Your experience may vary; CL19 2666Mhz can offer decent performance but might not be the fastest option available.
Your experience may vary; CL19 2666Mhz can offer decent performance but might not be the fastest option available.
I'm setting up a gaming PC for 1080p using these parts: GPU RX 580, CPU Ryzen 5 1600 AF MOBO, and motherboard Gigabyte B450M S2H. I plan to add 2x8GB RAM, but a 2400Mhz CL16 is about $25–30 more than the 2666Mhz CL19. I'm considering spending around $60 because I need extra sticks for that higher speed RAM and am on a tight budget. Will this impact performance?
Check the current demand for 3200MHz CL16 chips. Ryzen gains advantage from quick RAM speeds, which will significantly impact performance compared to 2400MHz and 3200MHz options.
For Ryzen, the memory clock speed plays a crucial role. I aim for a 3200MHz or higher kit, preferably at least 2933MHz. If budget limits prevent higher speeds, the 2666MHz option may perform better than the 2400MHz one, though not significantly. This happens because on Zen and Zen+ architectures, the infinity fabric is tied to memory speed. Overclocking memory also means overclocking the infinity fabric, which can boost multithreaded performance.
the difference is minimal between the two values. For memory access in nanoseconds, the formula uses CL multiplied by 2000 divided by MHz. At 2400MHz and 2666MHz, the results are approximately 13.33 and 14.25 nanoseconds respectively. Choosing between them means a $25/$30 trade-off for less than one nanosecond delay? not worth it in my view—go with 2400MHz CL16 instead.
It's a Ryzen chip, so you shouldn't recommend choosing either option. A 3200 CL16 would be better suited for Ryzen. (Even with Zen 3, you might struggle to reach 3200CL16 with strict timing constraints)
Consider speed first, but keep an eye on the CL19 requirements.