Is memory really the same as 6 years ago?

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

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When I built my current system back in late 2015, I built it with DDR4 3200MHz RAM (specifically a Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit), now I'm looking at upgrading my system I'm looking at memory and it seems like whereas everything else has changed this memory is still the standard (albeit with higher clock speeds such as 3600 being more common, and DDR5 still very highly priced and with limited chipset support).

Is that really correct? Can I just take my old memory, bung in it a modern motherboard, and carry on?
 
Mr Jack said:
When I built my current system back in late 2015, I built it with DDR4 3200MHz RAM (specifically a Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit), now I'm looking at upgrading my system I'm looking at memory and it seems like whereas everything else has changed this memory is still the standard (albeit with higher clock speeds such as 3600 being more common, and DDR5 still very highly priced and with limited chipset support).

Is that really correct? Can I just take my old memory, bung in it a modern motherboard, and carry on?
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Yup, no problem (3200 is actually stock for most systems now), but you'll probably want 32GB sooner or later.
 
Tetras said:
Yup, no problem (3200 is actually stock for most systems now), but you'll probably want 32GB sooner or later.
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32Gb is definitely a plan but this way I can plug in a second pair and - provided they have the same timings and MHz - it'll just work, right?

Kinda weird how CPUs and GPUs have changed so much but memory has stayed more or less the same.
 
Mr Jack said:
32Gb is definitely a plan but this way I can plug in a second pair and - provided they have the same timings and MHz - it'll just work, right?

Kinda weird how CPUs and GPUs have changed so much but memory has stayed more or less the same.
Click to expand...

Probably it'll be fine yeah, but you may have to step down them down a bit (looser timings, Mhz), or slightly increase voltage. Newer CPUs / platforms like Zen 3 and Alder/Raptor Lake should make that less likely to be necessary.
 
FYI, I just tried to use 4 sticks of 3600 RAM (Identical matched pairs) and they won't boot at default speeds.

The motherboard errors, then reboots at much more conservative speeds and timings.

So even if you do have identical RAM it's not guaranteed to work at the max rated speed and timings if you use four sticks.
 
no body as asked @Mr Jack what CPU/GPU do you have and what do you use the system for.

if you have ryzen 2XXX / 3XXX then changing to ram to 3600Mhz will give you more performance in games, if that's what you do.
And it is a noticeable amount of performance, when i had my 2600 going from 3000 to 3600 was a pain in the ass but genuinely gave my 10% extra FPS.
if you have intel your all good :p
 
Wing-Man said:
no body as asked @Mr Jack what CPU/GPU do you have and what do you use the system for.
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I'll be upgrading to a current gen chip, haven't decided between AMD or Intel yet. I'm looking to upgrade mostly for dev purposes, since my compile times are getting silly with my current chip. Gaming FPS will be mostly boosted when I later upgrade the graphics card when, hopefully, prices have dropped a bit. But since I mostly play Indie games anyway, I don't benefit that much from bleeding edge graphics performance.

Interesting that you're reporting such a difference, most reports I've read show a pretty marginal benefit of higher memory clock speed.
 
Mr Jack said:
Interesting that you're reporting such a difference, most reports I've read show a pretty marginal benefit of higher memory clock speed.
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It was just the earlier ryzen CPU’s, intel and 3000 /5000 ryzen is not at bad like you say only noticeable in benchmarks

but with my 2600 in squads I went from mid 50’s to 60’s/70’s and all I changed was ram

16gb 3000mhz to 16gb 3600mhz
 
Mr Jack said:
When I built my current system back in late 2015, I built it with DDR4 3200MHz RAM (specifically a Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit), now I'm looking at upgrading my system I'm looking at memory and it seems like whereas everything else has changed this memory is still the standard (albeit with higher clock speeds such as 3600 being more common, and DDR5 still very highly priced and with limited chipset support).

Is that really correct? Can I just take my old memory, bung in it a modern motherboard, and carry on?
Click to expand...

You answered your own question. DDR5 is now available. 6600+ kits are also faster than any available DDR4 in all applications.

DDR4 is EOL for AMD platforms once Zen4 launches (it won't feature a DDR4 controller), though Intel are keeping DDR4 alive for at least one more generation in Rocket Lake (13th gen).

DDR4 should be seen as a cheaper alternative that reduces the cost of upgrading, without giving up much performance at all. If buying new though, it makes complete sense to get DDR5, as it's superior in every way (faster, less power draw, just much more expensive).
 
Interesting video with benchmarks on all this stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAFg9Vg3UY

My tl;dr from the video: my old 3200-CL16 memory is good enough for modern CPUs, although 3600-CL16 would be a moderate improvement. You can get more performance from faster hardware but response time really matters, to the point that higher Hz doesn't help much at the high end. It depends a lot if what you're doing with the ram, but the high end stuff is mostly not worth the money.
 
Mr Jack said:
Interesting video with benchmarks on all this stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAFg9Vg3UY

My tl;dr from the video: my old 3200-CL16 memory is good enough for modern CPUs, although 3600-CL16 would be a moderate improvement. You can get more performance from faster hardware but response time really matters, to the point that higher Hz doesn't help much at the high end. It depends a lot if what you're doing with the ram, but the high end stuff is mostly not worth the money.
Click to expand...

Interesting, 2400 did better than I had expected, though the fps drops can be pretty big. Higher frequency ram (than 3200/3600) seems like it has a use for low resolution competitive gaming.
 
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