News RAM Benchmark Hierarchy: Fastest DDR4 Memory Kits for AMD and Intel

[Admin]

Our RAM hierarchy ranks memory kits of all frequencies and capacities for any budget.

RAM Benchmark Hierarchy: Fastest DDR4 Memory Kits for AMD and Intel : Read more

 

[ashelus]

Now, let's do quad-rank instead of dual rank:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UkGu6A-6sQ

 

[Olle P]

It's assuring to see that (for AMD) the very best is only 1.9% uplift over the basic 3,200 MHz @ 16-18-18-38. No need to spend more money there.

Now, let's do quad-rank instead of dual rank: ...

That review has nothing to do with ranks but with number of sticks in dual channel.

 

[cryoburner]

Now, let's do quad-rank instead of dual rank:

They sort of did. Today's 2x16GB kits are typically going to provide four ranks, while the 2x8GB kits will typically provide two. That's why all of the 2x16GB kits outperformed the 2x8GB kits, with the possible exception of that one DDR4-5100 kit that managed to hold it's own against a few of them in the AMD test system. But at $900, that 5100 kit is kind of nonsensical considering it was still outperformed by some 2x16GB kits of DDR4-3600 at a fraction of the price. Going with 32GB for four ranks (whether 2x16GB or 4x8GB) will tend to benefit performance more than paying a big premium for just 16GB of enthusiast-level RAM, and if one is planning to keep their system around for a number of years, the added capacity will likely provide even more benefit down the line.

Tom's had an article pointing this out shortly after the Ryzen 3000 series launched...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-3000-best-memory-timings,6310-2.html

 

[Mpablo87]

Well.
Interesting article!!! Useful information!!!

 

[escksu]

Yes, this article basically reinforces what we already know, spending money on expensive ram doesnt make any sense, unless you have unlimited budget.

Yes, someone has also pointed out that 4 ranks of ram is faster than 2. But, the gains are very small as well. You are better off using the budget for more cores or faster gpu.

 

[escksu]

Now, let's do quad-rank instead of dual rank:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UkGu6A-6sQ

Yes, we do know 4 sticks is faster. But it cost more too...so its down to your budget. If you spare budget, its fine. If you, then no.

 

[taz-nz]

Yes, we do know 4 sticks is faster. But it cost more too...so its down to your budget. If you spare budget, its fine. If you, then no.

The video compares 4x 8GB single rack against 2x8G single rank, 2x16gb Dual rank dimms have the same improvement as 4x8GB single rank, it's the total number of ranks (4) that matters.

They missed the best memory kit for 5000 series AMD cpu Gskilll 3800 CL14 32GB (2x1GB) dual rank F4-3800C14D-32GTZN-G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd. (gskill.com)
Gives you the fastest stable FCLK and RAM speed at 1:1 with low latency, and timings can be tightened more on a good motherboard.

Does the new high-end RAM for Ryzen 5000 live up to its promise? - G.SKILL DDR4-3800 CL14 2x 16GB kit put through its paces | Page 3 | igor´sLAB (igorslab.de)

 

[Flyfisherman]

I read somewhere that 1.2V is generally considered the upper limit of safe SoC voltages, particularly on Ryzen 3000CPUs.
SOC voltage - system on a chip voltage; responsible for the voltage related to the memory controller.
Limit: up to 1.2 V.

DRAM boot voltage - voltage at which memory training takes place at system start-up.
Limit: up to 1.45–1.50 V.

VDDP voltage - voltage for the transistor that sets memory contents.
Limit: up to 1.1 V.

1.42V will cause degradation of the CPU
1.38V should be max for 24/7 - 1.35V would be safer

Why doesn't the article mention this, that higher voltage on high speed ram causes degradation of the CPU?
All overclocking is risky business when it comes to higher than recommended voltage.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
On my Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero with AMD Ryzen 3950X I'm using Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16
@1.2V (tested @1.35V 16-18-18-36) LPX=Low profile 33.5mm height so it fits under my Noctua NH-D15 SE AM4 CPU cooler.
Part. No. SKU CMK16GX4M2Z3200C16

Best regards from Sweden

 

[samopa]

Where is DDR5 section ?
What is the fastest / best DDR5 Kit ?
The title suggest that this articles also cover DDR5

 

[InvalidError]

What is the fastest / best DDR5 Kit ?

