Purchase 7600Mhz RAM or hold off? Also, water cooling concerns?
Purchase 7600Mhz RAM or hold off? Also, water cooling concerns?
Hello, I bought 7600Mhz TeamGroup RAM, I can see that 8000Mhz is soon to be purchasable but I don't know if I should just get 7600Mhz and OC myself. Also, does anyone know if 7600Mhz RAM from TeamGroup is double sided? I plan to water cool it.
You're probably dealing with IMC and board restrictions, not memory constraints. DDR5 8000 faces posting issues on many boards, even with high-quality kits like the Unify-X. This becomes especially challenging with a 12900KS, as it's hard to stabilize at 8000MT/s despite having capable memory. If you're using a Z790 Apex or Dark, 8000 is feasible, but otherwise it's unlikely. You'll need to invest effort to achieve stability—opt for the 7600MT/s kit and push it to 8000MT/s+, which may only shift the difference slightly in the primaries. A 7200MT/s kit would work too, especially if you can afford an XMP profile. Remember, all 16GB DDR5 modules are single-sided, while the 32GB ones are dual-sided.
Current details on my profile. Upgraded to Z790 Apex, considering RAM options. Anticipating 13900KS release.
Then 8000 might be achievable, but I wouldn't rely on the XMP out of the box without some adjustments. I’d still choose the 7200MT/s kit and push it myself. Keep in mind the Z790 Apex has had many quality control problems, so you could end up with a unit that doesn’t reach 8000MT/s. One of the IgorsLabs contributors actually had two or three Z790 Apexes—both retail and sample versions from ASUS—that all underperformed compared to a Z790 Hero before giving up. Just be cautious if you face problems getting 8000MT/s; if it doesn’t work, consider returning it and hoping for the best with the next one.
I haven't seen any details about Z790 being problematic. Z690 is fine, but not Z790. Still, I think sticking with 7600Mhz would be a good idea—maybe upgrading the old Z690 Apex could work with that speed.
This information comes from several reports about DOA boards experiencing bending problems. It’s less severe than the Z690 Apex, which had a 50/50 chance of being usable, but it’s still not ideal for a $800 board that’s struggling against the more reliable Z790 Dark.