Minimum RAM speed for a Ryzen build?

[beany_bot]

I've read a lot about RAM speed affecting Ryzen performance (certainly in games). Wondering what the accepted "minimum" is for people? I assume this is a case of diminishing returns as you go faster and faster and pay more and more. But where do you draw the line? Whats a good speed in terms or price-perf?

 

[ChocoViennese]

At the moment RAM prices are ridiculous in comparison to 2-3 years ago so there is no 'good' speed by any measure that includes price. However, from a brief glance at prices ddr4 3000 - 3200 MHz seems to be where prices plateau (they are not much more than ddr4 2400MHz), speeds above that seem to have bigger jumps in price. I don't know how much gain you will get above 3200 as I think motherboards are the limiting factor and then you have to factor in the cost of the better performing board as well.

 

[chroniclard]

3200 is roughly the sweet spot and anything higher is a bonus. Arguably achievable timings of the ram are also important.

 

[Glanza]

3000-3200 depending what your ram does

 

[beany_bot]

Thanks guys. That's clear to me now.

What about Intel? Does it matter really?

 

[DarkHorizon472]

For Ryzen Samsung Bdie ram like the 8 pack 3200c14 has better compatibility and hits better speeds than Hynix based ram like Corsair lpx. 2 x 8gb 8 pack 3200c14 in my experience ran at 3333c14 or 3466c15, 2 x 8gb Corsair lpx 3200c16 ran at 2933. This varies based on how lucky you are with the individual cpu.

Intel while there is an impact of higher ram speeds it is not as marked as with Ryzen.

 

[SupraWez]

On Ryzen, 3200 would be the minimum for me.

 

[pastymuncher]

Thanks guys. That's clear to me now.

What about Intel? Does it matter really?

When the 7700k launched reviews showed significant increases (up to 20%) in some games by using memory clocked at 3000mhz and more so I presume it's still the case with Coffeelake. I personally wouldn't touch any memory that is slower than 3000mhz now. Timings matter as well so I would be looking at 8 packs 3200mhz memory kit which also has much tighter timings. It's on offer at the moment as well.

 

[Zeebedy]

When the 7700k launched reviews showed significant increases (up to 20%) in some games by using memory clocked at 3000mhz and more so I presume it's still the case with Coffeelake. I personally wouldn't touch any memory that is slower than 3000mhz now. Timings matter as well so I would be looking at 8 packs 3200mhz memory kit which also has much tighter timings. It's on offer at the moment as well.

WOW!

Im only running 2133MHz RAM atm. think I wight need to upgrade this tbh!

 

[HeX]

WOW!

Im only running 2133MHz RAM atm. think I wight need to upgrade this tbh!

You'll probably find if you pump some extra volts through and play with the timings you'll be able to OC that to 2666+ if you're lucky.

 

[beany_bot]

I'm already reminiscing about the time when it didn't matter what RAM you bought.

FFS...

 

[eddiew]

I'm already reminiscing about the time when it didn't matter what RAM you bought.

Was that ever really true? There have always been different speeds on the market and enthusiasts have always paid more for the faster stuff

(Unless you want to roll it back to the 90s )

 

[beany_bot]

Was that ever really true? There have always been different speeds on the market and enthusiasts have always paid more for the faster stuff

(Unless you want to roll it back to the 90s )

Pretty true. Increasing RAM speeds on my older Haswell had absolutely miniscule gains. So you could get away with "cheap" RAM

 

[eddiew]

Pretty true. Increasing RAM speeds on my older Haswell had absolutely miniscule gains. So you could get away with "cheap" RAM

Admittedly it was never worth fighting for DDR3 1866 vs 1600 on my Sandy But the choice was there and many people paid extra for that 1.5% gain

Urban legend says AMD's infinity fabric is tied to memory speed, which is why there's such a big boost on Ryzen - what I'm not sure if is whether that's a quirk, or an architectural thing that will forever be the same in future generations. Maybe later versions will be able to separate out the two clocks and we'll be back to budget being as good as anything.

 

[ERU]

For Ryzen you need 3200mhz. I've run into problems with rated DDR4-3200 not being compatible with motherboards tho. Hopefully BIOS updates can sort this out...

 

[Chrisc]

Sorry for thread hijacking... With me being at 2666 am i missing out on noticeable performance gains?

 

[nashathedog]

I've read a lot about RAM speed affecting Ryzen performance (certainly in games). Wondering what the accepted "minimum" is for people? I assume this is a case of diminishing returns as you go faster and faster and pay more and more. But where do you draw the line? Whats a good speed in terms or price-perf?

I've got the 8 pack branded Team Group Dark pro 3200mhz ram, The 14,14,14,31 timing sticks I got it last year and have had no issues with two different motherboards on the latest bio's.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...3200mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-08l-tg.html

 

[nashathedog]

Sorry for thread hijacking... With me being at 2666 am i missing out on noticeable performance gains?

Not really, definitely nothing worth paying today's ram prices, It'll be worth Googling for some Youtube and news articles on the topic, There's a few been done, then you can decide for yourself.


Here's one

EDIT: It's an old video so you'll need to find some up to date results with a wider selection of tests.

 

[Mercutio]

If buying, you might as spend the extra 10% and get premium sticks for Ryzen, upgrading... probably not worth it in the current market.

 

[Zeed]

People still asking this instead of buy RYZEN DESIGNED 3200 8PACK memory wtf?