what matters the most when choosing gaming ram aside from memory size?

[simonz93]

Is DDR4 better than DDR3 (reading online seems to suggest only marginally when it comes to gaming, but would like some confirmation)? And what about the speed, 1600 2133, 2400 etc? Tom's list of best rams include quite a few DD3-1600 rams. If I have a very good rig with i7-6700k & Gtx 1080, will using the "slower" rams drag the rig back?

Thanks

 

[Supahos]

If you're using a 6700k you'll be using ddr4, the price difference between say 2800-3200 and 2133 ram is pretty small and can make sense when building new. I'd almost never tell anyone to upgrade to faster ram for gaming purposes as the performance gain is tiny. But it might be worth the $10-15 more it costs up front.

 

[simonz93]

If you're using a 6700k you'll be using ddr4, the price difference between say 2800-3200 and 2133 ram is pretty small and can make sense when building new. I'd almost never tell anyone to upgrade to faster ram for gaming purposes as the performance gain is tiny. But it might be worth the $10-15 more it costs up front.

oh so I don't even have the option to go with ddr3 because of the CPU?
Thanks

 

[Tradesman1]

You could get a hybrid mobo that runs DDR3L but it is a bit self defeating as the CPUs are made towards DDR4 2133 at base level and the DDR3L typically is only available in 1600 or 1866, and games are utilizing DRAM more and more both in Quantity, (games already out calling for 16GB) as well as speed - i.e. Fallout 4

http://wccftech.com/fallout-4-performance-heavily-influenced-by-ram-speed-according-to-report/

 

[simonz93]

You could get a hybrid mobo that runs DDR3L but it is a bit self defeating as the CPUs are made towards DDR4 2133 at base level and the DDR3L typically is only available in 1600 or 1866, and games are utilizing DRAM more and more both in Quantity, (games already out calling for 16GB) as well as speed - i.e. Fallout 4

http://wccftech.com/fallout-4-performance-heavily-influenced-by-ram-speed-according-to-report/

I see

and my mobo (MSI B150I gaming pro AC) also offers DDR4 boost, so guess DDR4 is the only option.

thanks

 

[Supahos]

Ahhhh have you already bought that board? You bought an overclockable processor and a motherboard that can't overclock

 

[simonz93]

Ahhhh have you already bought that board? You bought an overclockable processor and a motherboard that can't overclock

I know man, I'm such a fool...the OC issue is fine since I don't plan to OC right away, but this board is the worst mobo in the world. It is TINY, 1/3 smaller than the normal micro-ATX, and has the worst designs in terms of slots, connectors and ports. Building the PC on this mobo was a nightmare!

 

[Supahos]

That's because it's NOT a micro atx board.... it's a mini itx board lol all boards of a type are the same size

 

[simonz93]

That's because it's NOT a micro atx board.... it's a mini itx board lol all boards of a type are the same size

LMAO! No wonder it is so tiny. It looks RIDICULOUS in my ultra tower with a big ass heatsink and GPU on it.

I really shouldn't just blindly follow people's advice and do careful research on my own next time I'm buying the parts. Lesson learned. T_T

 

[Supahos]

Should be a fine board and you can always get a mini itx case for it later if you want to save some space

 

[simonz93]

Should be a fine board and you can always get a mini itx case for it later if you want to save some space

lol nah I love the case (phantom 630). More empty space probably provides better ventilation. If anything I will change the mobo later on, that was truly a mistake lol.