ram 4x 8gb 3600 vs 2x 16gb 3200

[katjaneway]

I'm falling down a rabbit hole of RAM options. Right now I have an intel CPU but I will be upgrading to a Ryzen 5 3600 soon so I need to take RAM into consideration. I'm looking at 2 sets in particular:

 

G.Skill TridentZ 4x 8gb 3600 CAS 19 $189 (sale)

G.Skill TridentZ 2x 16gb 3200 CAS 16 $169 (sale)

 

I know Ryzen likes 3600 better, but considering I'll be running in dual channel, I wonder if I'll take a performance hit with 4 sticks as opposed to 2. I'll be getting a Gigabyte x570 Aorus Elite if that matters.

My use case leans more towards video editing/rendering than gaming, so I also wonder if having a CAS of 19 even matters for hyperthreaded workloads. I can probably tighten the timings of the 3600 RAM, but with 4 sticks it might be more difficult. Plus I read that it puts strain on the memory controller? I can't really find any information on this besides people saying it on forums.

 

Then again, x4 RGB vs x2 RGB.. XD

 

Please help... my brain hurts >_<

[Fasauceome]

A motherboard that features T topology would handle 4 memory dimms better, but you won't find that on a regular spec sheet. What motherboard did you have in mind?

[Mister Woof]

My understanding is that 4 sticks is harder on the IMC than 2, so you may not even get 3600 on four sticks anyway.

 

But I could be wrong.

[Crunchy Dragon]

What CPU are you getting?

 

From my recollection, Zen 2 doesn't require fast(3000+Mhz) memory as much as Zen 1 and Zen+, due to a change in the Infinity Fabric design.

[katjaneway]

4 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

A motherboard that features T topology would handle 4 memory dimms better, but you won't find that on a regular spec sheet. What motherboard did you have in mind?

Gigabyte x570 Aorus Elite

[katjaneway]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

What CPU are you getting?

 

From my recollection, Zen 2 doesn't require fast(3000+Mhz) memory as much as Zen 1 and Zen+, due to a change in the Infinity Fabric design.

Ryzen 5 3600

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, katjaneway said:

Ryzen 5 3600

I wouldn't worry as much about high speed memory, then.

 

Personally, I would go with a 2x16GB kit just to leave your other slots open for future expansion in the event that you need more than 32GB.

[Fasauceome]

3 minutes ago, katjaneway said:

Gigabyte x570 Aorus Elite

that motherboard uses daisy chain and not T topology so 4 dimms would not as easily reach their rated speeds. You sure there's no 2x16GB 3600 kit you could get for a similar price?

[katjaneway]

3 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

that motherboard uses daisy chain and not T topology so 4 dimms would not as easily reach their rated speeds. You sure there's no 2x16GB 3600 kit you could get for a similar price?

Newegg has the G.Skill Trident Neo 3600 with CAS of 18 for $189. But I wonder how it would run in my intel system for the next few months if it's specifically meant for Ryzen.

[Mister Woof]

2 minutes ago, katjaneway said:

Newegg has the G.Skill Trident Neo 3600 with CAS of 18 for $189. But I wonder how it would run in my intel system for the next few months if it's specifically meant for Ryzen.

Iirc that's just marketing bs 

[Fasauceome]

4 minutes ago, katjaneway said:

Newegg has the G.Skill Trident Neo 3600 with CAS of 18 for $189. But I wonder how it would run in my intel system for the next few months if it's specifically meant for Ryzen.

It's only meant for Ryzen because of Ryzen's new emphasis on memory overclocking and ultra high speeds. You should be able to manually set a decently high speed on your Intel machine even if not the rated 3600

[katjaneway]

1 minute ago, Plutosaurus said:

Iirc that's just marketing bs 

Maybe that means that it doesn't have XMP support then? I'll be honest: I like XMP - I've never actually manually adjusted my RAM before. lol

[katjaneway]

13 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I wouldn't worry as much about high speed memory, then.

 

Personally, I would go with a 2x16GB kit just to leave your other slots open for future expansion in the event that you need more than 32GB.

Do you think there isn't much issue then with memory kits as there was "back in the day"? As long as I stick with the same brand and timings, I could probably buy more sticks later without issue?

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, katjaneway said:

Do you think there isn't much issue then with memory kits as there was "back in the day"? As long as I stick with the same brand and timings, I could probably buy more sticks later without issue?

Yeah, you'll be fine.

[katjaneway]

9 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

It's only meant for Ryzen because of Ryzen's new emphasis on memory overclocking and ultra high speeds. You should be able to manually set a decently high speed on your Intel machine even if not the rated 3600

Do you think it lacks XMP support? I do use that for my current sticks. I've never manually adjusted RAM before and I'm a bit intimidated by it.

[Fasauceome]

5 minutes ago, katjaneway said:

Do you think it lacks XMP support? I do use that for my current sticks. I've never manually adjusted RAM before and I'm a bit intimidated by it.

XMP should work just fine, but if it doesn't, you won't have to go very far to learn how to apply a super basic overclock.

[katjaneway]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll go with the 2x 16gb 3200. It makes the most sense. I'm so excited for my new Ryzen build!