Is CL30 RAM Worth the Extra Cost Over CL36 for Gaming?
Asked by
TechieGamer42
I'm in the process of building my first gaming PC that will run at 1440p, using a Ryzen 5 7600x and an RX 9070 XT. I've been looking at RAM options and found the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (16x2) 6000, with two choices: CL30 and CL36. I recognize that CL30 is technically better, but there's a €100 price difference between the two. I'm wondering if the performance boost justifies that extra cost or if I could get by just fine with CL36. Also, should I hold off on buying now in hopes of better prices during sales like Black Friday, or is it safe to purchase now? I'm open to any recommendations for RAM other than Corsair Vengeance too!
Answers
With the recent price hikes, I'd suggest going for the CL36 RAM. The performance difference is generally minimal, especially at higher resolutions. You can get a better idea of the performance gap in this video: [YouTube Link]. In most scenarios, CL36 will be just a small step slower than CL30, maybe about 2-3%.
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Honestly, if you're seeing a €100 difference, just go with the CL36. The performance uplift won't be noticeable enough to justify that price gap.
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Not much of a difference overall. I have 5600 CL36 RAM that I've overclocked to 6000 CL36, and the performance gap is pretty small—like 1-3 FPS in games at 4K resolution.
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Every time you have a 400 speed or 2 CL difference, it's just a minor FPS impact—so you're not losing out on much by choosing CL36.
GameChaser16: Exactly! For gaming, that small difference in RAM timing doesn't really translate to a big performance change.
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The extra €100 for CL30 isn't really worth it; you're talking maybe 1.5 extra FPS at most. In other tasks, the difference is negligible too.
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GigaByteHunter: That's a solid point! In gaming, especially at 1440p or higher, RAM speed doesn't make as huge of a difference.
PixelPusher88: Totally agree, at higher resolutions, the GPU is what's really driving performance.