Selecting DDR4 Memory For Budget Gaming Build

[Michael Hartman]

Having gotten a lot of ideas and advice, I've been able to hone what my components might look like for a budget gaming build. I still have a lot of questions, and I'll try to focus on one or two items per thread, because it seems my thread gets out of control when I have 20 or 30 (million) various questions: so here goes...

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VWMNd6
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VWMNd6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($127.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-AB350M-Gaming 3 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.79 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot - Viper Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba - 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.34 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card ($159.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.89 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Corsair - Vengeance K65 Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Wired Gaming Keyboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $861.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-29 14:04 EDT-0400

I think my system might look something like that. (sans monitor and a couple other things that I haven't really begun to think about) The only things definite are the PSU and case, because I've purchased those.

One thing I'm wondering about is memory, and configuration. How much real dif is there between, say, Patriot, G. Skill, Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, etc?? How much will I need? Seems like the answer to that is often "as much as you can afford." And what configuration? 2x4GB? 2x8GB? 1x8 or 1x16? There must be reasons for different configurations, probably having something to do with what I can afford, how much I'll realistically need, and how many sockets I've got available on my motherboard, right? Do heat spreaders spread heat or just sort of look sexy? From the specs on this motherboard, it looks like it will support up to 3200MHz, but the AMD website states the maximum system memory speed for the Ryzen 3 is 2667... what does that mean insofar as what sort of memory I should be looking at for my system? Thanks.

 

[why_wolf]

For RAM you always want to use two sticks in dual channel mode, this provides the best RAM performance.

In terms of capacity you want 8GB at the minimum and preferably 16GB. Any more than that is largely wasted for normal users and games. Only professionals will see any real reason to use more currently.

Also for Ryzen builds the fastest RAM you can get, that the MB actually supports, the better. Ryzen tags its Infinity Fabric (core to core) channel speeds at RAM speeds. So faster RAM speeds = faster IF speeds.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Go to the support page for your motherboard at gigabyte. They will list the memory support list. Get one on that list.

Ryzen has had some compatibility issues with RAM. So if you want to make sure it works, get RAM on that list. Do get RAM rated at 3000mhz or higher. Ryzen scales very well with RAM speed.

Your board is a dual channel board, so in order for it to run properly, you need to have 2 sticks of RAM. So if you want 16gb, then get 2x8gb sticks. That means 2 sticks, each with 8gb.

 

[Michael Hartman]

For RAM you always want to use two sticks in dual channel mode, this provides the best RAM performance.

In terms of capacity you want 8GB at the minimum and preferably 16GB. Any more than that is largely wasted for normal users and games. Only professionals will see any real reason to use more currently.

Also for Ryzen builds the fastest RAM you can get, that the MB actually supports, the better. Ryzen tags its Infinity Fabric (core to core) channel speeds at RAM speeds. So faster RAM speeds = faster IF speeds.

Awesome! Thank you, this clears up some of my confusion about the thing... I'm inclined to get 16GB, given I'm already dropping a pretty fair amount of $$ on this system, overall, and it seems sort of lame to skimp on RAM.

 

[Michael Hartman]

Go to the support page for your motherboard at gigabyte. They will list the memory support list. Get one on that list.

Ryzen has had some compatibility issues with RAM. So if you want to make sure it works, get RAM on that list. Do get RAM rated at 3000mhz or higher. Ryzen scales very well with RAM speed.

Your board is a dual channel board, so in order for it to run properly, you need to have 2 sticks of RAM. So if you want 16gb, then get 2x8gb sticks. That means 2 sticks, each with 8gb.

Yeah great advice, will definitely look at the mobo site for the memory support. I will keep that in mind about dual channel memory and get two sticks. So what I listed there would work, but I probably want to check it against the manufacturer's (Gigabyte) recommendation for that mobo... Thanks for your help.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

Go to the support page for your motherboard at gigabyte. They will list the memory support list. Get one on that list.

Ryzen has had some compatibility issues with RAM. So if you want to make sure it works, get RAM on that list. Do get RAM rated at 3000mhz or higher. Ryzen scales very well with RAM speed.

Your board is a dual channel board, so in order for it to run properly, you need to have 2 sticks of RAM. So if you want 16gb, then get 2x8gb sticks. That means 2 sticks, each with 8gb.

Yeah great advice, will definitely look at the mobo site for the memory support. I will keep that in mind about dual channel memory and get two sticks. So what I listed there would work, but I probably want to check it against the manufacturer's (Gigabyte) recommendation for that mobo... Thanks for your help.

I don't know what your budget is, and I am really good at spending other people's money. lol

But if it were my system, I would get an SSD to load windows on. The SSD wont necessarily translate into higher fps for games, but it will make the overall PC experience much better. It will drastically speed up boot and load times and make your system feel like it reacts much quicker. The Samsung 850 EVO is the most popular SSDs in the world and you cant go wrong with it. It is around $100. Your board also supports NVMe SSDs. So this means you can get a Samsung 960 EVO which is even faster than the 850. They are around $130 for the 250gb model.

I would drop your 3tb hdd and get a 1tb hdd for around $40. That will save you about $40 and you can throw another $60 on it and get the 850 EVO. Then when you build the PC load the OS onto the EVO and put your games on the HDD. 1tb hdd should hold at least 20 games.

If you get an SSD later, you will have to worry about data migration and hdd size vs ssd size and it is a head ache. If you get on from the start you don't have any of that to worry about. Then if you want more space later you can get another and just put your games on it and it will be plug and play.