Debating RAM speed details can be tricky.
Debating RAM speed details can be tricky.
You're comparing two G.Skill RAM options. The 3200 MHz has a CL of 16 with timing patterns 16-18-18-38, while the 3600 MHz has a CL of 16 and timing 16-19-19-39. The differences in timing are subtle, and the price gap is about $15. Overall, the timing changes seem minor enough that the 3600 might still be a solid choice.
I’d skip worrying about the sub timings and choose the quicker 3600mhz memory, provided it didn’t exceed your budget.
The intervals are expressed in cycles. When translated to time, the 3600 value indicates lower latency.
depending on the pricing, 16-18-18 3200 is straight up just bottom bin, would not buy barring a huge discount, 16-19-19 is "ok" the best deal atm imho is https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-...6820232306 it's better than the 16-19-19 for 10usd more and used to be 200+ usd a year or 2 ago. Although even if u go into bios and fine tune the timings, it's only about a 3-5% improvement for a 35~usd diff on heavy loads, more for amd, whether or not that's worth is up to u. There's also this: https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-...klink=true but it could just be a voltage bump for cl14
CL or the CAS latency plays the biggest role. Since they match, the additional +1 won't significantly affect overall speed. The 3600MHz unit would likely perform better if your CPU or motherboard supports it. You might also choose the 3200MHz model and adjust timing slightly below the default, which could match performance.