Which Trident Z Kit For Coffee Lake Build?

[aggielaw]

Hi all! I'm finishing up my shopping for an i5-8600k build. I went with the ASrock Gaming K6 Z370 motherboard with the intent of overclocking the i5 to somewhere between 4.8 and 5GHz (I plan to see how far I can reasonably OC the chip and then back it off 200MHz). The last thing I need now is to buy the RAM. I've read CL16 RAM at 3200 will perform at about the same level as CL15 RAM at 3000, but what about the other timings? I have two nice choices on sale:

Trident Z 3200 @16-18-18-38 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232391&cm_re=g.skill_trident_z-_-20-232-391-_-Product)

Trident Z 3000 @15-15-15-25 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231911&cm_re=g.skill_trident_z-_-20-231-911-_-Product)

Although the first is "CL16 rated" the other timings are not as good, whereas on the second set the numbers are the same across the board, causing me to think the 15-15-15-35@3000 might actually perform better than the 16-18-18-38@3200 sticks. Which do you expect to perform better in an overclocked Coffee Lake machine?

The root model numbers (F4-3000C15D and F4-3200C16D) of both sets are on the ASRock Gaming K6 QVL. However, the specific model numbers, which follow the root model numbers, are not on the QVL. I assume this doesn't matter because the last few digits of the model numbers appear to simply differentiate the various features (color scheme or RGB lights), but can someone confirm or refute that assumption?

Thanks to all for your advice!

hc

 

[bjornl]

It would be very close. I would get the 2nd. Optionally have you considered the Corsair LPX modules? Slightly more expensive, but generally have the best quality (samsung chips, very good timings).