Is it worth getting 3200 ram or is 2666 good enough and what kinda of timings ?

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Subzerok11

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I'm not going for a extreme build more something like a I5-9600K Intel build. Is it worth spending the extra money and getting the 3200 cause it seems like a popular choice or are most putting 2666 type ram ? I'm trying to save money where I can. Also what about these timings like 14-14-14 or 15-15-15 or 16-16-16 is it also worth spending more to have a lower number ?
 
Unless you are building a benchmark burner you are fine with the cheaper stuff. AMD cpus are pretty latency & bandwidth sensitive but I believe Intels are a bit more forgiving. So the lower speed stuff is fine.
 
Your talking about the ram speed like the 2666 would be fine, so what about the timings ?
 
Lower is better, and costs more. But in all honesty unless you are making a benchmarking machine subjectively you will not notice a difference between 14-14-14 and 16-16-16.
You are better off saving a few dollars there and spending it elsewhere like your video.
 
So why is all the cheaper ram for the Z390 strix not on the Asus QVL list ?
I need a total of 16GB of ram in the 2666MHz. I found one 2x8GB modules but it's for the more expensive 3200MHz with low timings that's over $200. Where's the approved 2x8GB modules 2666 with whatever timings ?
So how important is it to have your ram you want to buy to be in the approved QVL list that's put out by the manufacturer ?
 
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The QVL doesn't matter much.

IME, fast RAM makes a big difference, it's just more rarely the sort of difference that benchmarks are looking for. Games that have CPU-side performance problems (mostly not AAAs or things reviewers are likely to test) seem disproportionately likely to have those problems for reasons related to memory performance, if you've already got enough threads (common at this point) it's the big limitation for multitasking, and it makes a noticeable difference in general system responsiveness.

3200 C14 or better (B-die) is usually a bad value proposition and 3000 C15 / 3200 C16 are debatable, but 3000 C16 is hardly more expensive than 2666 and is worth every penny.
 
ZyzzyxSilver said:
The QVL doesn't matter much.

IME, fast RAM makes a big difference, it's just more rarely the sort of difference that benchmarks are looking for. Games that have CPU-side performance problems (mostly not AAAs or things reviewers are likely to test) seem disproportionately likely to have those problems for reasons related to memory performance, if you've already got enough threads (common at this point) it's the big limitation for multitasking, and it makes a noticeable difference in general system responsiveness.

3200 C14 or better (B-die) is usually a bad value proposition and 3000 C15 / 3200 C16 are debatable, but 3000 C16 is hardly more expensive than 2666 and is worth every penny.
Click to expand...


Whats a (B-die) ?

Anyway what you think this and it's only $134

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232298&ignorebbr=1
 
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Looks good to me.

B-die refers to a RAM chip made by Samsung - it's the thing G.Skill etc buy a bunch of to assemble into the RAM sticks you can buy. B-die is very fast, but very expensive. Generally, anything 3200 C16 or slower is non-B-die and B-die is required to get to 3200 C14 or above.
 
A 8400 with 3000MHz RAM is faster than a 8600 with 2133 and with 2666 they perform similar https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-coffee-lake-s-core-i5-8400-i5-8600k-review_1

Samsung b die can typically OC from 3200c14 to say 4000c17 boosting CPU performance by around 7% in games which is more than your likely to get by overclocking the CPU. But combined with the CPU OC it makes for a noticeable improvement over 3000c15\3200c16 in any CPU limited sections of gameplay.

I would go 8600k or 9700K with the CPU.
Edit: although the 9600k doesn't cost $50 more like it does in AU so it doesn't really mater.
 
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Subzerok11 said:
So how important is it to have your ram you want to buy to be in the approved QVL list that's put out by the manufacturer ?
Click to expand...

I know others disagree with me, but I think the QVL is a complete waste of time. At this point, even Ryzen CPU's are running at rated speeds with non-Ryzen memory with latest bioses. I have two Ryzen systems running DDR4 3000/Cas 16 memory at 3000mhz which would never happen a year ago. I don't even have to "cheat" and put them at 2933mhz like I used to.

If you really want to be sure though, look at the QVL and compare the actual ICC's of the stuff on the QVL to the stuff you want to buy. If you have B-die memory and it's not on the QVL, chances are it will work just like every other set of B-die memory whether or not its on the QVL. Same for the Hynix DDR43000/Cas 15 memory, etc.
 
The memory I use (listed in my sig) is not on ASRock's Taichi X399 memory QVL or even G-Skill's QVL for my CPU, but it is still highly regarded for use in Ryzen systems due to it's Samsung B-Die memory chips. For me they do not work "out of the box" but need me to boost the voltage to get them stable at XMP settings. I suspect it is the fact that the memory sticks are 16GB ones rather than 8GB sticks.

Just because you don't see your memory on a QVL does not mean it fails to work on your system.
 
Linked to start at the memory speed gaming test.
I trust Witchard, he knows what he's doing!
 
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