DDR4 decisions decisions

[Cuddle Bunny]

This topic is way more complicated than I initially thought. I've got 6 pages open In my browser and I ain't getting very far!

I'm not sure what speed Or brand to get. I don't mind overclocking but it's not a fun pastime. These following units get mentioned a lot:

Viper steel 4400
Corsair vengeance
G-skill trident neo
Crucial ballistic 3600

Intel i7 10700, 3080 card, mobo Asus-something.

[SoldierScar]

Cuddle Bunny님이 먼저 게시:

Yeah I can buy 4x 8gb. But...from what I gathered, having all 4 slots populated is inferior to 2x slots?

So this is kinda interesting. I can buy 2x 16gb 4000mhz from Corsair vengeance and trident, but Not from viper. If I Wana go with viper I gota buy 4 sticks of ram. Hah!


I wonder what the reason is behind that. If all 3 are Samsung b- sticks, Why doesn't viper sell super fast +4000 16gb units?

Just buy 4 sticks of fast viper ram, 4 sticks are also faster than 2 since you are in dual rank config then and latest ryzen 5000 can gain up to 10% performance just from that in cpu limited scenario, 2x16gb kits are also dual rank even they are just 2 sticks, but it's hard to find them in high speed. So just buy 4x8gb if you have all slots free, i went with 2x16gb 3200 cl14 only because the cooler blocks the first ram slot.

[Cuddle Bunny]

dOBER님이 먼저 게시:

They dont sell 4000 fast ram because 4000 is only cl 19. There are other 4000 dimms with lower cl which cost nearly the same. Viper 4400mhz cl18 2x8 for 122€ is very cheap compare to others with same speed.

Gskill F4-4400C18D-16GTZR cost for example 263€ or some others arround 200€.

ok I guess I want 32gb! Thank you
It annoys me that I can't get fast 16gb viper sticks.

Do I go with a slower 3200 ram so that I can have 2x 16gb sticks?

Or do I go with faster 4000 but with 4x sticks?

[Monk]

There is literally no reason to go with 3200 ram unless you simply cannot afford better, 4 fast sticks will demolish 2 slower sticks even if they may not run at quite their maximum speed due to mobo / cpu limitations.

Unless your running something like an Apex or dark board with only 2 slots and you take your overclocking very seriously, just go with 4 sticks if you want 32GB or pay for corsair /gskill at a hell of a mark up.

Oh and most Asus boards use T topology which handles 4 sticks better than others who use daisy chain that can be better for two, but it won't make a huge difference as long as your in a Z series board, the higher end the faster you'll likely get working.

On my z390 Asus maximus xi code I can run 4 sticks at 4133 by just setting xmp and being done with it, my extreme version of the board I'm using gir the updated build should run it at the full 4400 as an example.

[Illusion of Progress]

Monk님이 먼저 게시:

Oh and most Asus boards use T topology which handles 4 sticks better than others who use daisy chain that can be better for two, but it won't make a huge difference as long as your in a Z series board, the higher end the faster you'll likely get working.

Random question of my own on this; is this still true? Seen this claim before, but then also seen the claim that it used to be true and Asus switched almost all recent stuff to daisy chain since there were other changes made that minimized the drawbacks when using 4 modules on daisy chain or something (maybe only true on AMD's platforms?). Finding concrete information on topology used on a given board isn't easy, though i suppose it doesn't matter as much to most consumers.

I'm personally running 4 modules on an Asus board with Zen 2 and it's fine, but I did have issues when trying to update to a newer BIOS that may or may not have involved RAM configuration (though the issue persisted even with DOCP/XMP off so who knows).

What's also interesting (or maybe this is normal?) is that I discovered when testing something else thatmy board works fine with all 4 modules at stock and at DOCP (XMP), but as soon as I remove half of the modules and run with 2, it still works fine at stock, but XMP is a no go. It literally works with all the modules but not half, which is... opposite to conventional wisdom on the matter. Maybe the profile expects all 4 modules or something, but it's strange since I thought all it should be doing is setting frequency and timings, but perhaps there's more to it. Not that it actually matters since I don't plan on running with half the memory.

