Recently, I upgraded my PC by swapping my GTX 1660 Super for a 9060XT 16, and I moved from an R5 3600 to an R7 5800XT. Everything runs great at 1080p; I saw my FPS in Battlefield 1 jump from 80-90 to 150-180. Now, I'm wondering if I should also upgrade my 16GB of 3000MHz RAM to 3600MHz or higher. I understand RAM won't dramatically increase FPS, but I'm curious if having faster RAM would make my PC run smoother with these new GPU and CPU upgrades. Am I likely to face any bottlenecks or issues by keeping the 3000MHz RAM? Also, I made sure to update my BIOS and enable TPM, primarily to meet the requirements for playing Battlefield 6. My motherboard is a Gigabyte B450M DS3H, and I'm expecting these upgrades to extend my PC's life for another 3-5 years. By the way, I upgraded the cooler for the 5800XT after seeing some negative feedback about the stock Wraith Prism cooler.
4 Answers
If you're feeling adventurous, just overclock your existing RAM to 3600! That can be pretty straightforward on new CPUs with decent RAM.
I’ve found that RAM speeds are often overstated for gaming. Sure, you’ll see a little improvement, but it likely won’t be worth the hassle of replacing your current RAM for a jump you probably won’t even notice during gameplay.
Honestly, upgrading your RAM to 3600MHz probably won't make a noticeable difference in performance—maybe just a 1-2% increase in FPS. If you're already seeing great results with your games, sticking with your 3000MHz RAM should be fine. It won't bottleneck your new components, so no worries there!
Since you're on an AM4 socket with the 5800XT, you're limited to DDR4 RAM. An upgrade to a 3600MHz kit would be your best bet. I’m using Corsair Vengeance LPX in a 4x16 configuration, and they go for a reasonable price. If you're only at 16GB now, moving up to 32GB at a quicker speed could net you a 10FPS boost, which isn't too shabby!
I actually forgot to mention I'm at 16GB! Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for the clarification! I just wanted to make sure my PC was as happy as possible with these upgrades.