Which of the following RAM?
Which of the following RAM?
Consider your options carefully. The first choice offers strong performance at 3600Mhz, but you should weigh that against price and build quality. The others provide different specs and value points. For your i3-12100, this decision depends on what you need most.
I rely on Ripjaws and they work flawlessly across many configurations. 3600MHz CL18 is typical, stick with it.
Purchased the Ripjaws 3600Mhz, CL18, appreciated! Here’s the latest configuration: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MR8xbK
they're used to things and just want what they know. I've created a fairly affordable PC, which gives me confidence it can be upgraded for gaming if needed. That's why I also considered a PC https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yrdJmr. The i3-12100 has 3200Mhz RAM, so replacing it with a 3600Mhz CL18 kit might not help much, because it would still run at 3200Mhz anyway. However, other specs on that kit are worse—its timings are 3200Mhz CL18-22-22-42, which isn't ideal. A "native" 3200Mhz CL16 might actually offer better performance.
Reducing RAM speed slightly tightens its timing. Expect around 3200MH at cl16. When upgrading RAM, you typically need to relax the timing settings. You can always locate a 3200MHz CL16 kit from Ripjaws for better comfort, though it won’t improve performance much in that setup. It’s not a cutting-edge system where every nanosecond matters.