[SOLVED] Is a CAS latency from 19 to 15 worth $100 extra?

ww1superstar

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Jan 21, 2015
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I have been looking at upgrading my RAM since my current RAM is only DDR4-3000. I was looking at 3 different types of RAM. DDR4-3600 with 19 CAS latency for $104, DDR4-3600 with 17 CAS latency for $155, and DDR4-3600 with 15 CAS latency for $200. Doing my research on CAS latency, I have not found if this would be any significant bottleneck for my PC if I were to go cheaper on the RAM. Is the price increase worth it? which one is the best value for its performance?

The RAM is here if you want to take a closer look in order from cheapest to most expensive:
https://www.microcenter.com/product...l-desktop-memory-kit-f4-3600c19d-16gvrb---red
https://www.microcenter.com/product...desktop-memory-kit-f4-3600c17d-16gtzr---black
https://www.microcenter.com/product...-desktop-memory-kit-f4-3600c15d-16gtz---black

The rest of my build:
CPU: 6700k, but soon will upgrade to 9900k
GPU: 1080ti
Mobo: z170-pro gaming
PSU: EVGA 850w
Current RAM: G. Skill RipJaws V 16GB DDR4-3000
 
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Yeah, you probably won't notice much performance difference from upgrading to higher-speed RAM for that hardware, so I'm not sure I would bother. What is this system being used for, gaming? In general, unless you are running that 1080 Ti at 1080p resolution on a 144+Hz screen, your graphics card will likely be limiting performance more than anything in most modern titles. And even if you were aiming for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, you typically wouldn't notice a performance difference of more than a few percent over what you have from faster RAM. Even your existing RAM is already not a "significant bottleneck" for your PC, and you could probably find some other upgrade to use the money for.

As for your planned upgrade to a...
Yeah, you probably won't notice much performance difference from upgrading to higher-speed RAM for that hardware, so I'm not sure I would bother. What is this system being used for, gaming? In general, unless you are running that 1080 Ti at 1080p resolution on a 144+Hz screen, your graphics card will likely be limiting performance more than anything in most modern titles. And even if you were aiming for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, you typically wouldn't notice a performance difference of more than a few percent over what you have from faster RAM. Even your existing RAM is already not a "significant bottleneck" for your PC, and you could probably find some other upgrade to use the money for.

As for your planned upgrade to a 9900K, the near-term benefits of that processor for gaming will likely be limited, compared to something like a 9700K or 8700K, which should perform more or less identical in current games. Unless you are streaming or heavily multitasking while gaming, you likely won't see much benefit from a processor with 8-cores and 16-threads for some years to come. Plus, that new CPU will also require a new motherboard.

If you intend on replacing your motherboard anyway, it's also probably worth having a look at reviews for the new Ryzen 3000-series processors when they launch within the next few weeks. They are expected to have significantly improved performance per clock over the existing Ryzen models, and it's likely that they will have very similar per-core performance to Intel's i7s and i9s, only with more threads available at any given price point. It remains to be seen how much RAM speed might affect the performance of those processors though.
 
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ww1superstar

Reputable
Jan 21, 2015
125
0
4,710
Yeah, you probably won't notice much performance difference from upgrading to higher-speed RAM for that hardware, so I'm not sure I would bother. What is this system being used for, gaming? In general, unless you are running that 1080 Ti at 1080p resolution on a 144+Hz screen, your graphics card will likely be limiting performance more than anything in most modern titles. And even if you were aiming for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, you typically wouldn't notice a performance difference of more than a few percent over what you have from faster RAM. Even your existing RAM is already not a "significant bottleneck" for your PC, and you could probably find some other upgrade to use the money for.

As for your planned upgrade to a 9900K, the near-term benefits of that processor for gaming will likely be limited, compared to something like a 9700K or 8700K, which should perform more or less identical in current games. Unless you are streaming or heavily multitasking while gaming, you likely won't see much benefit from a processor with 8-cores and 16-threads for some years to come. Plus, that new CPU will also require a new motherboard.

If you intend on replacing your motherboard anyway, it's also probably worth having a look at reviews for the new Ryzen 3000-series processors when they launch within the next few weeks. They are expected to have significantly improved performance per clock over the existing Ryzen models, and it's likely that they will have very similar per-core performance to Intel's i7s and i9s, only with more threads available at any given price point. It remains to be seen how much RAM speed might affect the performance of those processors though.
I do use the computer for gaming, and I run on a 1440p 144Hz monitor and also have a 1080p 60Hz second monitor, so from what you said it sounds like I could benefit from it. I am upgrading my mobo with the 9900k (because I have to lol) to a Gigabyte z390 Arorus Ultra. The main reason I haven't upgraded yet is because of the Ryzens coming out like you said, and I want to make sure they don't outperform 9900k before purchasing a 9900k. Also I didn't realize the lack of performace I would notice between 9700k and 9900k, and looked up some benchmarks and definitely not worth the extra $100 since they do perform the same on current games.