Which is "better?" CL16/3200 vs CL18/3600

[dimforest]

Does one setup benefit gaming more than the other? What about non-gaming tasks? Which stats are most important in memory? 

 

And what about 2 sticks vs 4 sticks?

[dizmo]

The chances of you noticing the difference between the two outside of benchmarks is minuscule.

4 sticks have been tested to be a touch better, but again, will you ever notice the difference? Unlikely.

[dimforest]

16 minutes ago, dizmo said:

The chances of you noticing the difference between the two outside of benchmarks is minuscule.

4 sticks have been tested to be a touch better, but again, will you ever notice the difference? Unlikely.

So which of the two is the more important or impactful stat: CL or speed? 

[motomat86]

you quoted the answer and still dont understand?   

 

 

[YoungBlade]

13 minutes ago, dimforest said:

So which of the two is the more important or impactful stat: CL or speed? 

CL is a meaningless number without the speed for context, because it is measured in clock cycles. In terms of latency, 3200 CL16 and 3600 CL18 are identical.

 

What does this mean? It means that the latency is the same, so then the difference is that 3600 speed has a higher memory bandwidth. This means that 3600 CL18 is better, but as already stated, you're not going to notice that difference in the real world.

 

For gaming, lower latency is more important than higher bandwidth, but ideally you want more of both. That said, CL is dependent on the speed, so do not go looking for a kit that just has the lowest possible CL. You want the appropriate balance between the two.