Probably too early to tell, need more DIMMs and motherboards to actually test with.

 

[wifiburger]

I have the viper 4400cl19 kits with my Zen2 3900X

4x8 3800 cl14
https://ibb.co/tchXqSY

 

[escksu]

There is no real need for expensive memory for AMD....Benchmarks have shown minimal improvement. Best bang for buck now is DDR4-3200. Unless you have spare budget, spend them on other things instead faster GPU, bigger SSD etc...).

No one should be looking at 500GB SSD today. At least 1TB.

 

[InvalidError]

There is no real need for expensive memory for AMD....Benchmarks have shown minimal improvement. Best bang for buck now is DDR4-3200.

3600-16 is marginally more expensive. For people on a budget going with 5000-series APUs, the extra bandwidth and slightly lower effective latency than 3200-16 would be well worth the extra $5-10.

 

[escksu]

3600-16 is marginally more expensive. For people on a budget going with 5000-series APUs, the extra bandwidth and slightly lower effective latency than 3200-16 would be well worth the extra $5-10.

Yes, prices for 3600 is coming down and getting very close to 3200. If you can find 3600-16 for cheap, good!! If not, then just stick with 3200. Never pay a premium for the ram.

Btw, in some cases you can even use value-RAM. I am cheap kingston DDR4-2666 valueram and oc it to 3200-18...haha bought it at a time when 3200-cl16 is rather expensive (3600-16...don't think about it). Thne use that money + extra and gotten an RTX3070....lol....

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Here's my personally made & updated Clock Cycle to real (ns) table for those who want to convert:
RAM Memory Timings to real actual times, and not just the number of Clock Cycles listed on the package.

Hopefully this helps somebody. I've color coded 0.## ns -> 16.## ns so that you can understand the spread.

Also, this works for DDR1 -> 5 and represents the most common MT/s chosen or availble in the market that I've seen.

If there is a MT/s that you think is common but not listed, let me know.

 

[Lafong]

Kamen:

Where do you find the values for tRCP, tRD, tRAS, and CR?

I assume those values are needed to arrive at the CCT in the blue vertical column on the left. (CCT equals CL minus tRCP minus tRD minus tRAS minus CR).

Or do I read that chart and your provided details incorrectly? Maybe that is not an equation?

I'm looking at some Kingston Hyper X spec pages now and see values for speed and various CAS latencies, but no further detail. Greater detail found only on NAND manufacturer web site?

 

[KyaraM]

Where is the Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 CL18? Everything I can find online points to that version being the same or better than the RGB PRO, yet there is nothing on it. Why? Not "gamer enough" because no garbo RGB?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Kamen:

Where do you find the values for tRCP, tRD, tRAS, and CR?

Those are usually printed on your memory stick on a sticker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_Timing

I assume those values are needed to arrive at the CCT in the blue vertical column on the left. (CCT equals CL minus tRCP minus tRD minus tRAS minus CR).

So look up your Transfer speed in MT/s by referencing DDR#-####.
The first value is the DDR Generation.
That second value that is either 3-digit or 4-digit is the Data Transfer Rate using the units of (MT/s).

Then you scroll down to the value on the row for the listed for CL, tRCP, tRD, or tRAS value listed on the sticker to get the real (nano-second) timing.

The "-" wasn't a minus, but a seperator for the digits. Similar to how some people use the "-" as seperator for writing the date down on paper. (e.g. 09-01-1990)
That's usually how it's written by all the manufacturers on the sticker.

If you want to find your tRCP, look at the MT/s that you plan on using, then scroll down to the the matching # value given for tRCP, that's your real latency in (ns).

All Memory timings are listed in this order: (CL, tRCP, tRD, tRAS, CR) values use CCT's as their units (Clock Cycle Times).

