Teamgroup 3200 C14 or G Skill 3600 C16

Tobes · 9 Nov 2020 at 15:58

Hi all,

I had to RMA some faulty Team Group Edition 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C14 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit. I bought some G.SKILL F4-3600C16D-16GTZR 16 GB (8 GB x 2) Trident Z RGB Series DDR4 3600 MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit to use during the RMA time.

I need to keep one and return/sell the other but I honestly don't know. RGB isn't a deal breaker and I would prefer the best timings possible. I will also most likely look to upgrade my 3700x to a 5800x in the future so just trying to future proof.

I don't really want to open my new Teamgroup RAM unless I will use it so just looking for some info on what to keep!

Thanks

GregI · 9 Nov 2020 at 18:27

You will get slightly better performance with the 3600 RAM as it will also boost the FCLK.

Tobes · 12 Nov 2020 at 15:59

Do you think the Teamgroup sticks will not have the potential to overclock to match the G Skill?

keybaud · 12 Nov 2020 at 18:25

Tobes said:
Do you think the Teamgroup sticks will not have the potential to overclock to match the G Skill?

3600 CL16 and 3200 CL14 are very similar in performance and both types of RAM you listed are Samsung B-die, so they should overclock the same, depending on what works with your CPU and motherboard. The 3600 is probably a better option to start, as it means the Ryzen Infinity Fabric clock (FClk) is running at 1800 MHz and not 1600 MHz, as GregI said. This is the speed the CCXs communicate to each other within the CPU. This isn't as big a difference on 5000 series Ryzens, but it can make a small difference with your 3700X. If you want to overclock the RAM with your 3700X above 3600, you'll have to manually change the infinity fabric (FClk) speed, as it defaults to maximum of 1800 (half of 3600) when set to Auto. Some CPUs can run at 1900, but 1833 is usually achievable. You can then try and get the latency down from CL16 to CL14 and you'll have the RAM as about the best you will get for your CPU.

Also, if you keep all 4 sticks, you'll have dual rank, which may provide an additional boost, but depending on your motherboards topology, you may not be able to get them to run as fast as 2 sticks.

Tobes · 12 Nov 2020 at 22:04

Thanks both. Will chuck the Teamgroup on the MM.