Is 32GB 3200 better than 16GB 3600 with Risen

juno_first · 26 Nov 2022 at 18:05

While waiting for GPU prices to normalise I've taken 16GB Corsair 3200 (16 18 18 36) out of a B450 into a x570 with 3600x, 2080 & 16GB TeamGrooup 3600 (cl5 16 16 16 36).
Would games benefit from 16GB 3600 or 32GB 3200?

mickyflinn · 26 Nov 2022 at 22:31

16gb or 32gb memory wont have any affect on fps but timmings will , 3600mhz with tighter timmings than 3200mhz will gain a few more fps .

BS Dave · 27 Nov 2022 at 00:36

Someone once told me fast RAM will never make up for not having enough. Most games are fine with 16 though and as Micky says faster ram will gain you a bit...a better cpu will usually gain you more though

juno_first · 27 Nov 2022 at 10:59

Yeah, I thought Ryzen benefitted more from tighter timings. Funny how 3600 RAM has better timings than 3200.
I'll put the slower 16GB in a spare PC with 2400G working in Win11& 12yr old GTX470 for games

Ubuntu has become a bit bloated & laggy lately for a virtual desktop so don't need gobs of RAM.
The 3600x is showing its age now but not investing in the AM4 platform anymore so will be a new build if parts ever drop to retail prices.

Cyber-Mav · 30 Nov 2022 at 10:18

juno_first said:
The 3600x is showing its age now but not investing in the AM4 platform anymore so will be a new build if parts ever drop to retail prices.

hit the members market and get a used 5600x big boost to gaming over the 3600x. cheap investment in am4 since new build will be cost of mobo, cpu and probably ram too. not to mention the simplicity of a cpu change. up and running in 15 mins.

CuriousTomCat · 1 Dec 2022 at 07:53

BS Dave said:
Someone once told me fast RAM will never make up for not having enough.

That's 100% accurate and very obvious. 4Gb of very fast RAM for example will never make up for 16Gb of slower RAM while gaming.

16Gb is enough at the moment though so 16Gb 3600 is better. In a few years time when games use more resources however, 32Gb of 3200 will be better than 16Gb 3600.

Darujhistan · 1 Dec 2022 at 13:53

Cyber-Mav said:
hit the members market and get a used 5600x big boost to gaming over the 3600x. cheap investment in am4 since new build will be cost of mobo, cpu and probably ram too. not to mention the simplicity of a cpu change. up and running in 15 mins.

This, there's no real world gaming benefit in AM5 that can justify the expense of the platform. I got a 5700x up from 2600 and a new 32GB 3200 RAM kit and saved about £500 on my proposed AM5 upgrade of 7700x, MOBO and RAM.

If you're well set up for gaming on AM4, then you'll be able to skip AM5 entirely IMO.

juno_first · 1 Dec 2022 at 19:52

I thought the 2080 was the bottleneck in games. Although using a CRT lately at 1280x960 for no blur when moving & games not much better than 4k. DLSS sometimes works, but the res is so low it’s very much a niche case.