Check the RAM specifications for CL/Timings details.
Check the RAM specifications for CL/Timings details.
Consider the impact of CAS latency in terms of clock cycles. Faster speeds mean shorter cycles, which can reduce overall delay. CL32 at 5600 MT/s equals 11.42 nanoseconds; CL40 at 6400 MT/s equals 12.5 nanoseconds. Although CL40 is slightly higher (~9%), the difference isn’t as significant as it seems (40 vs 32 would suggest a 25% increase). Performance ultimately depends on your needs—games often favor lower latency, while production software may benefit more from quicker speeds. Latency refers to the delay before data transmission begins. Speed indicates how rapidly information moves. If you make few large transfers, latency won’t dominate; if many small ones occur, latency becomes more relevant. In most cases, the variation is only noticeable in benchmark tests. tl;dr: Look for specific benchmarks for your games or software to gauge real-world impact.
Performance hinges more on secondary and tertiary settings than on primary timings. Those naming conventions can be confusing, but the impact of primaries is minimal compared to subtimings. I’ll clarify this for you—fast RAM isn’t essential, and you won’t notice big improvements unless you tweak things manually. Most factors don’t prioritize bandwidth, but latency does. Cas latency isn’t much better than expected, especially on Intel chips; you won’t see a noticeable drop in latency per bit dropped.
Subtimings are what truly influence speed. The naming system is unclear, but it’s clear they’re important. You won’t benefit much from fast RAM unless you’re willing to experiment. Higher voltage requirements mean even small gains become harder to achieve.
For tuning, focus on subtimings like TRFC, SR DR DDM, RDDR, TFR-L/S, TFAD, and TRW. These can make a difference. You’ll likely see only minor improvements—around 3% at best—unless you use software that ignores RAM speed.
Latency remains the key concern. At lower frequencies, it doesn’t matter much, but as speeds rise, it becomes more critical. You probably won’t get much performance boost from better RAM unless you’re pushing into higher frequencies where timing sensitivity increases.
If you want to optimize, adjust subtimings carefully. Overclocking can help, but it also risks instability if voltages or timings aren’t precise. High temperatures hurt data retention.
For now, a basic 5600 module offers some future-proofing. It won’t fix everything, but it gives you a foundation. If you really want to go deeper, consider overclocking and experimenting—just be prepared for tricky timing adjustments. Otherwise, stick with proven options and avoid chasing marginal gains.
Consider that you might not receive the full 6400. I purchased a 6400cl32 kit, but stability only appears when it's set to 5800 or lower. Going above 5800 triggers errors in memory tests, causing instability and risking data loss. A 5600 setting seems still acceptable.