[SOLVED] Having trouble choosing RAM for my 3950x / x570 build

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Originally I wanted 64 GB RAM and to have it all be lightning fast but apparently that is difficult to do?

I am mostly debating whether to get more memory 64 GB at the expense of speed, or faster 32 GB at, well, the expense of slightly less RAM.

Is there any serious reason to go with two sticks rather than four? I like how four looks better than two, but from what I hear, two is easier to get working? I'm not quite sure. Would be nice to have four.

The 64 GB options I was considering:
64 GB (4 x 16) 3600 16-16-16-36 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-64gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232864
64 GB (4 x 16) 3200 14-14-14-34 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-64gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232851

The 32 GB options:
32 GB (4 x 8) 3600 14-15-15-35 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232857
32 GB (4 x 8) 3200 14-14-14-34 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232850

Can anyone help me make sense of these options and how they compare in real-usage terms?

 

[Bad_Company]

MoreMoneyThanSense i totally missed your 32 vs 64 post , sorry.
32 should be more than enough. But only you know how intensive your workload is. My personal casual use of most of the things you stated in your third post ( but no video editing at all ) , has never reached close to 32 gb .

If you think you need it though, go for it. My friends told me repeatedly not go for 32 gb and i send them screenshots and laugh at them whenever i exceed 16gb usage.

 

[SgtScream]

I haven't exceeded 16gb yet, but i'm coming close. I just game and video edit at 1080p resolution. I've been recommending 32gb kits for people and their new systems, that play triple A games and keep their systems for 5+ years.

 

[Bad_Company]

For new high end computers there is no reason to not go for 32. I game on 3440*1440 and reach 16Gb with 3A games running , discord, and a couple of chrome tabs. 32 might not need to be the standard yet, but will be soon.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

FYI you can get a 2 x 16gb kit that comes with two extra dummy modules that do absolutely nothing except populate all 4 dimms for aesthetic purposes. I can't remember which manufacturer that was for or even if G. Skill does this, but just FYI.

I have heard of dummy modules before but didn't see any for the Neo RAM.

What do you plan to use the system for?

Will repaste the list:

-Gaming
-Programming (various IDEs, some programs resource heavy like Android, others more heavy number-crunchy like Mathematica, also Python, C++, Java, R, SQL, some web stuff, etc)
-Virtual machines
-Streaming
-Photoshop
-Video editing
-3d modeling
-...lots of Chrome tabs

A lot of these things done at the same time, lots of programs open, etc.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

For new high end computers there is no reason to not go for 32. I game on 3440*1440 and reach 16Gb with 3A games running , discord, and a couple of chrome tabs. 32 might not need to be the standard yet, but will be soon.

Yeah my machine currently has 16 GB and I feel like it's not nearly enough room, I am always pushing it and I have to close out a bunch of stuff. 32 would certainly grant a lot more breathing room but I wonder how long it will last... it made me wonder if 64 would be a good "just don't even worry about it" level of RAM that would be more than enough.

Game on one monitor, virtual machine or two on the other, while on Discord, maybe streaming, bunch of tabs open, maybe doing some editing or coding, etc.

If 32GB 3600 CL14 is too hard to get stable then I'd want to go for the 64 GB 3600 CL16 stuff, but I am not 100% sure how the two will perform differently (CL16 versus CL14) at 3600 Mhz.

 

[SgtScream]

@gskill support the following kit has very fast timings for 3600mhz:
F4-3600C14Q-32GTZN

Can you confirm that this kit will be stable and work with A-XMP enabled or should the OP use a cas latency 16 kit for better stability?

@MoreMoneyThanSense please list your full hardware specifications including the motherboard for when GSkill sees this.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Intended hardware specs, minus the RAM, hard drives, etc.

-Gigabyte x570 Aorus Xtreme motherboard
-Ryzen 3950x CPU
-2080 ti video card
-Seasonic Platinum 1000W PSU

(CPU and GPU watercooled)

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

the following kit has very fast timings for 3600mhz:
F4-3600C14Q-32GTZN

Can you confirm that this kit will be stable and work with A-XMP enabled or should the OP use a cas latency 16 kit for better stability?

I believe this is the 32 GB (4 x 8) 3600 14-15-15-35 kit I had posted in the first post -- at the present time I am debating whether to get that one (32 GB 4x8 3600 MHz CL14) or the 64 GB kit (64 GB 4x16 3600 MHz CL16).

In other words, a choice between:

64 GB (4 x 16) 3600 16-16-16-36 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-64gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232864
and
32 GB (4 x 8) 3600 14-15-15-35 https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232857

 

[Bad_Company]

I believe this is the 32 GB (4 x 8) 3600 14-15-15-35 kit I had posted in the first post

Yes it is. After all this talk , and when you are spending that much money already ( and in honor of your username ) , i would also go for the 64 kit.

3600 both, 14 vs 16 cas, we are talking non observable real life differences performance wise. And you might even be able to tighten the timings and at least do a 15 if not even 14.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Yes it is. After all this talk , and when you are spending that much money already ( and in honor of your username ) , i would also go for the 64 kit.

3600 both, 14 vs 16 cas, we are talking non observable real life differences performance wise. And you might even be able to tighten the timings and at least do a 15 if not even 14.

