[SOLVED] RAM Stick Questions

[MasterYoda327]

I plan to rebuild or replace my gaming PC by either the end of this year or early next year. At this time I am considering going with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X for the CPU. However, I have questions about selecting the correct type of RAM sticks for the CPU. My current PC uses an Intel i5-7600K CPU. The specifications for the 7600K lists the RAM types as DDR4-2133/2400 and DDR3L 1333/1600 at 1.35 volts.

I am trying to find the right kind of RAM sticks for the next CPU I purchase and avoid going overkill or cheap on them. I am not planning to overclock. I will use either 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM for the gaming PC. Now using the i5-7600K as an example, I am trying to get the maximum manufacturer-designed memory speed from the CPU. Would I be correct in understanding that to attain that goal, I should go with RAM sticks listed as DDR4-2400 as listed in the 7600K's RAM specs?

If yes, does the same rule apply with the AMD CPUs? The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X lists it memory specification as DDR4 at 3200 megahertz. If I want to get the maximum factory speed from the 5900X, would I go with DDR4-3200 RAM sticks?

Thanks.

 

[wi5pa]

Basically yes, on both the 7600k and 5900x.
However its better to purchase ram thats a bit faster as it wont get stressed by limits, (similar to buying a greater PSU wattage than you need)
and there are XMP profiles and Overclocking that the motherboard bios can do that will speed ram beyond its normal limit.

The CAS speeds are important too - lower the better - but buying any decent corsair memory ddr4 c15/c16 will be fine

 

[geofelt]

The ram speed that can be supported is determined by the motherboard and cpu.
Neither of which has yet to be documented for 5900X
Ryzen is tightly tied to ram, both from a compatibility point of view and from a performance point of view.
No sense making any kind of ram decisions before you know more.

The ram spec is the speed at which the motherboard will boot and get you into the bios.
Then, the highest speed supported will be determined by the motherboard, cpu and ram speed.

What is your current motherboard and ram speed?

DDR5 ram is on the horizon.
It looks to be a more significant change than the DDR3 to DDR4 change.
But, it is perhaps a year out and current intel or ryzen motherboards do not support ddr5.

And, what is your upgrade time horizon?
If it includes early next year, Intel rocket lake should launch and deserves a look.
Both 5900X and intel rocket lake will have new architectures touting 15% IPC gains.
I want to see the benchmarks. IPC times clock rate is the most important aspect of a gaming processor.

Unless you need more ram, I would hold with whatever you have for now.

 

[wi5pa]

https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-9-5900x