What ram should i choose.

[Hocigache]

Hello i am looking for a budget 16 gb of ram for my ryzen 3600 and i came across DDR4 2 x 08GB 3600 MHZ CL17 XPG SPECTRIX D41 RGB and DDR4 08GB 3200 MHZ CL16 XPG SPECTRIX D41 RGB with a $10 price difference, so which one should i go for?

[KhorCS]

Usually when picking ram, you'd want to get higher speed ones that has low CL,because high CL cancels out the benefits of high speed ram. But if the prices are that close, you might as well pick the 3600 kit and try to lower the timings manually. 

[geo3]

For Ryzen 3000 you should get 3600Mhz with as low latency as you can find. 

[mariushm]

@hunghoang you're talking stupid things.

DDR5 will come in 2020 or 2021 but current processors will not support it, as the memory controller is inside the processor. So there's no point for him to wait until then for it, as he would have to wait without a working computer until then.

 

When DDR5 will be available, he'll need new motherboard (because different DDR5 slots) and new processor.

Also, no, when DDR5 memory will be launched, the performance will probably be similar or just a bit higher than existing DDR4. It will take some time, maybe half a year or so, until manufacturing processes mature enough and the memory controllers in processors are tuned and patched until you'd get significantly higher performance. It was the same story with DDR4: when they started to show up, you got higher frequencies but also higher timings, so the performance didn't double. 

Even now, you can buy DDR3 2133 Mhz CL9 but your DDR4 3600 is CL16 or higher ... it's not just the frequency that affects performance.

 

Going back to the original question... latency affects SOME applications, usually programs that deal with A LOT of SMALL chunks of data, like for example database servers, game servers, etc. For gaming, encoding videos, most applications a regular computer user runs, latency is less important. Basically the difference between CL16 and CL17 is pretty much unnoticeable.

 

AMD processors prefer higher frequency memory, up to a point, so for them it's best to go up to 3600 Mhz. Latency is less important.

 

Latency and memory voltage can be an indicator as to the quality of the memory chips used on the stick, to manufacture it.

For example, a memory stick that needs 1.35v and CL17 to reach 2666 Mhz may tell you that the memory stick manufacturer bought chips rated by the memory chip manufacturer to function at 1.2v and 2400 Mhz and CL16, but the memory stick manufacturer thoroughly tested every chip and found them to work fine at 2666 Mhz if they raised the voltage to 1.35v and increased the latency to CL17. This could also mean the memory stick can not be overclocked much higher than 2666, as the chips were rated for 2400 Mhz in the first place so they're overclocked from the factory. 

A memory stick that works at 1.2v and CL16 and 2666 Mhz should have a higher potential for overclocking... if you want to buy such sticks with the intention to overclock them to 2800 or 2933 Mhz, then a stick running at default 1.2v and lower latency usually has more room to overclock. But, at the end of the day, overclocking also involves some luck... you could be unlucky and not be able to overclock more than 50-100 Mhz, there are such memory chips on the market.

 

If you don't plan to overclock, then either one of these fictional sticks will be fine for a regular user, the "factory overclocked" sticks running at 1.35v will just be a few degrees warmer in general. In this fictional example, the memory stick maker certified the sticks and warranties them so they'll work on your computer.