Hey everyone! I'm building a new rig and I'm currently weighing my options for RAM. I have a 9800x3d processor and I'm planning to pair it with either a 5080 or 5090 GPU. I've found two RAM kits from G.Skill that are verified to be compatible with my motherboard. Both kits are from the same brand and product family, so I think they're both solid choices. However, there's a $30 USD price difference between them. I'm curious if there's going to be any noticeable difference in real-world performance that would justify spending the extra cash. Here are the links to both kits:
1. DDR5-6000 CL28: https://www.gskill.com/product/165/425/1723009556/F5-6000J2836G16GX2-TR5NS
2. DDR5-8000 CL30: https://www.gskill.com/product/165/425/1723080757/F5-8000J3848H16GX2-TR5NS
3 Answers
I'd lean towards the 6000 kit too! Higher-speed RAM can be tricky to get working smoothly, and a standard 6000 CL30 kit is often just as fast for a lower price. You probably won’t even notice the differences in real-world usage, even when benchmarking.
Right? The performance for the price with the 6000 kit is definitely appealing.
The performance difference between the two RAM kits will likely be minimal. From what I gather, the DDR5-6000 CL28 kit might perform slightly better. It's worth noting that very fast RAM on AM5 can sometimes cause issues with internal clock rates, but it can also help when the speed exceeds certain thresholds. The 9800x3d CPUs have plenty of L3 cache, which reduces their sensitivity to RAM speed overall. I'd personally recommend going with the 6000 kit for its reliability and performance balance.
Do you know if the internal clock issue is a hardware limitation or could it be a software fix?
Thanks for the insight, that helps!
The 6000 MT/s kit is almost guaranteed to POST reliably, especially if you enable XMP/EXPO settings. The 8000 MT/s kit might struggle with this, resulting in poorer performance due to latency spikes. On AM5 systems, 5600 MT/s, 6000 MT/s, and even 6400 MT/s with appropriate settings yield comparable performance. Essentially, the 6000 MT/s CL28 kit strikes a great balance between speed and stability.
I'm thinking about going for the 6000 MT/s CL28 as well. Do you see any downsides to tweaking settings for optimal clock ratios?
Exactly, I think spending less for a solid 6000 kit is the way to go!