Does ram speed matter?

[StillLeanp]

Hello, i am wondering if ram speed should matter, alot of youtubers say that 3200 MHz is the sweet spot, but what if your on a budget? would 3000 MHz have practically the same speed?

[RuloDh]

es todo un tema

[r.linder]

1. 3200 CL16 RAM is pretty standard now and is pretty cheap, and 3600 CL16 has been the sweet spot for awhile now.

2. Both RAM frequency and timings matter a lot, for different reasons. High frequency is great in general, but lower timings are generally better as it's the amount of clock cycles it takes for the data to be accessible. 3600 CL18 and 3200 CL16 perform extremely similarly in gaming loads because the higher frequency is offset by the higher latency, so they end up with pretty much the same latency. However, in other workloads like 7-Zip and programs other than most games, 3600 CL18 can still be much faster. It ultimately depends on the load that determines what RAM is "best."

3. If you're on a budget, you're unlikely to save money going for 3000 MHz because they're usually around the same price and 3200 CL16 can sometimes be cheaper than 3000 CL15. If you're on a budget and you're on an Intel system and not using a Z chipset motherboard, however, you're usually going to be locked to ~2666 RAM frequency anyway so it's important to consider what motherboard you're using and what it allows. Current generation boards allow 2933 on locked motherboards for the K SKUs like the 11600K, while locked SKUs like the 11400F are stuck with 2666.

4. You can always buy cheap 3200 CL16 RAM and overclock it to get extra frequency and/or lower timings. Some Samsung b-die kits can be pretty cheap, like certain kits of Ripjaws V, and b-die can overclock pretty well most of the time.
I'm using Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB modules, normally 3200 CL16 XMP but I have them running at 3600 CL16, and they're Hynix CJR/C-die which is not too far off of Samsung b-die but they don't handle voltages above 1.35v too well.

[lotuastation]

Yes, it matters a lot for gaming and production.
There are many videos on Youtube, which shows the difference between specific RAM speeds in specific games/production applications.
I recommend watching them.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Yes, frequency, and timing matters depending what your doing.

[Blaagh]

will you get the same speed? no
can you measure the difference? yes
will you actually see the difference between 130 towards 150 fps with a 60Hz monitor? no

[Set-115689]

Careful what you buy. It's not just ram speeds but timings and other things.

[76561198343548661]

What is the difference between the two ? 6.7% ! Does it make a huge difference - No ! I would be fine with 3000MHz , even compared to 3600MHz . if the RAM contributes to PC 20% , so we would expect 20%x 20% = 0.2x0.2 = 0. 04 i.e. 4% (3000MHz vs 3600MHz) . is it worth , probably No .

So get the fastest RAM , you can afford , at least 3000MHz .

other notes
The impact to the performance is bigger if APU is used .
Make sure the mobo can benefit from faster RAM But for future proof , even if no it s worth getting at least 3000MHz
For AMD 3600MHz is usually fine .

[r.linder]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von littlecat20160:

The impact to the performance is bigger if APU is used

It only matters for APUs if you're using the integrated graphics as system RAM is used as VRAM for iGPUs like AMD's Vega graphics and Intel's UHD and Iris graphics, important distinction. If someone has a 3400G but is using a dedicated GPU, then it'd barely be much different than pairing 3600 MHz RAM with a 3600.

[rezo]

I think it matters more for higher end CPUs.

I was listening to a Linus Tech Tip's podcast and he was talking about the huge disparity between his Ryzen 5xxx benchmark scores and other youtubers benchmark scores where his were way higher than other reviewers especially in csgo where the intel counterparts were getting 480-500 fps and the ryzen were getting 700+ fps but other reviewers reported than the new ryzen chips were similar in performance to the intel ones

He said its because he used crazy expensive ram with insane timings and frequencies which other youtubers probably didnt have access to or didnt think much about ram. I guess its an unfair test to use more expensive ram but he did to maximise the performance of the ryzen chips.

In the real world, there will be a minute difference unless you have the best of the best. Just get whatever you can afford, aim for lower timings if anything.

[r.linder]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von rezo:

I think it matters more for higher end CPUs.

I was listening to a Linus Tech Tip's podcast and he was talking about the huge disparity between his Ryzen 5xxx benchmark scores and other youtubers benchmark scores where his were way higher than other reviewers especially in csgo where the intel counterparts were getting 480-500 fps and the ryzen were getting 700+ fps but other reviewers reported than the new ryzen chips were similar in performance to the intel ones

He said its because he used crazy expensive ram with insane timings and frequencies which other youtubers probably didnt have access to or didnt think much about ram. I guess its an unfair test to use more expensive ram but he did to maximise the performance of the ryzen chips.

In the real world, there will be a minute difference unless you have the best of the best. Just get whatever you can afford, aim for lower timings if anything.

While the Infinity Fabric can be tweaked, RAM still has pretty big impact on performance for Ryzen, and diminishing returns start at different points depending on the load.

Though, Zen3's FCLK caps off at 2000 MHz, so anything higher than 4000 MHz for RAM would incur higher latency and even as is it's difficult to get a 2000 MHz FCLK to run stable. Something as simple as a memory hole can prevent you from using 1800 MHz FCLK, but not 1600 or 2000. RAM takes more tweaking on Ryzen.

[GRATS]

If you use a dedicated GPU you're not going to notice the difference between different RAM. Most people don't even set their RAM stock clocks and leave it at some insanely low setting because they have no clue.

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

Faster ram helps the CPU to access data more quickly from the RAM with lower latency, so a faster RAM can give you more fps, but ONLY if your game is CPU limited.
If your game is GPU limited (which is more common), then you will get NO extra performance for using faster RAM. Because RAM can't affect (or increase) GPU's performance.

[mtono]

overclocking ram makes it not that much. ram needs to be stable. overclocking ram is not important, but you can check it yourself with the 3dmark demo version from steam. different ram speeds you can benchmark then. you will see, that ram speed can easily run on default. that is it imho.
my2ct.

[Schrute_Farms_B&B]

Gotta agreee with some here and say : "NO".
Clearly and absolutely NOT, if you are a gamer and like already mentioned, use a dGPU like almost everyone.
No matter if you use DDR3 1333 or the newest DDR4 3200, there will be a max of 1-2% difference, at most.
There are a ton of benchmark clips on Youtube, which will show you all you need to know.

You money is better preserved with a good PSU than with some high end expensive RAM, where the difference can only be measured in benchmarks.

[_I_]

ryzen loves quick ram
below 3200 will notice a small performance hit
above that not as much of a gain