could you elaborate for those of us not knowing what difference this makes?
I'm curious to hear Blain's take on this, but i'll answer why i don't fully agree.
1.5v = JEDEC's official voltage.
As all RAM w/ higher than rated voltage also has SPD profiles for default 1.5v operation, i do not consider this to be a legitimate advantage.
By default, you won't be running higher voltage unless you manually set it.
You'll generally need to do the same w/ timings & speeds unless the kit used has an XMP profile & you enable that in the BIOS
I suspect Blain also considers it to be more reliable as it's not over JEDEC spec voltage.
If overclocking is not something of interest, & reliability is absolutely paramount, then i'd agree with sticking with something rated 1.5v.
If overclocking is considered, being able to run higher than 1.5v (within reason, like say 1.65v) is not a bad thing IMO.
Most JEDEC rated kits tend to be lower rated/binned than their higher rated counterparts as they don't scale as well with voltage, making them less ideal for overclocking.
While you certainly can find great RAM @ JEDEC speeds for overclocking, the reality is, most manufacturers do some form of binning, & the end result makes the lower voltage kits poorer overclockers.
Reliability is a rather difficult thing to determine, as JEDEC voltage RAM fails just as higher rated does.
I'd say it's always wise to err on the side of caution obviously & stick with lower voltages when possible.
There's no question that at higher voltages, RAM will die far more quickly than at lower ones.
However, as long as those voltages are kept within reason, it does not appear affect reliability from what i've seen.
I've always considered an extra notch or two over JEDEC fine, but much more, & i'd agree you are gambling more (with anecdotal forum evidence seeming to support this).
Another reason i don't fully agree with looking @ JEDEC only kits is that you can always undervolt.
This can often be achieved at close to stock speeds/timings on good kits, or sometimes even with an overclock.
Other poorer kits will require drops in speeds/timings to do this.
In short, for someone wanting to run stock, new to overclocking, or someone who doesn't want to play with settings in the BIOS, looking at JEDEC voltage kits is a very wise idea.
For the rest of us who like tweaking a bit more, i cannot fully agree.