DDR-SDRAM clock influence on GPU

[Arouraios]

Hey,

so my question is as follows:

I am in a heavily GPU-bound scenario (i5 8400 and radeon hd 7870 xD). I am running rather slow memory in single channel.

Since 8gb just aren't enough any more I've been thinking of upgrading anyway. Now I'm wondering whether the higher RAM speed might coincidentally help my GPU.

My CPU, which would most benefit from faster RAM, is usually not sitting above 70% usage when gaming so the CPU can be entirely disregarded.

Also upgrading the GPU is not an option as I'm on a tight budget. I am considering upgrading to a 3060ti when it's available sometime in 2021 but that's a different issue.

 

So all I'm really asking: Can my GPU benefit from better RAM (system memory)? And if yes, how much (i.e. somewhere around 2% or more like 10%)?

 

Thanks in advance,

Arouraios

[Tan3l6]

Here's a radical RAM speed difference and the framerate is better:

But I doubt you're getting 4400Mhz RAM.

 

So short answer is - no the RAM speed does not give much higher framerate, considering the GPU you have.

[STRMfrmXMN]

Quantity of RAM will only help you if you need more for whatever application you're running. If you use faster memory, you'll see higher framerates in games and whatnot than with slower memory. Dual channel will help some. This isn't really just something you can look at the Task Manager and determine if you need faster memory. Upgrading your GPU if you're GPU bottlenecked (your system definitely would benefit from a faster GPU) would make the largest difference. 

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

Here's a radical RAM speed difference and the framerate is better:

But I doubt you're getting 4400Mhz RAM.

 

So short answer is - no the RAM speed does not give much higher framerate, considering the GPU you have.

The difference between 2133 MHz and 3200 MHz is pretty profound in minimum FPS from my experience. 

[Tan3l6]

Yeah, dual channel vs single channel is greater advantage. Overlooked that info, considering that - going from 2133Mhz single channel to 3200Mhz dual-channel should give some boost... 

[Arouraios]

Well, I've seen these comparisons on Youtube but usually they're in a CPU bound situation. Your vid is even more irritating as neither CPU nor GPU are fully utilized.

My upgrade might however be of the same calibre, I bought the cheapest module I could find when Dram prices were through the roof sometime in 2018, if I remember correctly.

[Arouraios]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Quantity of RAM will only help you if you need more for whatever application you're running. If you use faster memory, you'll see higher framerates in games and whatnot than with slower memory. Dual channel will help some. This isn't really just something you can look at the Task Manager and determine if you need faster memory. Upgrading your GPU if you're GPU bottlenecked (your system definitely would benefit from a faster GPU) would make the largest difference. 

The difference between 2133 MHz and 3200 MHz is pretty profound in minimum FPS from my experience. 

Yes, I know that if I want a real performance difference I need to upgrade my gpu.

I also know I can't find out from Task Manager, otherwise I wouldn't have posted

I've read somewhere on the internet that dual channel only profits Cpu/iGpu, so again: Can it lift discrete gpu performance in a gpu bound situation or not?

[Moonzy]

For GPU? Not much

For CPU bound situations, depends, but most of the time going to dual channel is better

If you're on a tight budget, doesn't make sense to throw your current 8gb stick away

Just buy identical stick and run them at the same frequency

The benefit of higher frequency is there, but it's not that important, imo

[Arouraios]

18 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

For GPU? Not much

For CPU bound situations, depends, but most of the time going to dual channel is better

If you're on a tight budget, doesn't make sense to throw your current 8gb stick away

Just buy identical stick and run them at the same frequency

The benefit of higher frequency is there, but it's not that important, imo

I don't think I'll be able to find another 2400 stick from the same brand. Even if I do it won't be much cheaper than a proper 3200 16gb dual channel kit, maybe fifteen bucks difference in my country.

In Cpu bound situations an increase of 800 mhz and from single to dual channel is quite significant afaik, but again I'm gpu bound. It was more of a hypothetical question anyway but I'll update my post with benchmark results when I get the better ram nevertheless.

 

Edit: Just read through your signature, I use a Sony Xperia 5 ii (early christmas gift), awesome phone!