I thought a RAM upgrade was pointless, but I was totally mistaken.
I thought a RAM upgrade was pointless, but I was totally mistaken.
I thought a RAM upgrade was pointless, but I was totally mistaken. It only boosted a few frames per second when switching to quad channels. Also, the jump from 2666mhz to 3200mhz didn’t really add much. But after upgrading to a 4x8GB 3200mhz Adata Gammix D45—just because it looked cool made me excited—I saw a massive improvement! From 2666mhz to 3200mhz, my CS2 frame rate jumped over 50%. With the Hyper X 2x16 at 2666mhz, I was averaging 70-80 FPS. Now with the new RAM, it’s hitting 100-144 FPS. That’s insane! Am I missing something or are all these YouTube videos fake?
They don't have a "quad-channel" setup on consumer systems—just two dimmer controls per channel while still offering dual-channel functionality. It might be a mix of higher frequencies and quad-rank tuning, which could be why you notice such improvements in games that are very sensitive to these settings (unlikely to see the same boost in other AAA titles). Regarding your new hardware, how does the CAS latency compare to your old one? The new unit likely has better timing performance as well.
When discussing the Ryzen 5000, it features just two memory controllers, meaning it operates in dual-channel mode. You're probably adjusting three settings: FCLK, MCLK:UCLK, and the number of populated DIMM slots. Additionally, you might see improved timing optimization on a 3200MT/sec configuration compared to a 2666MT/sec setup. Regarding the 5700x3D versus 2666MT/sec RAM pairing, it goes beyond merely boosting memory speed—it's about overall system performance. The Ryzen 5000 is designed for a perfect balance of these clocks at 1:1:1. Originally, it runs at 1600MHz, which most people associate with the 3200MT/sec data rate. FCLK manages the communication between the CPU cores and the I/O devices, handling all data traffic. This clock isn't present on traditional monolithic chips like Intel's, thanks to Ryzen's multi-chip architecture. It contributes to higher yields and lower costs by isolating components such as the North Bridge from the main die. Switching to a 1333MHz FCLK with 2666MT/sec RAM would be a notable change, but stability likely remains a priority. Moving from 1600MHz to 1800MHz on FCLK represents a substantial performance leap, especially when paired with a faster RAM option like 3600MT/sec. For context, the Ryzen 7000 line introduced the ability to set FCLK to MCLK:UCLK automatically, supporting AUTO:1:1 tuning. This 1:1:1 timing strategy is specific to the Ryzen 1000 through 5000 series.
Increasing RAM from 2666 to 3200Mhz can enhance CPU performance especially if the GPU isn't too weak. Swapping from two sticks to four sticks might also offer some gains, particularly if the original sticks were single-channel modules. Using two 16GB dual-rank sticks and replacing them with a single 4×8 stick of the same speed should maintain similar performance since it creates a dual-rank setup.