I'm upgrading my system from 32GB to 64GB of memory. The PC has a Ryzen 9 9950X3D and is used for both gaming and video editing. I'm considering two used kits: G.SKILL Flare X5 6000 MT/s CL30 (F5-6000J3040G32GX2-FX5) for $500, or Corsair Vengeance RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 (CMH64GX5M2Y6400C32) for $400.
I know that around 6000 MT/s is commonly recommended on AM5 because it generally allows a 1:1 memory-controller ratio. The Corsair kit uses an XMP profile rather than EXPO, but I believe it could be manually configured or underclocked to 6000 MT/s. Is the cheaper 6400 MT/s kit likely to work well on this AMD system, and would choosing it create any meaningful setup or stability issues compared with paying more for the 6000 MT/s EXPO kit?
3 Answers
I’d choose the Corsair kit and try running it at 6000 MT/s, potentially with timings similar to 6000 CL30 if the memory and motherboard can handle it. There’s no reason to pay $100 more for a slower kit unless the cheaper one proves unstable or is incompatible with your board.
Either XMP or EXPO memory can work on an AMD motherboard. Most boards can read XMP profiles, although you may need to select the profile manually or adjust the settings yourself.
The cheaper 6400 MT/s kit is the better value. Set it to 6000 MT/s manually if needed; the small latency difference between these kits is unlikely to matter in practice.
That clears things up. This is my first AM5 build, so I wasn’t sure whether XMP was effectively unsupported or outdated on the platform. I’ll go with the less expensive kit and configure it for 6000 MT/s if necessary.