[SOLVED] Best DDR4 RAM for Overclocking - Tips?

[Dylan Beckett]

Best DDR4 RAM for Overclocking - Tips?



Hello

Be warned - I have an army of questions

I am planning on buying a 12700K system and want to get 32gb or 16gb of DDR4 Ram for Music Production/DAW use.

Note - I'm sticking to DDR4 only - and I don't intend to overclock the CPU - or at least not until it's towards the end of its life (not experienced in that either).

I'm no expert on RAM - never bothered with the details in the past. I've tried to read up on it - but keep in mind I may not fully understand everything even if I might occasionally use the right terms or have the right idea in general etc.

I am assuming I should get 3600 Mhz, CL16 or 18 if I can afford it - and ideally Dual Rank in two sticks (better for OCing?)
And I've also heard that RAM that is made with a Samsung B-die is better?

The terms like CL16 CL18 and all the others – are the same no matter what speed and size? Can you point me to a good list?

I'm just looking for some basic tips on what to get/what specs to priorities for overclocking AND just in general advice on what would be best for my system and use for music production (lots of power hungry effects and synths) etc.

For my use case - would it really matter if its 3200 vs 3600 or CL16 or CL18 etc ... eg if I had to choose between getting slightly slower ram so that I could get twice as much (32gb instead of just 16gb of faster ram)... surely that'd be better? And whether OC'd or not... would I really see any tangible/worthwhile difference between the slower and faster ram set if they were the same size... eg 3200 vs 3600 or CL16 or CL18 etc ?

Is there a website I can use to definitively confirm if something is the Samsung B-die AND Dual Rank (finding this hard to confirm - seem to be arguments)?

Should I be checking SKU's and other things like that... does it matter when exactly it was produced or where... how do you find this stuff out if it does matter?


What various specific Brands/Models of DDR4 RAM do you recommend are at the sweet spot for value/cost for Dual Rank 3600 /3200 CL16/18 32gb or 16gb in two sticks?

Is RAM from less big brand names ok... eg Teamforce seems cheaper, heard of V-colour? Are generics ok?

Any good places to buy online or in store.... If I can I'd prefer something that I can pickup or get delivered in 1-3 weeks if possible?

BTW as I don't have much money and don't want to want months for delivery... I'm feeling that I might need to buy now instead of waiting for the Boxing Day sales as I'm worried all local stock will sell out then - and I'd have to wait ages if they ever take orders? Am I stressing for no reason?

For computer parts, headphones, electronics etc in general - are all the biggest sales online and in store Boxing Day or do you need to buy by Christmas day? I remember the last year or two ago I waited until boxing day to buy some general stuff (not just computer stuff) and I was shocked to see that lots of the sales were either ended or the deals were much worse than Christmas day or before? Is this the case in general or not?

Where are the best websites to find the latest bargains? I've found OzBargain has some stuff... where else?

Are there any online stores or physical shops to avoid (dodgy - DOA products etc)?

What is the general rule of thumb for physical stores and online stores in Australia when it comes to price matching other stores whether online or physical?
Eg you're local physical computer shops in particular (whether sold online interstate or not)?

Is there anything in particular I should be looking at for the Z690 Mobo that will help or hinder RAM in general and for OCing?

Will I need some kind of cooler/heatsink or something if I do overclock ram?

I'd be very keen to get a sense of the different 'levels of overclocking' starting at using XMP profiles (not overclocking at all right)... going up to risky full blown overlcocking? Can you give me the gist or - again direct me to a good source?

I’ve heard some mobo’s are having issues with using XMP profiles… or is that just for if your overclocking them? Do you assume things like that will all get sorted out in time (new cpu family and all?)

Should I just ignore those issue knowing they’ll be fine eventually? I don’t absolutely need to OC straight away?

What other factors should I be aware of; and what else should I be looking at/trying to hunt down?

If you can point me to some good website/video guides/Youtube channels that 'get to the point' and cut through all the dense detail that would be great. More detailed links good too - but please say which type it is.


Thank you for your help







Cheers

 

[hotaru.hino]

DDR5 Memory Performance Scaling with Alder Lake Core i9-12900K

In this article, we take a closer look at the performance scaling you can expect for various DDR5 configurations. We test from DDR5-6000 all the way down to DDR5-2400 and compare CL30 vs. CL36 vs. CL40. Last but not least, we also consider these numbers in relation to what DDR4-3600 offers.

www.techpowerup.com

If you want to know how 12th processors scale with RAM speed, you can look at that to start. But note they're testing with an i9, which needs more RAM bandwidth to operate at its best. In any case, I would recommend getting DDR5 if possible. Otherwise DDR4-3600 CL16 is still the sweet spot for this processor it looks like.

If you want the best chance that the RAM will work at the advertised speed rating, get RAM that's listed in the motherboard's RAM QVL document (this is normally available online on the manufacturer's website). Otherwise, as long as you get RAM from a reputable brand (Corsair, Crucial, and G.Skill seem to be what I see), then you don't have to restrict yourself to the QVL list.

 

[geofelt]

If you want faster ram, buy it in the first place.
Ram vendors bin their chips, and the better chips are used in faster specked ram that sells for more.
You could get lucky with overclocking, but do not count on it.

I am using g.skil ripjaws 4000 speed cas 18 which works properly using xmp.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374107?quicklink=true
You can buy the same kit with cas 16 for about double the price if it is worth it to you.
To my mind, the critical spec with ram is to buy enough in the first place.
Unless your processing needs are very ram specific, look elsewhere for performance.

 

[Dylan Beckett]

If you want the best chance that the RAM will work at the advertised speed rating, get RAM that's listed in the motherboard's RAM QVL document (this is normally available online on the manufacturer's website).

So I only need to check this with the motherboard - not the cpu as well?


cheers

 

[Dylan Beckett]

If you want faster ram, buy it in the first place.
Ram vendors bin their chips, and the better chips are used in faster specked ram that sells for more.
You could get lucky with overclocking, but do not count on it.

I take it binning is just rating them on lack of defects and how fast they run etc?

My approach is get the best RAM I can get for my budget and at least I can count on it's out of the box/xmp performance.
If I get lucky and overclocking does help a lot - then that's cool too.

I am using g.skil ripjaws 4000 speed cas 18 which works properly using xmp.

... You can buy the same kit with cas 16 for about double the price if it is worth it to you.

See this is what I'd really love to know - just how much difference really is it going to make if you have the Cas 16 vs the Cas 18 in the exact same spec RAM? If I could get a sense of that then I'd feel more comfortable to know how much more money it's worth to me?

Could you explain and give me some examples please?
Remember I mainly want my pc for Music Production which can be super CPU/RAM intensive (these days at least from what I've heard) as they use a lot of Virtual instruments and very heavy plugins/effects etc, not to mention lots of processing.

It would also be nice if the RAM helped with gaming later on if I can buy a card that doesn't cost the same as a cheap car.

Unless your processing needs are very ram specific, look elsewhere for performance.

see above comment.... I know it's definitely not everything but it's an important part of the equation for this stuff.
That's why I'm getting such a new and fairly powerful system build/cpu.


cheers