12600K/RTX 3070 Ti. 32GB 3200MHz CL16 or 16GB 3600MHz CL16?

[jippa_lippa]

Hello friends.
 

Simple question.
I have an RTX 3070 Ti and a 12600k to assemble; I bought 16GB of 3600MHz DDR4, however I'm getting buyer's remorse and I still have time to send it back and purchase 32GB DDR4 (same brand) at 3200MHz (both CL16).
If I only want to game, what's the better option for my configuration?
Should I keep the 16GB 3600MHZ or should I get the 32GB 3200 mhz? I'm planning on using XMP.

Thanks

[Moonzy]

personally i would pick the 32gb config, because 16gb is just about not enough for me these days
and sacrificing some FPS in CPU bound games (basically already running way higher fps for what it should be if it's saturating a 12600k) for 32gb RAM is an easy decision for me.

 

but it depends on what you do and if you need more than 16gb

[jippa_lippa]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

personally i would pick the 32gb config, because 16gb is just about not enough for me these days
and sacrificing some FPS in CPU bound games (basically already running way higher fps for what it should be if it's saturating a 12600k) for 32gb RAM is an easy decision for me.

 

but it depends on what you do and if you need more than 16gb

I plan on gaming and using discord.

That's it.

Being amazon, sending back the previous kit is very easy.
So I'm just interested in the best choiche.

Cheers.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, jippa_lippa said:

I plan on gaming and using discord.

as of today 16gb should be fine

but i cant tell you if it'll be enough few years down the road, or if you play modded games

[jippa_lippa]

19 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

as of today 16gb should be fine

but i cant tell you if it'll be enough few years down the road, or if you play modded games

Ok, I chose the 32GB as I want to be able to use discord aswell and maybe a few extra processes in the backgrownd, while not limiting gaming performance.
I think it's a better choice overall and, being amazon, getting a refund for the previous kit was effortless.
THanks for having helped me choose.

 

In 2024 I'll go full into the DDR5 ecosystem, and we'll see what's what.

[Hybris5112]

24 minutes ago, jippa_lippa said:

Ok, I chose the 32GB as I want to be able to use discord aswell and maybe a few extra processes in the backgrownd, while not limiting gaming performance.
I think it's a better choice overall and, being amazon, getting a refund for the previous kit was effortless.
THanks for having helped me choose.

 

In 2024 I'll go full into the DDR5 ecosystem, and we'll see what's what.

Considering how small the difference is in speed you might be able to apply a very mild overclock and bump up the frequency from 3200 to 3600 likely without messing with timings or voltage.

[iiNNeX]

32GB 3600 - 4000 CL16 is what you want. Low latency fast ram makes a difference in many aspects, whether gaming or overall system snappiness. Don't skimp on it is my advice, however it will all depend on budget ultimately. 

[Queen Chrysalis]

1 hour ago, jippa_lippa said:

Ok, I chose the 32GB as I want to be able to use discord aswell and maybe a few extra processes in the backgrownd, while not limiting gaming performance.
I think it's a better choice overall and, being amazon, getting a refund for the previous kit was effortless.
THanks for having helped me choose.

 

In 2024 I'll go full into the DDR5 ecosystem, and we'll see what's what.

Nothing wrong with 32, but discord won;t put you over the edge.  It barely uses anything.  And windows will compress background processes when you game, as they don't need to be as readily available.  Also note that the ~7.5GB utilization that seems to be normal when not gaming is just windows caching shit since your RAM is available.  You will still have more than 8.5GB for the game when you actually start the game.  If you plan on going DDR5 in 2024 I'd just stick with 16 till then, as others said it is fine for gaming in 2022.