Trying to speed up my RAM by using it at higher speeds on a Ryzen 5 2600 processor
Trying to speed up my RAM by using it at higher speeds on a Ryzen 5 2600 processor
I can push my 2666MHz RAM kit up to a stable 3200MHz by overclocking it, but I have trouble because I've loosened the timing settings too much. For Ryzen CPUs, which one is more important: having tighter timings or just running at a higher speed?
That question is actually not as hard as it sounds because there are advantages for each side. Sometimes, having faster timings works better than just going fast, but that only goes so far. The same thing applies when you go back to slower timings. You already know your DIMMs have an XMP setting on them, which means you can use this link: https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ryz...alculator/. It helps a lot because you can import the specific profile for your cards and see what the fastest times are at that speed. This way you get both high speed and good timings all in one place. Basically, just type those numbers in manually to lock them down. Obviously, having tight timings while still getting the maximum speed is the best possible result.
That question is hard because there are good things about both options. Sometimes apps work better when your memory timing is very close to its rules, but only if that speed isn't too slow. You could just say the same thing in reverse: sometimes a slower clock is fine for your computer as long as it doesn't get laggy.
You have two main settings on your RAM cards: XMP and CAS latency. Since you probably already use XMP, you can check this calculator here: https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ryz...alculator/. It's helpful because you can paste the profile from your website into it to see what the fastest timings are for your specific memory at that speed. This way you get both great performance and safe timing. You just need to type in those numbers manually, which is pretty easy. It sounds like having both fast speeds and tight timings is the best idea.
I think having both high speed and tight settings is usually best, but I'm not sure about mine because of either slow timings or fast speeds (specifically 2666). I'll check if my calculator gives better results than typing it out manually. Do you think lowering the clock to 3000 and using tighter timing would work better than keeping 3200 with looser timings? Of course, I will test this myself too, but if you knew the answer before I tried it, that would save me a lot of time lol. Thanks for your reply!
No sweat, happy to help. The gap between running at 3000 MHz with tight timing versus 3200 MHz with looser timing is basically the same speed. That small switch makes a tiny difference in performance. If we talk about jumping straight up to 3400 or 3600 MHz with loose timing, then the boost would be bigger. Even just swapping one memory module for another doesn't make a huge change. You might see a few extra megabytes of data speed when using tight timings at 3000 MHz, but it's so small you'd only notice if you were running heavy benchmark tests that really showed up any difference.