I'm gearing up to build a new PC soon, and with Black Friday deals happening, I'm considering buying my RAM right now to avoid price hikes. I'm curious how much speed and timings really affect performance. Here are some options I've found:
1. Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM 48GB (2x24GB) 6000MHz CL36 12ns for $307
2. TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert CL30 Overclocking 10L DDR5 32GB Kit (2x16GB) 6000MHz (10ns) for $479
3. G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series DDR5 RAM (AMD Expo) 32GB (2x16GB) 7200MT/s CL34-45-45-115 for $252
4. Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 10ns for $370
The first Corsair kit has 16GB more RAM but worse timings compared to the TEAMGROUP kit. Which one would actually perform better? Also, do I need to specifically check for RAM that supports AMD CPUs? The Corsair listing mentions 'Intel XMP 3.0'—does that mean it's only compatible with Intel?
5 Answers
Honestly, the differences in those RAM kits might not be huge. As long as you have enough capacity, the 6000 MT/s speed is decent. The G.SKILL looks like your best bet unless absolutely you need the capacity from the Corsair. Just get it soon since RAM seems to be flying off the shelves!
The RAM you pick really depends on your PC build and intended use. If 32GB is enough for your needs, then the G.SKILL kit would give you better performance due to the faster timings. If your workload is pushing the limits of RAM, then the extra 16GB from Corsair can prevent slowdowns from paging.
As for XMP, most AMD boards read XMP profiles without issues; they'll just have different labels in BIOS. Don't worry too much about that.
Also, upgrading your CPU would usually yield a better performance boost than investing in the highest-spec RAM.
In practical terms, you might only see around a 3% drop in performance going from 6000 CL30 to CL36, and about the same when moving from 5600 to 6000 speed. If you’re into tweaking and overclocking, aim for the lowest CL you can find. The G.SKILL should run well at those settings. If you do, you might need to adjust some settings manually, though.
From my experience, the difference might only net you an extra 5 FPS in gaming. The biggest performance gains typically come from upgrading the GPU. Sure, all these RAM specifications matter, especially for overclocking, but the gains over 6000MT/s versus 8000MT/s aren't massive in the grand scheme of things.
For AMD CPUs, people typically recommend aiming for around 6000 MT/s RAM with a CAS latency around 30 since that's what most setups can handle well. Out of your options, I'd suggest going for the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo since it’s the most budget-friendly and has solid timings. You can potentially adjust it to match the lower timing kits for even better performance. Just a heads-up, though, most CPUs might struggle to hit 7200 MT/s reliably, and you'll need a capable motherboard to handle those speeds, too.
If you're using more than 32GB RAM, then the 48GB Corsair kit makes sense, but only if you really need that much. Also, about the XMP setting, it should work fine with an AMD CPU; it might just be labeled differently in BIOS.
I'm looking at getting a 7800X3D and a B650 motherboard. So, you're saying that with the G.SKILL RAM, I could lower the speed to match the TEAMGROUP's timings? For gaming and CAD work, do you think the 48GB is necessary? It's only $50 more, and with RAM prices expected to rise, I’m tempted. Plus, Amazon allows returns till the end of January, so I could always switch if I find a better deal later.
So, would you say that upgrading from say, DDR4 to faster DDR5 would give a noticeable improvement? How does it compare in terms of FPS?