>"Are expensive PC parts worth it"

[imTheSupremeOne]

Hi. It wasn't mentioned in today's video, even though question is litteraly in thumbnail :

 

Do RAM brands matter ?.. Like let's say some kind of PATRIOT, GOODRAM vs idk Kingston Hyperfury, Corsair Vengeance ?..

 

Right now this question is even more confusing than before; as earlier the cheaper brands clearly were compromising on looks (just like a comparison in thumbnail) but right now all the off-brands have gaming look wih black PCBs, decorative heatsinks; so it's not clear on what do they compromise for a price gap.

[Tetras]

If you're keeping it specifically to RAM, then other than the obvious aesthetic differences, they can compromise on the process and materials used to test and package the memory, the quality of the PCB/components and the memory chips used. These things usually have more impact on the overclocking than on stock running.

[podkall]

1 minute ago, Tetras said:

If you're keeping it specifically to RAM, then other than the obvious aesthetic differences, they can compromise on the process and materials used to test and package the memory, the quality of the PCB/components and the memory chips used. These things usually have more impact on the overclocking than on stock running.

yeah RAM technically doesn't need the gorgeous heatsink, but which one sells more?

 

[Beerzerker]

8 minutes ago, Tetras said:

If you're keeping it specifically to RAM, then other than the obvious aesthetic differences, they can compromise on the process and materials used to test and package the memory, the quality of the PCB/components and the memory chips used. These things usually have more impact on the overclocking than on stock running.

This along with the IC's (Chips) in the sets can be different, resulting in sticks that may or may not be compatable with certain boards, hence the QVL list for RAM.
Ryzen itself has been known to not like Corsair RAM, esp the Vengeance line and that's probrably a combination of IC's used in these sticks and timing specs they are set for, but they work fine in an Intel build.

Also, the differences in IC's used can account for different voltages required too, normally they fall within a standard across the board for a given RAM type but there will be differences anyway because the silicon/IC's between stick models can differ.
That's why you have some sets that can run higher speeds stable, or tighter timings than another set can at the same speeds and voltage used for them.

For all things stock it's not a real concern, it's when you start tweaking it comes into play and matters. Only exception is when the sticks aren't compatable, that means it doesn't work at all with a given board/CPU setup but it's normally based on the board, not the chip but in the case of Ryzen and Corsair RAM, it can be a factor that way.

[RONOTHAN##]

15 minutes ago, imTheSupremeOne said:

Do RAM brands matter ?

No. 

 

For reference, consumer memory has 3-5 main parts depending on the sticks: the memory IC, the PCB, the SPD, sometimes a heat spreader, and if you're on DDR5 the PMIC. The memory IC of any memory kit will come out of the same few factories, for DDR5 it's either SK Hynix, Samsung, or Micron, so this part will be the same regardless of who you buy the memory kit from. The PCB does vary a bit, though with the exception of Corsair and G.Skill, most memory manufacturers just get an OEM PCB rather than make their own in-house, so a kit from say TeamGroup and Adata are likely to be identical in that regard. The SPD is just what the memory specifications is programmed onto, and this will depend on the exact model for what things it has (I.E. what JEDEC specs it supports, what XMP profiles it has, etc.). The PMIC is what actually powers the memory chip, and this can be somewhat important if you're planning on overclocking your RAM, though since most companies just use the same unlocked Richtek PMIC on all their sticks (it's usually only low end Corsair or no-name OEM kits that use something different), it's not something that's too likely to matter in the real world. That only really leaves the heat spreaders which are actually different from one kit to another. 

 

All that really matters is looking at the XMP profile a kit offers for what performance it will actually have. Any two kits rated for 6000 CL30-38-38-96 will perform identically to each other and should last just as long since they should be effectively the exact same kits. 

 

15 minutes ago, imTheSupremeOne said:

so it's not clear on what do they compromise for a price gap.

Profit margins, quality control, and customer service. It's not so much that companies like Silicon Power are compromising on their kits, it's more companies like Corsair and G.Skill charge extra for the brand name and the trust that comes from that. That said, having bought a decent number of those cheap kits, I haven't seen any issues, so as long as you buy from a shop with a good return policy like Amazon I wouldn't worry about it. 

 

Arguably there is different binning criteria from one brand to another, where someone like G.Skill might bin their memory chips more and therefore their higher end kits are actually just better, but that's a super niche scenario as they aren't going to be that much better and if you just enable XMP, that's going to be effectively meaningless. 

