Question DDR4 SODIMM - 2666 costs more than 3200?

[obfuscate]

Was looking to upgrade to 32GB RAM in my laptop so I was looking at some Corsair SODIMM on Amazon.

Corsair Vengeance Performance Memory Kit 32GB DDR4 2666MHz CL18 Unbuffered SODIMM (2x16GB)

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Vengeance-Performance-260-Pin-CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18/dp/B01BGZEVHU/

$74.99

Corsair Vengeance Performance SODIMM Memory 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz CL22

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Performance-Unbuffered-Generation/dp/B08GSTF5NJ/

$63.99

Both are shipped and sold by Amazon.

It isn't a big cost difference but I'm just wondering if i'm missing something ... why does the 2666 cost more than the 3200? Faster RAM typically costs more so why is the 2666 more expensive?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Can you pass on the make and model of your laptop and it's SKU? It's to do a doublecheck on what your platform can handle, both ram capacity wise and frequency wise.

 

[obfuscate]

It's actually an AIO.

HP All-in-One 24-cb1017c

According to the HP site:

• Dual channel memory (two DIMMs per channel) architecture
• Two DDR4 SODIMM (260-pin) sockets
• Supports up to PC4-25600 (DDR4-3200) for 8 GB and 16 GB
• Supports up to 4 GB on 32-bit systems
• Supports up to 32 GB (unbuffered) with two 16 GB DIMMs on 64-bit systems

 

[BFG-9000]

Then it's pretty clear the 3200Mhz would be better for your system. If your system could only accept 2666MHz then the 2666MHz CL18 may actually be better, if for example the SPD of the 3200MHz is programmed for Jedec standard CL20 at 2666.

When you have no control over timings and voltages, then whatever the modules run at using default settings is pretty important

 

[obfuscate]

Oh for sure, I agree. My main question was about the faster 3200 RAM being cheaper than the slower 2666. I had never seen faster RAM being cheaper unless the slower RAM was from a third party seller or something. Just making sure I wasn't missing something obvious.

 

[Misgar]

As time goes by, RAM prices often go down. The 2666MHz RAM might be older stock, manufactured at a time when memory prices were higher. The 3200MHz RAM might be new stock, manufactured more recently.

Companies with stocks of older (more expensive) RAM may be reluctant to drop the price below that of new (less expensive) RAM.

In many cases, obsolete RAM commands a premium when compared to new faster RAM that doesn't work in old computers. Some old laptops and servers can be very fussy regarding RAM.

Of course faster RAM, e.g. 3600 or 4000MHz DDR4 will generally be more expensive than 2666 or 3200MHz RAM.