Help me pick new Ram - Ryzen 5 5600 (non X)

[Rrraaayyy]

Hello, recently I bought some new RAM for my PC. Initially I had a 2x8GB kit so I just purchased the same(or so I thought) identical kit, and just added it to the system (all 4 slots occupied, 32GB).

I knew from pc building guides that it is heavily recommended to have identical ram (speed, timings, capacity) sticks in your system.

But after I purchased and installed another identical kit (the one listed in the specs below) I ran into BSODs, app crashes and reboots.
After inspection, I've concluded that it might have been because the RAM kits were from different versions, basically a different batch of components, and/or 4 sticks for my Memory Controller might have been too much to handle.(Link - if you want to see that story)
 

Thus, I've RMA'd the new RAM, I will sell the first kit I had initially on the used market, and, as suggested by most users, I will buy a single 2x16GB dual channel kit, since that should be a much more stable configuration.

 

I don't want anything crazy or too pricey, I just want a simple kit that works.

Buuut... since I've been through the RAM nightmare stated above I don't know what to choose anymore.

 

A quick list I've made for what I found available (ordered from lower to higher price):

• Kingston FURY Beast 32GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16
• ADATA XPG Gammix D35 32GB DDR4 3600MHz CL18
• Kingston FURY Renegade 32GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16

- there were also some from G.Skill or Patriot, however those are really expensive.

- also loads of Corsair Vengeance kits, I know they make great RAM but.... after the above experience I've decided to try and switch the manufacturer, maybe it's better... idk.

 

Questions:

1. Does it really need to be on the QVL?  - There aren't enough relevant models... it's kinda an old list? They are either really expensive high end RGB crazy stuff, or green sticks with no shield o.O. And most of them are not available for purchase anymore, in my area.
2. Is Kingston better than ADATA, are they bad/good for AMD, Is Corsair better than both? any "community" knowledge like that ?
3. I know on the Product page from AMD, the CPU RAM configurations are at max "2x1/2R DDR4-3200", but it should do 3600 just fine right? Also there are RAM models on the QVL which are rated for 3600 and even 4000, soo it should be ok..?

Conclusion:

Personally, I would get the Kingston Renegades - great speed and lower timings than what I had before (hehe double upgrade!), while also priced ok.

Thoughts?
Thank you.

PC Specs:

•                 OS: Windows 10 22H2 x64 bit, Desktop, Retail
•                CPU:  AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5GHz (the one released in 2022)
• CPU Cooler:  ID-Cooling SE-224-XT V2 Black
•               RAM:  Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL18 Dual Channel Kit - CMK16GX4M2D3600C18
•               GPU:  Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT
•           MOBO:  ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX
•                PSU:  Seasonic B12 BC Series, 80 PLUS Bronze, 750W
•        Storage:  1x SSD WD Blue SN570 1TB(System) + 1x SSD Samsung PM981 1TB(Storage)

[Dedayog]

• Kingston FURY Renegade 32GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16

 

All your questions are answered with a "don't worry about it".

 

No, don't need to be on QVL.  That's just what they have actually tested.

 

Kingston and ADATA are fine RAM, no worries on quality or better or worse.

 

Bleh.  A 2x16 3600 kit will be fine with a 5600, the memory controller is good for that.

[Agall]

2x16GB 3600MT/sec kits with either CL16 or CL18 CAS latency primary timings. 3600 CL16 can be an issue on AM4, potentially more with a non X CPU like the 5600. 

[RONOTHAN##]

14 minutes ago, Rrraaayyy said:

Does it really need to be on the QVL?  - There aren't enough relevant models... it's kinda an old list? They are either really expensive high end RGB crazy stuff, or green sticks with no shield o.O. And most of them are not available for purchase anymore, in my area.

No. QVLs aren't exhaustive, they're never updates, and there aren't many kits that don't work. 

 

15 minutes ago, Rrraaayyy said:

Is Kingston better than ADATA, are they bad/good for AMD, Is Corsair better than both? any "community" knowledge like that ?

They're all fine. Heck, the best kit of overclocking RAM I own in an Adata kit. Corsair is known to sometimes have issues with XMP, though realistically they aren't all that common. 

 

16 minutes ago, Rrraaayyy said:

I know on the Product page from AMD, the CPU RAM configurations are at max "2x1/2R DDR4-3200", but it should do 3600 just fine right? Also there are RAM models on the QVL which are rated for 3600 and even 4000, soo it should be ok..?

Yes, they can do 3600 just fine. 3800MT/s is where most chips top out in 1:1:1 mode, and if you ditch 1:1 mode you can generally get 4800+ as long as you have a good motherboard. 

 

 

Personally, if the 3200 CL16 kit is the cheapest, get that. There is a performance uplift, sure, but the single CCD Ryzen chips like the 5600 don't see that much of a performance uplift from the faster memory kits, and IMO spending any more money than is necessary on an AM4 platform doesn't make sense since it's a dead platform. 

