confused about RAM speeds again

UkayJ · 23 May 2019 at 08:33

Hi, I'm planning on buying this :

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Asus ROG Strix X470-I Gaming AMD X470 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Mini-ITX Motherboard= £174.95

Total: £184.85 (includes shipping: £9.90)

It says : "This high-end chipset supports up to 64 GB RAM at a guaranteed clock frequency of 2.933 Megahertz, clock frequencies that are markedly higher when paired with OC RAM kits."

Also says "DDR4-RAM up to 3.466 MHz"

Does this mean I can buy two sticks of RAM @ 3,466MHz, but no more.

Or two sticks @ 2,933MHz and I will have to overclock it to 3,466MHz?

Danny75 · 23 May 2019 at 17:27

Your chances of reaching 3466MHz are a lot higher if you buy a 3466 rated kit*. The only guaranteed speed is 2933 as beyond that (which classifies as an "overclock") depends not only on the quality of the RAM but the memory controller quality on the CPU (quality can differ between two chips even if the same model) as well as how good the motherboard's memory implementation is.

* There are some exceptions like top-tier Samsung B-Die RAM such as the 8-Pack 3200 C14, which is known to reach 3466 by loosening the timings very slightly. And this is something to keep in mind cost-wise, if 3466 memory costs more than that kit.

Right now a good value for money kit is the Kingston Predator 3333MHz C16 for £89.99.

New AM4 CPUs and motherboards are incoming, so you may want to wait till Monday for the announcement. The boards are ready to go, or some of them, and some have been pictured already.

UkayJ · 24 May 2019 at 19:53

I can OC my CPU and GPU but RAM I can't do so I'll go for a 3.5GHz kit to avoid an OC on it. I'll probably even just go for your recommendation thank you.

I've been hangin' out for news on the new AMD 7nm(?) CPUs, glad to hear there's more coming Monday.

Motherboards though, are backwards compatible been AM4 socket still, so I don't get how there'd be an improvement making new ones for the new CPUs?

Danny75 · 24 May 2019 at 23:39

Indications are the new motherboards have better fast memory support. Has to be confirmed though. Could also be down to better IMC on the CPUs or something. There are also rumoured improvements to XFR which might squeeze a bit more out of the same chip v an older board. I thought PCIe 4.0 lanes would also help but word is this will be of more benefit to datacenters and the like. Still, that extra PCIe bandwidth could mean new developments to take advantage of it.

Will be good to see tests carried out, confirming whether or not there's much point in one of the newer boards, depending on which CPU (in general they should be better for the 12 and 16 core).

UkayJ · 25 May 2019 at 17:37

OK. I think I'll wait until CPU and motherboards have been reviewed and probably jusy ask on here about my options.

Thank You.

Danny75 · 25 May 2019 at 17:47

Recent leak suggests the new Ryzens will be 3200 guaranteed max memory speed rather than 2933. Plus "overclocking", and that's where the new motherboards offer a higher range.
https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ryzen-3000-zen-2-cpus-get-jedec-3200-mhz-specification.html

So yeah I'd hold back on CPU, mobo and RAM, till we learn what the new price-to-performance sweet spot is going to be.

You're welcome.