[SOLVED] What's the ideal RAM for my system ?

_dawn_chorus_

Honorable
Aug 30, 2017
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I currently have 32Gb (4x8) of G.Skill Ripjaws 3200mhz C14 verified B-die in my system. Thing is it's an intel system, and I have no desire to overclock my ram whatsoever, and its causing me clearance issues for the massive cooler I just installed on the CPU I actually do want to overclock and keep as cool as I can. The only kits that will really fit are Corsair Vengeance LPX but they don't offer as tight of timings so I am looking at buying either a 3600 C18 kit new from newegg or a 3200 C16 kit from ebay for ~$90.
I used this latency calculator (https://notkyon.moe/ram-latency.htm) to find the difference between the two and got 8.75ns for the ripjaws vs 10ns for either Corsair kit. Thats a 12% difference which seems like a lot but its nanoseconds so:

- On an intel system used primarily for music production, video editing, and gaming will this small nanosecond increase in latency even be perceptible? Will it be perceptible in anything other than benchmarks? I know my DAW can lean pretty heavily on ram, and video editing as well. I saw in one thread someone thought it made there system feel less "snappy" to have looser timings. I like snappy, but that small a difference sounds like it could be a placebo effect.

-Will the increase in mhz be more useful in my use cases than the tighter timings?

-I have read that higher memory speeds can stress the CPU memory controller more, potentially inhibiting its overclocking ability. Is this a real concern?


System spec:
i7-8700k delidded
Z390 Aorus Pro
OS on M.2 970 evo 1Tb
 
Solution
It will not be noticeable, as it will only make a few percent difference tops in the memory area and that is a small part of overall user experience.

The Noctua usually does a degree or two better in most tests that I've seen.

_dawn_chorus_

Honorable
Aug 30, 2017
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Air or closed loop? If air, the Dark Rock Pro 4 HSF is designed to accept tall memory sticks -- I have G.Skill Ripjaws under mine.
Its air, and I actually own the DRP4 as well. The noctua nh-d15 is currently getting better temps even without the 140mm front fan on, just the middle fan is attached.
I'm mostly curious about the ram though and how noticeable the difference might even be.
 

RealBeast

Titan
Moderator
It will not be noticeable, as it will only make a few percent difference tops in the memory area and that is a small part of overall user experience.

The Noctua usually does a degree or two better in most tests that I've seen.
 
Solution