 

7 minutes ago, Agall said:

CL16 can be an issue on AM4, potentially more with a non X CPU like the 5600. 

???

Where have you seen that? With the exception of tRCD, timings aren't affected by the IMC, and none of these kits has a tight enough tRCD to even consider worrying about it. Frequency is the main thing that IMC quality is based on, and unless you're going for effectively quad rank memory you'll be able to hit DDR4 4000+ on nearly every Ryzen 3000/5000 chip (not in 1:1 mode, but still). Besides, AMD doesn't bin memory controllers, the 5600 will have the same IMC as the 5950X. 

[Agall]

7 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

???

Where have you seen that? With the exception of tRCD, timings aren't affected by the IMC, and none of these kits has a tight enough tRCD to even consider worrying about it. Frequency is the main thing that IMC quality is based on, and unless you're going for effectively quad rank memory you'll be able to hit DDR4 4000+ on nearly every Ryzen 3000/5000 chip (not in 1:1 mode, but still). Besides, AMD doesn't bin memory controllers, the 5600 will have the same IMC as the 5950X. 

Simply a higher chance of stability running 3600 at CL18 versus CL16. 3200 CL16 similarly compared to CL14.

 

To quote you from another time:

 

Not common but not uncommon, 3200@CL14 or 3600@CL16 can be aggressive for AM4. Sure, AMD probably doesn't bin I/O dies where the mem controllers are, but if you're already 'overclocking' the FCLK/MCLK/UCLK to 1800MHz, why risk potential instability by running a slightly lower latency kit? Assuming OP's 5600 is a single CCD CPU, where dual CCD R5/R7 CPUs have been a thing, which would make running FCLK at 1800MHz potentially less stable than the latter.

 

@Rrraaayyy

• ADATA XPG Gammix D35 32GB DDR4 3600MHz CL18

Gets my vote. Even on Newegg, I'm only seeing CL18 kits out of the 3600MT/sec kits I clicked on to reference.

 

[RONOTHAN##]

4 minutes ago, Agall said:

Simply a higher chance of stability running 3600 at CL18 versus CL16. 3200 CL16 similarly compared to CL14.

Again, the memory controller doesn't affect the stability of CAS latency, that is purely the responsibility of the memory kits themselves, so if you're paying for a better kit, they'll be faster. 

 

5 minutes ago, Agall said:

To quote you from another time:

I don't really see how this quote is that relevant here. Sure, faster memory speed is faster, but as said in that last line, it's not actually that much.

 

6 minutes ago, Agall said:

Not common but not uncommon, 3200@CL14 or 3600@CL16 can be aggressive for AM4. Sure, AMD probably doesn't bin I/O dies where the mem controllers are, but if you're already 'overclocking' the FCLK/MCLK/UCLK to 1800MHz, why risk potential instability by running a slightly lower latency kit? Assuming OP's 5600 is a single CCD CPU, where dual CCD R5/R7 CPUs have been a thing, which would make running FCLK at 1800MHz potentially less stable than the latter.

Again, I'm not aware of a single time that CL14 didn't work on AM4 because CAS latency doesn't affect IMC stability, only higher speeds and (moreso on Intel than AMD) tRCD. All that matters is that the memory sticks are capable of it, which if you're buying a higher rated kit, they will be. 

 

Also, dual CCD R5/R7 CPUs haven't been a thing since Ryzen 2000. There have been dual CCX designs with Ryzen 3000 where the FCLK mattered a bit more, though on Ryzen 5000 that was more or less eliminated to make memory speed less impactful to performance. 

[Agall]

6 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Again, I'm not aware of a single time that CL14 didn't work on AM4 because CAS latency doesn't affect IMC stability, only higher speeds and (moreso on Intel than AMD) tRCD. All that matters is that the memory sticks are capable of it, which if you're buying a higher rated kit, they will be. 

Looks like most of the problems I've seen with 3600 CL16 kits involve it forcing an improper voltage when enabling the XMP profile, corrected by verifying the DRAM voltage is set to 1.5V. There was also an AGESA update that caused instability on Ryzen 5000 with certain XMP profiles that wasn't applicable to Ryzen 3000. There's also the potential that enabling the XMP profile causes the motherboard to set the SoC voltage too high that causes stability issues.

 

Here's an AMD slide disproving my earlier point. If 3600CL16 is unstable, check the DRAM voltage, SoC voltage, and/or update the UEFI (at this point the AGESA issue is apparently fixed).

 

[Rrraaayyy]

Thank you guys, learned some new stuff today as well.

I'll be going with the ADATA XPG 3600Mhz kit, since it's just +4$ difference over the 3200Mhz one.