Does RAM Speed matter?

Pavel Pokidaylo

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Hi. Putting together a new gaming rig and need to know if I should consider shelling out more for faster RAM or not. I'm assuming the answer is no but I'm not sure. For the CPU I'll be going with either an 8700K or 9700K.
 
Solution
In certain workloads, and depending on the platform..... It can.

For gaming, on an Intel platform the difference is nowhere near as noticeable as it could be on a competing AMD platform, but gains can certainly be had.
Whether they're proportionate gains vs the cost of the speed increase, entirely depends on what you're comparing (and the balance of the hardware, resolution etc).

For gaming, you're likely to see a sizeable performance gain going from 2133 to 2666MHz.
>2666 though, and there's a drop off in performance gains - 3000 or 3200MHz would only be marginally faster than 2666MHz, most of the time.

Barty1884

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In certain workloads, and depending on the platform..... It can.

For gaming, on an Intel platform the difference is nowhere near as noticeable as it could be on a competing AMD platform, but gains can certainly be had.
Whether they're proportionate gains vs the cost of the speed increase, entirely depends on what you're comparing (and the balance of the hardware, resolution etc).

For gaming, you're likely to see a sizeable performance gain going from 2133 to 2666MHz.
>2666 though, and there's a drop off in performance gains - 3000 or 3200MHz would only be marginally faster than 2666MHz, most of the time.
 
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Dugimodo

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It does, but less so with intel than AMD. If you want to save money on a cheaper DDR4 2666 kit for your intel CPU it won't make much difference.
I would not recommend anything slower than 2666 though. Spending more on say low latency DDR4 3200 RAM will improve performance but not by all that much really.

On Ryzen there are some big gains to be had with the right RAM, but that's not really relevant if you are going intel.
 

Pavel Pokidaylo

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Hey thanks for the reply! Yea I think I'll stick with Intel and go with 2666MHz RAM thanks!
 

Pavel Pokidaylo

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Thanks! Not sure what CL15 is but I do like the aesthetics and it's not much more expensive than the other RAM. I can get the same Vengeance but 2666MHz for $150 so it's only $10 less. I could also get 3200MHz for $170 so just $10 more. Either way it's not a big deal. There are also the cheaper and less pretty options without LEDs but I think I'll probably end up going with the 3200 Vengeance for $170. Unless you think G.Skill Trident would be better? Probably the same thing huh?

I think I just like the look of the Vengeance more than the Trident and I'll probably get a Corsair Liquid Cooler so that will match lol
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Without getting overly complex, CL is cass latency. Lower is better, but there's a tradeoff with speed.
A 2666MHz kit should be available with CL13
A 3000MHz kit isn't going to do much better than CL15 in the typical consumer pricepoint.

Effectively, they'd be very similar.


Between your options presented, I think the Vengeange is a good choice.

If you're just looking to keep cost down, and don't care too much for aesthetics, this kit from RipjawsV kit is 2x8GB 3000MHz, CL15.... For $120
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LhgPxr/gskill-memory-f43000c15d16gvrb
Or this Aegis kit, 2x8GB 3000MHz CL16 is $124..
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FNprxr/gskill-aegis-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3000-memory-f43000c16d16gisb

Nowhere near as nice to look at though (subjectively) .
 

Pavel Pokidaylo

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Ah I see so I should look for it to say CL15 right. And yea I'd rather spend a little more and have the lights. It might be corny and a waste of money but it isn't that much more money and I get to play around with all the lights like a child.
 

Pavel Pokidaylo

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yea my friend would definitely disagree with me he hates any kind of lights says they are distracting.