DDR3 speed

[G27Racer_188]

Does DDR3 speed matter these days, in gaming that is?

I have 3770K and want to get 16GB of RAM, but I'm not sure if 1866 MHz is enough or should I spend more on 2400 MHz.

[MValuableP]

You should be good with 1866Hz. It depends on which games you want to play really. 16GB of RAM is a lot and enough for nearly every game out there. Also depends on how competitive you are.

[SeanAngelo]

5 minutes ago, G27Racer_188 said:

Does DDR3 speed matter these days, in gaming that is?

I have 3770K and want to get 16GB of RAM, but I'm not sure if 1866 MHz is enough or should I spend more on 2400 MHz.

1866Mhz is fine nowadays...

[Simon771]

For gaming it doesn't matter.

Fast ram is useful for video/audio editing.

[HKZeroFive]

The biggest benefit from faster RAM is higher minimum framerates, and in some CPU-intensive scenarios, average framerates.

 

Of course, the law of diminishing returns starts to take effect eventually but I'm not entirely sure where is the 'sweetspot' for DDR3.

[G27Racer_188]

Well, thanks for the answers. I'll get faster one if it squeeses in the budget for the peace of mind, if not 1866 it is then.

 

@MValuableP @SeanAngelo @Simon771 @HKZeroFive

[MValuableP]

What's your budget?

[G27Racer_188]

3 minutes ago, MValuableP said:

What's your budget?

80-110 euros

[Oshino Shinobu]

4 minutes ago, G27Racer_188 said:

Well, thanks for the answers. I'll get faster one if it squeeses in the budget for the peace of mind, if not 1866 it is then.

 

@MValuableP @SeanAngelo @Simon771 @HKZeroFive

There's benchmarks around that show the differences. In the vast majority of cases, it makes no difference at all. There's a few games that can benefit from faster RAM like the Battlefield games, but even then it's a very small difference. 

 

http://techbuyersguru.com/does-ram-speed-matter-ddr3-1600-vs-1866-2133-and-2400-games

[SpaceGhostC2C]

35 minutes ago, G27Racer_188 said:

80-110 euros

I don't know in which specific country you are buying, but that should get you any 16GB kit of DDR3 you want. Remember to check timings as well, though, since low latency is as useful as high frequency (I have tested a 2133 CL9 kit and a 2400 CL11, and they perform similarly in all memory benchmarks I tried. The 2400 kit can also run as 2133 CL10, but in that case it's overall slower).

[faziten]

5 hours ago, G27Racer_188 said:

Does DDR3 speed matter these days, in gaming that is?

I have 3770K and want to get 16GB of RAM, but I'm not sure if 1866 MHz is enough or should I spend more on 2400 MHz.

This video shows the effects of such memory speeds with your exact same processor (and others too!). 

 

Digital Foundry Take on RAM Speed (yes it matters)

 

Some games show more of this behavior than others. Many people will scream at you "NO! I DOESNT MATTER!!". So what should you believe?. 

The thing is: When your CPU is at 100%, having faster ram, can speed up some transactions. Witcher 3 can put an i5 up to 100% if you have a powerful GPU. So as you can see in the video it can make a difference to have faster Ram. 

 

Your 3770K is not easily put to 100% by games, but there are some that can and will, if your GPU allows it. For future proofing, games with open worlds loaded with many NPC's and A.I in general will benefit from faster memory. Games with heavy Physics environment will also benefit. If those things ring a bell regarding the games you play, then invest in faster memory for better results. Most of the times, the money spent is not worth the extra 10% i can give, but this is totally up to you to decide. 

[G27Racer_188]

17 minutes ago, faziten said:

This video shows the effects of such memory speeds with your exact same processor (and others too!). 

 

Digital Foundry Take on RAM Speed (yes it matters)

 

Some games show more of this behavior than others. Many people will scream at you "NO! I DOESNT MATTER!!". So what should you believe?. 

The thing is: When your CPU is at 100%, having faster ram, can speed up some transactions. Witcher 3 can put an i5 up to 100% if you have a powerful GPU. So as you can see in the video it can make a difference to have faster Ram. 

 

Your 3770K is not easily put to 100% by games, but there are some that can and will, if your GPU allows it. For future proofing, games with open worlds loaded with many NPC's and A.I in general will benefit from faster memory. Games with heavy Physics environment will also benefit. If those things ring a bell regarding the games you play, then invest in faster memory for better results. Most of the times, the money spent is not worth the extra 10% i can give, but this is totally up to you to decide. 

Very informative video. It has convinced me to get the fast ram. Also, thak you for very vell explained answer.

[Sintezza]

It doesnt realy matter that much, especialy not with ivybridge.

Its not a Skylake system we are talking about here.

 

i have tested this a gazillion times allready.

Biggest diffrence that i have seen was about 3 fps.

Digital Foundry just hypes a bit of nonsense imo, they do those tests with an overclocked Titan X paired with a Skylake core i3.

i mean realy? if the cpu will be the obvious bottleneck, then sure higher ram speed will help it a bunge, but never the less it will still be a stutter fest.

Nobody with even the least amount of common sense would pair a Titan X OC to a core i3, and then game on 1080p.

i mean lol.

 

I tested 1600mhz vs 2400mhz and with a balanced cpu+ gpu combo in most games it did not realy matter much in my experiance.

Like i said 3fps ish was arround the biggest diffrence i have noticed in a certain game mainly on the minimums.

Of course every system is diffrent, and will react diffrently to ram speeds.

But dont expect anything mindblowing to happen to your balanced setup wenn increasing ram speed.

It also depends on which games you play and how you play them.

Certain games in certain scenario´s will benefit slightly from higher ram speeds.

But with a balanced cpu + gpu combo it wont be anything to call your friends about realy.

I would say that 1866mhz CL9 is arround the sweetspot for DDR3.