RAM upgrade question!

[XPI Sigma]

So I've been thinking about upgrading my current RAM, which is a 2400Mhz G.SKILL Aegis 16GB. My processor is a i7 8700k that reaches well over 4.4Mhz, and GPU is a 1070TI with 8gb of video memory. So I have a few questions!

 

1. Am I better off buying another G.Skill 16gb at 2400Mhz and use a duel-channel memory setup?

2. Should I just get 2x 8GB ram sticks at 3200Mhz, which apparently is the sweet spot for performance? (and sell my old RAM)

3. Should I just not care at all?

 

Thank you!

[DailyProcrastinator]

5 minutes ago, XPI Sigma said:

So I've been thinking about upgrading my current RAM, which is a 2400Mhz G.SKILL Aegis 16GB. My processor is a i7 8700k that reaches well over 4.4Mhz, and GPU is a 1070TI with 8gb of video memory. So I have a few questions!

 

1. Am I better off buying another G.Skill 16gb at 2400Mhz and use a duel-channel memory setup?

2. Should I just get 2x 8GB ram sticks at 3200Mhz, which apparently is the sweet spot for performance? (and sell my old RAM)

3. Should I just not care at all?

 

Thank you!

Intel systems don't see REAL noticeable performance gains from higher clocked memory unlike AMD. You should keep your RAM, not worth the money to upgrade. I recommend OC'ing your CPU, you can easily and safely hit an all-core OC of 4.8GHz all day long, my 8700k is clocked to 5.0GHz. If you need a better cooler your money is best served getting a better cooler to enhance CPU performance which you will notice versus getting 3200MHz RAM, an upgrade that won't make a noticeable difference.

[LIGISTX]

If you only have 1 stick of RAM now, yes, get a second for dual channel. That will be the biggest difference you will notice. 

 

3200 will outperform 2400, but not by a huge amount. Dual channel makes a larger difference. So, really, either option is a good option. Do you want 32 GB of RAM or just 16? That is the real question. Both options will likely cost similar money, so just have to pick what you want to do.

 

Give this a watch. Jay uploaded this perfect video last week.

 

 

[Vejnemojnen]

if you can get a set of Crucial Ballistix Sport LT or AT 2x8gb 3200Mhz kit, go with those. Some OC-potential they have! The pic is with Ryzen3900x though, but, those memory modules perform great.

 

[dizmo]

Definitely go dual channel, and depending on how long you plan to wait before you upgrade, I'd consider a 32GB kit, as they're super cheap right now; prices will go back up once the over supply sorts itself out. Wait for Black Friday, grab whatevers on sale.

 

26 minutes ago, JM21 said:

Intel systems don't see REAL noticeable performance gains from higher clocked memory unlike AMD. You should keep your RAM, not worth the money to upgrade. I recommend OC'ing your CPU, you can easily and safely hit an all-core OC of 4.8GHz all day long, my 8700k is clocked to 5.0GHz. If you need a better cooler your money is best served getting a better cooler to enhance CPU performance which you will notice versus getting 3200MHz RAM, an upgrade that won't make a noticeable difference.

Used to be true, not so much anymore. You still get pretty good gains on Intel with higher speed RAM.

[Vejnemojnen]

Just now, dizmo said:

Used to be true, not so much anymore. You still get pretty good gains on Intel with higher speed RAM.

Especially in 0.1 and 1% lows..

[XPI Sigma]

Thanks for all these awesome answers! I think I'm down to the big question. Duel channel does look pretty awesome, and I feel so silly for not considering this when I built this thing! So this leads me to one FINAL question (I've done a lot of eBay/amazon/etc searching too). Do I...

 

1. Buy some of the same ram to unlock duel channel mode, and reach 32gb total (I do digital art and that doesn't require that overkill one bit)

2. Find a deal on 2x 8gb sticks of RAM at a higher clock speed (preferably 3200)