[Monk]

It's still true as of the z390/490 higher end boards, I'll be honest, I've not looked at other stuff, but there are so many boards out there you'd need to deep dive to find out.

Normally, you won't get 4 sticks as fast as you can get 2 regardless, but, the difference will be minimal.

One big one that doesn't seem to be as true is that lower CL is just as good as higher speeds, with the newer really fast ram, thst isn't really true as the high speed simply has more bandwidth as I understand it, so speed beats CL if price is a concern, as you can generally only get one or the other unless you set fire to your wallet (or get a god tier set if 4800 cl14 ram like dober got second hand cheap as hell).

[Cuddle Bunny]

Viper doesn't sell kits of 4 sticks. I'm getting annoyed

I'd have to buy two separate 2x8gb kits to get my entire 32gb.

So is it still worth it, Or should I look at another brand?

[Monk]

Which ever you like the look of, why you don't just buy 2 kits of 2x8 4400 and be done with it I'm not sure.

[Cuddle Bunny]

I read that they gota be matched.
That's why you buy em in pairs

[Illusion of Progress]

They don't necessarily have to be matched. If you're just going to set it to the advertised settings (XMP) and be done with it, two kits that share the same frequency/CL timings should work. It's really only when trying to push RAM as far as it can go that different capabilities that can exist matter as much.

[Monk]

But each kit has the exact same specs so they are all matched.

[buttmunch]

i know people have covered most topics, but id like to say you should go with high clock ram yes, 3600 would be the sweet spot for ryzen 3000 series, higher for 5000 series, but one important thing to consider, is that hynix chips and some of the cheaper ones do NOT overclock well but may be good value, b-die ram for overclocking is the best i hear. But one thing that is very important to consider that no one is mentioning, is TIMING. 3600Mhz CL19 is what i have, and its hynix chip and i cant tighten the timing or overclock at all. its decent ram for my ryzen 3600 but the timing is bad. If you can get high clock ram with GOOD TIMING it would make a huge difference that you would feel/notice even if its not getting much more frame rate, the response time you would feel the "snappyness" of games. the ultimate for a ryzen 3000 series i hear is 3600Mhz CL14/CL15 , but youd have to get some good chips to get that clock/timing setup , i know they do sell CL16 3600Mhz ddr4 now.... anyway good luck just my 2 cents

[Cuddle Bunny]

I compiled a list of 32gb options with local CANADIAN prices. Viper has to be bought in two separate kits which ain't ideal. Which one do I take?


2x16gb:

G.SKILL Ripjaws V 4000 $241 • 18-22-22-42

G.SKILL Trident Z Royal 4000 $282 • 18-22-22-42

G.SKILL Trident Z Neo 4000 $270 • 18-22-22-42

G.SKILL TridentZ RGB $273 4000 • 18-22-22-42



4x8gb sticks:

CORSAIR Vengeance 4000 $370 •19-23-23-45

G.SKILL Ripjaws V 4000 $330 •18-22-22-42




(2x8gb) x2

Patriot Viper Steel 4000 $344 • 19-19-19-39

Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 4400 $374 •18-26-26-46

Patriot Viper Steel 4400 $410• 19-19-19-39

[Monk]

It's also hynixs new value memory not Samsung bdie... Oh and 4000MHz vs 4400.

[buttmunch]

those prices are CRAZY. dude. i got gskill 3600 cl19 16gb for like 65 dollars. you have to be kidding.

[Illusion of Progress]

NU SPEAK님이 먼저 게시:

those prices are CRAZY. dude.

Welcome to premium RAM territory, where you nearly, or more than, double the price for nowhere near that sort of gain (and probably won't even notice much difference if you're just setting XMP and calling it a day as opposed to perfectly tuning it).