[SOLVED] 4000MHz CL18 (cheaper) VS 3600MHz CL16

[Asido]

It's a beaten down topic, but it is always approached from a perspective, that 4000MHz is more expensive.

I managed to grab a 2x32GB G.Skill TridentZ RGB with timings 18-22-22-42 (1.4V) for a price around 2/3 of 3600MHz CL16-16-16-36 and 3/4 of CL16-19-19-39.
The rest of hardware: ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F, Ryzen 9 5950X , RTX 3090.

I learned today that 4000MHz is currently unrealistic to achieve and so have mixed feelings about the purchase. Will I be able to use it as 3800MHz CL18 out of the box without manually calibrating every single RAM parameter? I'd be fine hoping that in the future it will be possible to enable 2000MHz infinity fabric. But what I'm afraid of is severely underperforming RAM compared to 3600MHz CL16.

Besides, would it work if I add another pair of identical 2x32GB to the remaining slots at any time in the future?

 

[Dj0gany]

I would go with 3600MHz CL16.
There isnt really a point chassing 4000mhz if you are only gaming,3600mhz is perfectly fine in my opinion.
Also i would preffer CL16 over CL18 any day.
On paper more sticks should work together if they are the exact same model,but if it isnt in a kit,it doesnt have maximum chance of working together.

 

[Asido]

There isnt really a point chassing 4000mhz if you are only gaming,3600mhz is perfectly fine in my opinion.

In this case it wasn't a chase, but just a cheaper item than any 3600MHz with CL under 20.

 

[Dj0gany]

How much is that 3600mhz cl16?

 

[Asido]

I discovered a few € cheaper kit: Crucial Ballistix 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR4-3600 16-18-18-38
Thank you @Djoza.