Which PC to buy RAM for?

[jwhiteney]

Hello,

I have a question about an upgrade I am about to make. I have two PCs... one that I use to play games and one that is mostly a media server (but also is used to play LoL sometimes). I have been playing some PUBG recently which apparently uses a lot of RAM. I was about to buy 2 more 4GB sticks for my PC... but was wondering if I would be better off making my current media server PC into my gaming PC since it supports DDR4 RAM and just get 2 more 4GB stick for that. Is the jump from 1600MHz DDR3 to 2400MHz or higher DDR4 RAM worth it, or should I just stick with my original plan.

Gaming PC
z97-a
i7-4790k
gtx960
2x4GB 1600MHz DDR3
SSD
1TB drive

Media Server
z170-a
i5-6600k
no video card
2x4GB 2400MHz DDR4
SSD
3TB drive
2x4TB drives

 

[Jwpanz]

I would upgrade your gaming PC with the additional RAM if you plan on playing more demanding games on it. Your media server PCis poised to become a decent gaming PC if you plopped a graphics card in there like a GTX 1070.

 

[jwhiteney]

Ok. So with everything else the same the 4790k with 16GB DDR3 is better than the 6600K with 16GB DDR4?

 

[Jwpanz]

16GB would benefit you more for your gaming needs than your media server needs.

 

[jwhiteney]

16GB would benefit you more for your gaming needs than your media server needs.

Sorry, re-reading my OP i wasn't completely clear. I was wondering what system would be better....

z97-a
4790k
16GB 1600MHz DDR3
GTX960

or

z170-a
6600k
16GB 2400MHz or higher DDR4
GTX960

or would the difference be negligible?

 

[Jwpanz]

Well, if that’s the case (where you have a GPU for each) I would actually change my original advice to upgrading your Skylake system. It’s a newer system and DDR4 will be around for a while longer so you can use it in a future build if you so choose.

 

[logainofhades]

Instead of more ram, I would consider trying to get a better graphics card.

 

[jwhiteney]

Instead of more ram, I would consider trying to get a better graphics card.

That is definitely something I am looking into. Was running HWMonitor when playing PUBG and it does max out my 960, even on low settings. Eyeing the 1070 right now... but as it seems many are, I am debating whether i should wait for Volta.

But a definite upgrade for me right now is RAM and wasn't sure if 6600k + DDR4 would be better than 4790k + DDR3.

 

[logainofhades]

Really neither is all that different than the other. The 4790k would be superior in games that can take advantage of its hyperthreading. The 6600k is just on a more modern platform, but still games quite well. Single threaded performance is so minimal, that you wouldn't tell the difference in most titles. One argument for the 6600k is DDR4 is current, and could possibly be reused in a future build. DDR3 is a dead end.

 

[jwhiteney]

Really neither is all that different than the other. The 4790k would be superior in games that can take advantage of its hyperthreading. The 6600k is just on a more modern platform, but still games quite well. Single threaded performance is so minimal, that you wouldn't tell the difference in most titles. One argument for the 6600k is DDR4 is current, and could possibly be reused in a future build. DDR3 is a dead end.

Thanks again. If the two configurations are about the same maybe ill go with my original plan and get 8GB more DDR3 and be done with it. It would save me from having to swap around components.

Maybe the i7 will benefit more in the future as more and more games can take advantage of 8 threads.

 

[jwhiteney]

Update...

So i got a friend's 960 (the exact one that i have) and put it in my i5 computer and ran PUBG side by side. the i5 seems to get about 10 frames better on average... but the CPU usage of the i5 for the game was at about 60% wheras the CPU usage for the i7 was only around 30%. Both GPUs were running at 100% (not surprisingly).

I am sort of confused why the i5 has higher framerates though. Seems like if the i7 was working as hard as the i5... it would have higher framerates... not sure if there is anyway to tell the CPU to work harder.

 

[Jwpanz]

The two processors are from different generations with the i5 being a 14nm Skylake chip and the i7 a Haswell chip.

The IPC of the i5 makes it a great gaming CPU compared to even last generation i7’s. I’m not surprised that it yields great frame rates.

 

[jwhiteney]

The two processors are from different generations with the i5 being a 14nm Skylake chip and the i7 a Haswell chip.

The IPC of the i5 makes it a great gaming CPU compared to even last generation i7’s. I’m not surprised that it yields great frame rates.

Yea, I heard great things about the 6600k about being a great gaming CPU.

I just found it odd that although it does get slightly better framerates, it has to work a lot harder to achieve them. Seems like the i7 could get at least the frames as the i5 if it used more of its power.

I was trying to google a reason why this would be, but couldn't find an answer.

 

[logainofhades]

Update...

So i got a friend's 960 (the exact one that i have) and put it in my i5 computer and ran PUBG side by side. the i5 seems to get about 10 frames better on average... but the CPU usage of the i5 for the game was at about 60% wheras the CPU usage for the i7 was only around 30%. Both GPUs were running at 100% (not surprisingly).

I am sort of confused why the i5 has higher framerates though. Seems like if the i7 was working as hard as the i5... it would have higher framerates... not sure if there is anyway to tell the CPU to work harder.

Might want to watch this. Also it sounds like PUBG is not a well threaded title.
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_sRMMZjdU"][/video]