I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade my RAM from the 8GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 I currently have to a 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL22 stick that I found locally for a good price (about 429 MAD, roughly $42 USD). While I really want the increase in capacity, I'm concerned about the higher latency of the new stick. Will this performance drop be noticeable, and could it affect stability? Just to clarify, I have a Ryzen 5 3600 and a B450M-A Pro MAX motherboard, and I'm not planning to mix RAM sticks.
2 Answers
Since you’re only running a single stick currently, the latency isn’t a huge concern for you; the real impact will come from switching to dual-channel if you ever decide to upgrade. But, yes, be aware that performance could dip a bit moving from CL16 to CL22. Adding a stick can be helpful, though!
Go for the 16GB! With DDR4, the increase in capacity is going to outweigh the slight latency bump. You might not even notice any significant performance drop in typical usage, especially if you run memory-intensive applications.
Thanks! Just to clarify, I won't try to mix sticks, I might just pass my 8GB stick to my brother.