 

 

Just now, Beerzerker said:

This along with the IC's (Chips) in the sets can be different, resulting in sticks that may or may not be compatable with certain boards, hence the QVL list for RAM.

The big companies do this as well, this isn't an issue with smaller RAM manufacturers. 

 

1 minute ago, Beerzerker said:

Ryzen itself has been known to not like Corsair RAM, esp the Vengeance line and that's probrably a combination of IC's and timing specs they are set for, but work fine in an Intel build.

This isn't an issue with the ICs, they use the same timings and same ICs as everyone else does. This issue was more that Corsair uses a custom PCB that didn't agree with AMD initially, though these issues have been mostly fixed on the newer AGESA versions. 

[imTheSupremeOne]

Just now, podkall said:

yeah RAM technically doesn't need the gorgeous heatsink, but which one sells more?

 

The point that I was saying that right now like most memories have that kind of gamer look. Even PATRIOT isn't green-black and have it's own edgy heatsing and VIPER name :

[Beerzerker]

It's known some heatsinks actually work like heat traps, OC'ers alot of the time strip the spreaders off and run their sticks naked anyway.
As long as it's a good quality set of sticks with the specs you want, it's fine.

[Beerzerker]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:46 PM, RONOTHAN## said:

The big companies do this as well, this isn't an issue with smaller RAM manufacturers. 

They all do it, not just the big or little companies.
That's something I've known for years since I'm into XOC anyway and what IC's are in a stick matters for getting good results.

It's also proven fact that some companies, particularly Corsair are well known for changing IC's used within a model line as the RAM list from i4memory.com shows. Normally the model revision of a given model line is the difference and how you can tell what IC's were supposed to be in them but what Corsair was making was inconsistent at times, even if the revision was the same within a model lineup.

I even have two sets of the same, exact sticks myself made by Corsair, right down to the model revision that has different IC's used between them, namely two sets of DDR that has BH-5 in one and BH-6 in the other set. 
Close, but still different.
 

On 3/22/2024 at 4:46 PM, RONOTHAN## said:

This isn't an issue with the ICs, they use the same timings and same ICs as everyone else does. This issue was more that Corsair uses a custom PCB that didn't agree with AMD initially, though these issues have been mostly fixed on the newer AGESA versions. 

Good to know, I figured it was the way Corsair was setting them up and I was kinda right about that at least.
BTW, note I did say "Probrably" when I stated my reason why they didn't seem to like Ryzen but if the PCB was indeed custom, that explains it.

[RONOTHAN##]

20 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

It's also proven fact that some companies, particularly Corsair are well known for changing IC's used within a model line as the RAM list from i4memory.com shows.

I'm not aware of a company that doesn't do that nowadays (outside of OEMs), at least in the meh speed bins like 3200 CL16 or 5200 CL40 for DDR5. I'd hazard a guess why Corsair in particular shows up there is more because it's a lot easier to identify the memory IC on their sticks due to them encoding it on the label with the version number. 

 

23 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

They all do it, not just the big or little companies.

I do want to point out this comment came from a place of eliminating confusion. It did seem like you were implying that it's mainly the big companies that change the ICs around, when it reality basically everyone does that. Probably wasn't intentional, but still figured I might as well point it out. 

[Beerzerker]

21 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

I'm not aware of a company that doesn't do that nowadays (outside of OEMs), at least in the meh speed bins like 3200 CL16 or 5200 CL40 for DDR5. I'd hazard a guess why Corsair in particular shows up there is more because it's a lot easier to identify the memory IC on their sticks due to them encoding it on the label with the version number. 

Yes, that's been going on for at least the past 20 years as the list shows so it's not a recent thing that's taken place....... But I figure you already knew that yourself.
Like it is with other makes, Corsair sometimes changed the IC's as stated within a model line and normally the revision change/difference indicates it.

You can largely tell what's IC's are there by the list BUT with Corsair, some were using different IC's even if all the info, right down to the revision printed on it's label such as version 1.1 for example were the same as my personal example is but with these, the two sets do have different IC's in them inspite of all that info being the exact same between them.

21 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

I do want to point out this comment came from a place of eliminating confusion. It did seem like you were implying that it's mainly the big companies that change the ICs around, when it reality basically everyone does that. Probably wasn't intentional, but still figured I might as well point it out. 

It's fine, at least we managed to get on the same page about it.