RAM 2 vs 4 Latency Specs for the price

Mtmuledeer · December 1, 2019

When I look at ram from the same manufacturer (G.Skill), I notice their 4 dim kits will have timings that are higher than their 2 dim kits. They have 16 latency but the other numbers are higher. Is that because those numbers get reduced because there are 4 modules. Will getting two kits of the 2 dim RAM end up in the same boat if I combine them?

For $280 I can get 32GB (2x16) of DDR4 3600 (16-16-16-36) ram but I see I can also get 64 GB (4x16) of DDR4 3600 (16-19-19-39) for $340. Why is the 4x16 so much 'cheaper' overall? Performance wise am I better off getting the 2x16 now and upgrading if I ever need to or is it better just to get the 4x16 now. Will the latency specks affect gaming performance. The computer will be used for gaming but my kids want to do video editing as well on it. I think 32 gig will be fine for now I just want to be sure it's not worth spending a little more to double the ram. I understand video editing can really tax ram.

Thanks, I'm fairly new at this stuff so be nice.

Juular · December 1, 2019

12 minutes ago, Mtmuledeer said:

Is that because those numbers get reduced because there are 4 modules. Will getting two kits of the 2 dim RAM end up in the same boat if I combine them?

Yes, it's harder to make 4 sticks work at the same specs as 2 sticks. If you'll get two kits chances are they wouldn't work at XMP altogether. But you can always try to OC them manually. FPS difference with 3600MHz kit over 3200MHz will be rather minimal, if you need so much RAM then just get 3200MHz kit of needed capacity. You will need more than 32GB of RAM only for 4k video editing.