It would be great to have 64 GB 3600 CL14 on four dimms, just don't know if that's realistic or not, lol, or what I would have to do to get there. Can't have it all, I guess.

That said I am still a little unsure how to compare 3600 CL14 to CL16. All I really know is how to calculate is 1000x14/(3600/2) = 7.77 ns versus 1000x16/(3600/2) = 8.88 ns

I know you mention "non observable real life differences" but I am still curious how non-observable we're talking. Been looking around for numbers and benchmarks but still hard to tell, data is scarce. Also many benchmarks I see are for games, which is useful, but I use my computer for more than just gaming.

 

[Bad_Company]

Unfortunately i don't have any hand on experience with ryzen 3 and memory compatibility , so i am no the best to tell you to what degree 3600 c14 is doable .

Provided that the kit will post and is stable on the adevertised speeds, from there you can just start fiddling with timings and voltages manually until you find a spot where you are happy and stable . There are a ton of ram overclocking guides out there that will explain everything in depth if you want. Keep in mind, since x570 is relatively a new platform and your cpu isnt even out yet, dont get discouraged if you cant do much regarding ram as soon as you get the parts on your hands ( if you buy them as soon as they hit the shelves that is ).
The platfrom could take some time to mature bios-wise and ram compatibility can improve. When i built my 2700x x470 pc last year, my 3466 c16, wouldn't even post at 3400c16. I was running 3300c16 for a few bios versions, Now i am running 3466c14.

I know you mention "non observable real life differences" but I am still curious how non-observable we're talking. Been looking around for numbers and benchmarks but still hard to tell, data is scarce. Also many benchmarks I see are for games, which is useful, but I use my computer for more than just gaming.

did you check the gamers nexus video ? provides some nice information.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Unfortunately i don't have any hand on experience with ryzen 3 and memory compatibility , so i am no the best to tell you to what degree 3600 c14 is doable .

Provided that the kit will post and is stable on the adevertised speeds, from there you can just start fiddling with timings and voltages manually until you find a spot where you are happy and stable . There are a ton of ram overclocking guides out there that will explain everything in depth if you want. Keep in mind, since x570 is relatively a new platform and your cpu isnt even out yet, dont get discouraged if you cant do much regarding ram as soon as you get the parts on your hands ( if you buy them as soon as they hit the shelves that is ).
The platfrom could take some time to mature bios-wise and ram compatibility can improve. When i built my 2700x x470 pc last year, my 3466 c16, wouldn't even post at 3400c16. I was running 3300c16 for a few bios versions, Now i am running 3466c14.

Good point. It makes me think of another question though, if your 3466 c16 wouldn't post at 3400c16, does this imply that if you had bought 3400c16 by itself directly, it would also not post? As in, is there any "downside" to trying to go too high? And if it can only achieve some particular level, that's just the best your system can handle?

did you check the gamers nexus video ? provides some nice information.

lol what timing! I am actually in the middle of watching it now! (about 5m in) now that I have time to watch the full thing

 

[Bad_Company]

if your 3466 c16 wouldn't post at 3400c16, does this imply that if you had bought 3400c16 by itself directly, it would also not post?

Yep. There would be no difference at all.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Yep. There would be no difference at all.

Just finished the video you linked - very informative, thank you

Looks like I really can't go wrong with the Neo 3600 CL16 option (this is already performing near the top of the list even out of the box, only beat out by the overclocked stuff)... I wonder if the Neos can be overclocked to beat even those?

Not finding much on the 3600 CL14 kits yet, still Googling around.

 

[Bad_Company]

I wonder if the Neos can be overclocked to beat even those?

Of course they can be oc'ed for improved results.

I doubt there is a 64GB 3600 cl 14 kit. Memory size is also a slightly limiting factor of performance. I can find c14 only for 32 kits.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Of course they can be oc'ed for improved results.

I doubt there is a 64GB 3600 cl 14 kit. Memory size is also a slightly limiting factor of performance. I can find c14 only for 32 kits.

Sorry I wasn't clear, but yes, I refer to the 3600 CL14 for 32GB versus the 3600 CL16 for 64GB.

Coming down to whether it's better to have more memory or slightly better latency. Leaning towards the 64 GB if only because I just remember last time when people used to say "You'll never need more than 8 GB! That's overkill!" and these days 8 GB would be considered woefully inadequate in many situations. Higher memory burdens kind of sneak up on everyone, I feel.

Though I don't know if one would overclock easier than the other though. Is it usually easier to OC 32GB versus 64GB?

 

[Bad_Company]

Though I don't know if one would overclock easier than the other though. Is it usually easier to OC 32GB versus 64GB?

Like having more dims puts more strain to the imc, so does having more memory. On paper yes it should be easier. I wouldn't even consider getting 32 instead of 64 to gain 0.5 ns latency improvement, when you want 64 for your system.

 

[MoreMoneyThanSense]

Like having more dims puts more strain to the imc, so does having more memory. On paper yes it should be easier. I wouldn't even consider getting 32 instead of 64 to gain 0.5 ns latency improvement, when you want 64 for your system.

Indeed, yeah - gonna go with the 64 GB 3600 CL16 kits.

Thanks for being so helpful with answering all these questions Bad_Company! (you as well SgtScream)!

 

[Bad_Company]

No problem . Happy to help ! have building your awesome pc !