Point of buying different RAM speeds?

[NS_frostbite]

I'm looking at buying 16gb of DRR4 RAM and i'm a bit confused about the differences between the rated speeds.

I've got a choice between getting the 2666mhz kit or the 3000mhz. They have the same timings and are the exact same price. When I install either of these, they will both automatically downclock to 2166mhz as that's what my mobo supports natively. After that i'd have to OC them preferably to 3000mhz. So my question is, would there be any actual difference between these? Would the 3000mhz perform better or be able to OC higher than 2666? Would there be any dis/advantage to buying one over the other?

 

[Tradesman1]

The 3000 will perform better. If at the same timings by spec, the 2666 will need higher timing to run at 3000 and that may be as high as it can go (depending on what make model of DRAM), the 3000 may well have some OC headroom in them to go higher (like RJ V or Tri Z (both from GSkill)). The higher the data rate the more bandwidth so the memory can handle more data at a time