Question RAM question

[msp1981]

What I have is an Asus, B350M mobo with an AMD 1600 processor, The mobo states it can support up to 3000 or 3200mhz (O.C.) The question is what kind of RAM I should buy, for instance can I buy RAM labeled as 3200mhz or do I need to buy 2666 mhz and OC it? It's been a long time since I did a computer build so i'm a bit out of date, also: Is the PC4 25600, 21300 etc something that is relevant as far as compatibility these days? Do I need to buy a certain type for this board?

 

[Zephyl]

3000Mhz RAM would work fine without having to fiddle with anything, as would any speed below 3000Mhz. As for a certain type of RAM for the board, just make sure it's DDR4.

 

[PC Tailor]

The 3000MHz is the rated speed the RAM can be set to. It doesn't mean it can't go above this however, however the RAM is tested and rated as stable up to those speeds.

Your MB will have a native frequency, so a motherboard may have RAM frequency capabilities of 2400, 2666, 3000 (OC), 3200 (OC). The OC basically means you need to overclock in order to operate at that RAM frequency, but you can run 2400 or 2666 without OC.

2666 RAM basically means its rated officially of being able to operate up to 2666 MHz, but it doesn't mean you can't go above that, just means that if you do, you're risking more instability and it's not "officially" supported. So the idea would be you get RAM rated at the speed you want to run at. I.e. if you want to run at 3200, get 3200 RAM.

The PCX XXXX is a description of the transfer rates and type of RAM. But is basically describing the transfer rate. All you really have to do is make sure it is DDR4 and supported by your MB.

 

[msp1981]

Right, so i'm not much of a gamer anymore anyway so i'm not real concerned with the speed of the ram as much, 2666mhz should work well for me, just running 8gb in the system now, would like to have more. I haven't really built a pc since 800mhz RAM, pretty sure back then the PCX xxxx was something that was board compatibility specific. Thanks to everyone who replied.

 

[PC Tailor]

It still is to a degree "PCX" is the type of DIMM. But its just to put it simply, get DDR4 and it will fit.

Glad we could help, just remember to select a best answer if you're happy

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The Ryzen processors used what's called Infinity Fabric to communicate much like Intel's old front side bus. This is directly tied to RAM speed on the Ryzen family. The faster the RAM the faster the CPU can communicate with itself. The sweet spot is DDR4 3200 cas 14. The brand doesn't matter so much although I tend to recommend GSkill. If it's 3200/14 that almost ensures the actual DRAM chips were made with Samsung's B-die ICs and they're the best.