Overclocking Memory Speed and Timings
Overclocking Memory Speed and Timings
You can potentially overclock the RAM with your gigabyte b450, but it depends on compatibility and stability. Checking the motherboard documentation for support of x64 or DDR4 memory at those speeds is essential. Using Ryzen 3400G with 3600MHz clock speed may require careful tuning in BIOS to ensure safe operation.
Overclocking RAM isn't just risky—it's complicated and often leads to issues. More importantly, you can't exceed 3600mhz on the Ryzen 3000 lineup without facing consequences, as detailed here.
Overclocking RAM is not advisable since it already operates at a high speed and involves a complex procedure to ensure stability after adjustments or timing changes. More importantly, you cannot exceed 3600mhz on the Ryzen 3000 series without incurring a cost, as detailed here:
https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3508-...ock-mclock
Additionally, your 3400G is not a Zen2 chip. It belongs to the Zen+ lineup, and considering the restrictions on B450 motherboards—except for certain MSI models—you are likely capped at around 3200mhz. If you manage to run them at their full 3600mhz without slowing down, you’ll be fortunate and should avoid pushing beyond that limit. I don’t know of any current Gigabyte B450 boards that actually support speeds higher than 3200mhz in practice.
Once you reach 3200mhz there really isn't much room for improvement. With DDR3 you can achieve good results by using better timings and higher speeds, such as from 1333 to 1866 or from 1600 to 2133 mhz. However, after 3000mhz+ gains with DDR4 are very limited.
There are opportunities for improvement up to 3600mhz on Ryzen. But straightforward calculations show these benefits are overshadowed by a slower model with a CAS 14 latency. If you choose a 3600mhz unit with a high CAS 14 latency, you’ll lose any edge the faster memory might offer.
3200mhz CL14 is only marginally quicker than 3600mhz CL16. The 3600mhz CL14 is noticeably faster than its predecessor, yet the gap is likely too small for most users to notice, except through synthetic tests that suggest a slight responsiveness.
For gaming, this difference probably doesn’t matter much.