Command Rate is usually 1T or 2T, that's all you'll ever see, you usually want 1T if possible, but 2T is perfectly fine.
Sometimes, this value is omitted from the label for whatever reason.

Here's a real world example:

What I listed as DDR Transfer Rate is the Data Transfer Rate of your Memory in units of (MT/s).

Or do I read that chart and your provided details incorrectly? Maybe that is not an equation?

You read it wrong.
It's not an equation.
It's a series of time values using units measured in (Clock Cycles) to indicate how long each major operation of the RAM takes to reference data inside the RAM.
Either way, I've figured it out for you so you don't have to do the math. That's why I made the look up table.

I'm looking at some Kingston Hyper X spec pages now and see values for speed and various CAS latencies, but no further detail. Greater detail found only on NAND manufacturer web site?

Usually, the sticker on the RAM package will give you everything you need.
Go to NewEgg and look at the specific Stick set that you want.

There should be a picture with all the timings on them.
Or somewhere in the listings, you should be able to see the RAM timing & voltage info.

 

[buttabean2]

What would be much more beneficial would be a chart with what chips are in each kit. Right now SK chips are king for ddr5 and kingston uses them almost entirely exclusively across their line up. Here's hoping ddr5 improved by 1Q24 for zen 4 3d

 

[hurnii]

Two things I would have liked to have seen in this article:

ECC - the much needed, but for some reason, often ignored, expensive, redheaded stepchild of memory
(" I want my ECC" - parody sung to the tune of "I want my MTV") (DDR5 has 2x forms of ECC - get the "real" ECC)

Rank the DDR-5 "score" using both AMD and Intel (EXPO vs XMP) (and maybe guess as to the reasons for the deltas?)

Who says Black Friday is "just for gamers" ?

 

[TJ Hooker]

ECC - the much needed, but for some reason, often ignored, expensive, redheaded stepchild of memory
(" I want my ECC" - parody sung to the tune of "I want my MTV") (DDR5 has 2x forms of ECC - get the "real" ECC)

Strangely enough, it doesn't seem like it's really possible to buy DDR5 ECC UDIMMs yet. Or at least, I'm not seeing any standalone kits for sale from North American retailers.

 

[GtiJason]

I've spent the last hour trying to find the bios that is claimed to be used on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X mainboard without success
I have access to all of MSI's Beta / MP / Professional user provided by Chen Weihao
The only thing that makes sense to me is that you guys linked a bios for the MSI Z690 Tomahawk board 7D32 because the Unify-X according to all my research is 7D28
If anyone can confirm or clear this up with the right answer it would be greatly appreciated, thanks much

"Our DDR5 testbed revolves around the Core i9-12900K (Alder Lake) and MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X (7D32vH0 firmware)."

https://ca.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z690-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/support

 

[zhiyeliu]

I've spent the last hour trying to find the bios that is claimed to be used on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X mainboard without success
I have access to all of MSI's Beta / MP / Professional user provided by Chen Weihao
The only thing that makes sense to me is that you guys linked a bios for the MSI Z690 Tomahawk board 7D32 because the Unify-X according to all my research is 7D28
If anyone can confirm or clear this up with the right answer it would be greatly appreciated, thanks much

"Our DDR5 testbed revolves around the Core i9-12900K (Alder Lake) and MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X (7D32vH0 firmware)."

https://ca.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z690-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/support

Thanks for the observation. We previously used the Z690 Tomahawk before switching over to the Z690 Unify-X and forgot to change the firmware version. It should be 7D28vA8.

 

[bit_user]

@zhiyeliu , thanks for the article.

I noticed something weird, however. The AMD DDR5 Frequency vs. DPC vs. Rank table has the combination of 2 DPC + 2 R listed twice, each with different frequencies. I'm guessing the first instance was meant to be 1 DPC + 2 R.
(update: fixed!)

BTW, I always wondered what was the stock limit for Raptor Lake on a 2-slot per channel board. I've had some difficulty finding this info. Now I know! Thanks!