2400Mhz 4x4Gb motherboard paired with Ryzen 5 1600 processor
2400Mhz 4x4Gb motherboard paired with Ryzen 5 1600 processor
I plan to add another machine into my home, since my partner and I want to enjoy 4K couch gaming. I managed to purchase a Red Devil 6700xt on eBay for roughly $350, so I’ll be acquiring additional components and swapping parts around with the one at my desk. I discovered a seller on Craigslist offering a 4x4GB Crucial Ballistix 2400MHz RAM kit for $20, hoping to keep costs low and avoid the temptation of a more expensive option. I’m currently running the 1600 with an x470 Taichi board and Ripjaws V. 3200. My local microcenter has a 5600 for $150, and I secured an ASRock B450M with BT/WiFi open box for $45 (plus a $20 discount for the bundle). The 1600 will be paired with the 5600 at my 4K60 TV, while the B450M will go at my desk (3440x1440 at 75Hz) alongside the x470 Taichi. Essentially, I’m wondering if you think I’ll be able to reach 3000Mhz on the B450M to match the 1600’s performance, or if a 2933 would be sufficient for that upgrade? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially since I’m really considering the $20 RAM kit for 16GB of DDR4.
They typically use Micron Rev. A chips in their 4GB Ballistix sticks, which aren't ideal for high overclocking. The 2933 model caps around 1.35V, and pushing it further would likely hurt performance. Running in dual rank mode adds extra strain on the memory controller already handling the 1600. A plus for Crucial sticks is that their model numbers reveal performance details, so you can verify your expectations. Even at $20, the extra speed won't overcome the 1600 bottleneck.
For 4K60 it might not be a major issue. I haven’t played at that resolution before, but it doesn’t seem to cause problems. At 3440x1440 with 75Hz, it’s always smooth (especially with a 3200MHz XMP RAM).
It should run at around 2933mhz, which is sufficient for the 1600 target. Even if the system could reach 3200mhz, I recall that early Ryzen models struggled with higher frequencies—especially with four dimms—so stick with the current setting. You might notice minor stuttering due to the 1600 frame buffer size (16mb L3), but overall frame rates should remain stable thanks to the 4k 60hz output.
I assume higher quality settings like 4k put more load on the GPU than the CPU. Your target frame rate isn’t extreme, so I don’t think you’ll face a major CPU slowdown. My machine is an R5 1600 AF with an RX 5700 (non-XT) and my RAM is only running at 2800 MHz. Even when playing 1080p at 60 fps, I haven’t noticed any stuttering in games.
They confirm it, as changes in resolution have minimal impact on CPU performance. The focus was on whether performance would drop noticeably when switching from a 1600 with single-rank 3200MHz RAM (stable over 75fps in most games except Elden Ring) to a lower-end board with dual-rank 2400MHz RAM requiring overclocking. The mention of 4K60 highlighted the need to lower the required speed to 60. The advice on 2800MHz was useful, though. Your setup seems compatible with XMP 2800MHz; you might be able to push it to 3000 to align with the 1600AF's performance needs.
It really varies by game. I mainly play at 4K resolution, but I occasionally push my 5900X to its limits. If you're comfortable with WQHD in the games you enjoy, you should be just fine at 4K. The gap between 3200MHz and 2933 MHz isn't huge, so you shouldn't worry about missing out on higher speeds.
Okay, sorry I didn't catch that you were considering buying single rank ram. IMO, I would stay away as I've read that there is a pretty significant performance degration with Ryzen CPU's and single rank DDR4 RAM. From what I've gathered, it's around 10-15% Whether or not you'll be able to maintain 60 fps is a toss-up, depending on the title. The GPU should be more than adequate but I'm not sure about whether you'll experience enough of a CPU bottleneck to drop under 60 fps.