DDR3L is generally used with Intel 4 th and 5 th generation processors and AMD FX series CPUs. In DDR3 SoDIMM “PC3L” is written on the JEDEC compliant text (Sticker on the RAM module) for identification purpose and in normal DDR3 memory the text written is “PC3” only. DDR3L memory is also backward compatible with DDR3 which means you can run DDR3L memory on a system or motherboard that uses or requires traditional or normal DDR3 RAM. DDR3L memory can run on both 1.5V and 1.35V, which means it can run on both low and high voltages. What is DDR3L Memory?ĭDR3L or DDR3-Low Voltage RAM is a high speed computer memory that has same pins and size that of a normal DDR3 RAM but it is dual voltage memory. DDR3 RAM is not compatible with systems that specifically require 1.35V memory for their working. Some even faster DDR3 memories exist but they are very expensive and are not that much popular. Generally the speed of a DDR3 Memory ranges from 1066MHz to 2133MHz. It is the successor of DDR2 memory and the primary benefits of DDR3 memory over DDR2 one is faster speed / frequency & bandwidth, needs lower voltage and generates lesser heat. Normal DDR3 or DDR3 RAM is a high speed single voltage computer memory that runs on 1.5V (volt). DDR3 memory can be classified into two types: Both of these will offer more improvement.DDR3 and DDR3L are high performance RAM used with latest motherboards and processors. Instead focus on your drive If you haven’t already done it going to a SSHD hybrid drive or better yet a good high speed SSD. So don’t spend extra for the few nano seconds of improvement.Ĭonsider going with more than 8 GB of RAM I would go with 16 GB if you want better performance working on large items or running multiple apps concurrently. You can use the faster RAM, but, you really won’t see a sizable difference. Your MacBook was designed for PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM, its best to stick with what Apple expects. But thats only the modules ability not what the system is running its memory bus speed at. This is the speed of the RAM Clearly DDR3-1600 is able to run faster than DDR-1333. PC3L RAM will work in a PC3 based system as it will run at the standard voltage and will inter-operate with PC3 RAM within the system.ġ2800 MB/s (DDR3-1600) Vs 10600 MB/s (DDR3-1333) PC3 is standard voltage (1.50V) where PC3L is low voltage (1.35V) - A system which requires PC3L cannot support PC3 RAM.

Lets breakdown the different elements in the modules description:

Memory pc3 vs pc3l