,

-Artem

 

it could be the xmp profiles

 

How would I be able to determine the XMP profiles on the stock RAM? Swap them into a Windows Notebook and Thaiphoon burner? Then use Thaiphoon burner to write the same profiles into the new RAM? Is this even possible?

What are the tangible benefits of having the memory run ~300MHz Faster?

 

I seem to have stumbled upon someone who has had this issue with an earlier edition MBP. The full thread can be found here: memory - How do I flash my RAM's SPD to make it work with a MacBook Pro? - Super User Taken from that thread:

 

dunno why people buy stuff like that... its just normal RAM really. Kingston isn't usually all that great, HyperX or not.

You could have just gone to Crucial and gotten ram specifically made for and guaranteed to work in your machine... there 4GB X2 stick kit for that machine is listed as $51.99 with free 2 day shipping.
Computer memory upgrades for Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch and 15-inch, Mid 2012) Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com... cheaper than the kingston stuff

 

It was my oversight on buying the wrong RAM(Should have read all of the pages of reviews for that particular Hyper X memory) People did point out that its actually 1333 MHz timings, unless, your PC supports custom profiles. Oh well, what's done is done, I'll try re-flashing the RAM and seeing if I can get it working. If not, I won't even bother trying to RMA the RAM and just run it at 1333MHz. I'll try to have fun trying to flash the RAM and will let you guys know how it goes.

 

it says 1600... if its not, then Newegg will return it. Part of the return policy that lets any restocking fee be waived is... "Product does not match advertising." Well I'd say if it says 1600, but cannot do it, then it doesn't match the advertising. Newegg has always been really good with me when I need to exchange or return something.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

 

Just wanted to update the thread. After I came home tonight, I was able to successfully flash the RAM modules to run in 1600 MHz (I checked the stable timings in the document for 1600 MHz were 9-9-9-29 and used Thaiphoon Burner to adjust the timings to fit this arrangement) Since Thaiphoon burner is only supported on Windows, I first had to get my Boot Camp installation up and running, once this was done, and I had reflashed the modules, I performed SMC reset (By holding Left Shift + Option + Command + Power button) and started the laptop. Checked the memory speed in System Utilities -> System Info and sure enough, both of the modules were running at 1600 MHz.

Thanks to all.