[SOLVED] Recommended RAM manufacturers?

[Queen_Skadi]

Just wondering are RAM manufacturers made evenly or are there certain manufacturers that are generally more reliable and others that should be avoided no matter how good the price to performance ratio is?

Also what are the recommended RAM speeds for a Ryzen 7? I have heard that 3600 is what you should be aiming for but usually the CL for those ram modules is higher as well, is the speed more important than the latency or is there a balance to be found?

 

[Queen_Skadi]

Also just for reference, I could not give a flying toss about RGB (at least when it comes to the internals of the case), I will surely take it if it is there but that said my current computer setup has the windowed side of the case facing the wall so I am not too fussed about how much RPG bling I have on my internal components and if I am paying extra just for lights and glow on stuff like my RAM I would rather save the money by getting the perfectly functional non glowy variant.



RBG fans are sick though, cant get enough RBG fans

 

[NightHawkRMX]

There are only a few companies that actually make the DRAM chips. So most ram kits will be based on either Samsung, SK Hynix, or micron DRAM chips. The ram manufacturer just puts them onto a PCB and maybe throws a heat spreader on it. Generally, ram reliability is the same for most kits regardless of the sticks manufacturer because of this.

However, Ryzen seems to like Samsung DRAM the best, so I would advise you to pick g.skill since they mainly use Samsung from my experiences, however, really any brand should work.

AMD says with 3rd generation the sweet spot is 3600mhz. Really it's definitely worth the small premium over 3200mhz since it leads to better performance, even if the CAS latency is worse.

Heres what kit I would recommend:

$76 G.skill Ripjaws V Black 2x8gb 3600mhz CL18.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb...&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-NwY65NuwPEIZpUzLWWiW_A

 

[thx1138v2]

Regarding your first question, the "too good to be true" statement usually applies.

Regarding the 2nd question you probably won't notice any difference, other than in benchmarking software, between 3200 and 3600 operations.

This kind of analysis is pretty useless without the full specifics on the exact components you will be using. And most mobo manufacturers have a list of the DRAM modules that their machines have been tested on. It's a good idea to find something in that list that works for you.

 

[Queen_Skadi]

ASUS ROG Strix X570-F motherboard
Ryzen 7 3700X CPU
GeForce RTX 2070 Super GPU

Parts are subject to change but that is what I am currently looking at

 

[hftvhftv]

Zen 2 really doesn't have the memory issues that Zen 1 and + had. I have a pair of G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz CL16 that are Hynix, they aren't even on the QVL for my motherboard and the D.O.C.P profile worked just fine. For a new Ryzen 3000 CPU 3600MHz CL16 is good, but 3200MHz CL14 is also good.

 

[geofelt]

Most ram comes with a lifetime warranty.
It probably is a good idea to stick with name brands that have a support system that is available to you.

In selecting ram, you want guaranteed compatibility.
If you should ever have a problem, you want supported ram.
Otherwise, you risk a finger pointing battle between the ram and motherboard support sites, claiming "not my problem".
One place to check is your motherboards web site.
Look for the ram QVL list. It lists all of the ram kits that have been tested with that particular motherboard.
Sometimes the QVL list is not updated after the motherboard is released.
For more current info, go to a ram vendor's web site and access their ram selection configurator.
Enter your motherboard, and you will get a list of compatible ram kits.
While today's motherboards are more tolerant of different ram,
it makes sense to buy ram that is known to work and is supported.

At equal speeds, lower cas is good.
Such ram will also cost more.
There is a balance.
Interestingly, If you divide the speed by the cas, you will get similar results. The importance of cas vs. speed will depend on how your apps use ram. Since this is probably unknowable to you, I would not worry much about it.

Whatever you do, buy a matched kit.
Separate sticks are not guaranteed to work, even from the same part and lot number.

Consider this up front and do not plan on adding ram in the future.

Unless you are seeking record ram overclocks, fancy heat spreaders are not important.
They are mostly for marketing purposes.

 

[timmllnsw]

Just wondering are RAM manufacturers made evenly or are there certain manufacturers that are generally more reliable and others that should be avoided no matter how good the price to performance ratio is?

Also what are the recommended RAM speeds for a Ryzen 7? I have heard that 3600 is what you should be aiming for but usually the CL for those ram modules is higher as well, is the speed more important than the latency or is there a balance to be found?

Well first of all, please allow me to repeat the bit about only a few companies making the chips.

That said, no the RAM purveyors are definitely not on an even footing. Some do a far better job of matching up chip speeds than the others do. I've always found Mushkin to be better at this myself, but that's just personal pref. There are a fair number of other people doing a really good job as well.

But that brings me to your next question, and it's a red herring IMO. There are just so many things jammed in the BUS these days, and they're all running at different speeds. And by what factor are CPUs pumped above the memory BUS? AMD may set the FSB with CPU speed, but it still races faster than anything else on the board. Despite the fact that HW support is so weak under UEFI, manufacturers still try to follow convention, and slow everything down to match the slowest components in the system. It's a real mess. And if you've ever done any low level programming, then you know that developers have to perform a 'far call' when the data being transferred gets to be too much. They have to create what they call the 'stack', or 'heap', and point to it. But if they calculate wrong, the files on the heap are entered at the wrong place, and 'mangling' occurs. If it's a driver being read, it can read settings for drivers that the HW doesn't support ................... and you get one of these mystery threads in forums like this.

In my opinion, you would be better served to try and make all your components synchronize in speed. You'll never get them to match today, so you can forget that. But you can make them mesh. Besides, roughly 60 percent of your system speed is determined by motherboard throughput and hard disk subsystem anyway. This is sound advice, but you can take it for whatever you think it's worth. Things are pretty screwed up right now is all. They'll figure it out, but we have to muddle through until they do.