RAM suggestions....?

[bmt2116]

Hello all.

 

I'm currently in the research stages for a new PC build.  Done this once before, but things seem to have changed a lot (or I've just learned a lot) in the past 5 years.  

 

Right now, I'm considering RAM to pair with a 8700k and an ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E mobo.  The primary use of this PC is photo and video editing using photoshop/premiere (thus why I'm going intel instead of AMD), NOT gaming.  That being said, I will be playing some games on occasion.

 

I'm reading a lot about RAM, and I'm confused.  Yes, I'm a total sucker for aesthetics and want something with RGB capabilities as I have this beautiful orange-black-white scheme in my head that I love.  But on a more technical side, I'm very confused about RAM speeds.  On another forum, I saw someone recommend pairing ram that can overclock (yes, I will overclock) to speeds of 3400 with this CPU, but that might be totally arbitrary.  I do plan to overclock, and my priority is the video/photo editing.  Does anybody have recommendations on just how important RAM speed really is going to be for me?  Any recommendation on sticks?  I'm planning to go with 2x16GB sticks at this point.

[Void Master]

go with 32gb (2x16gb) 3200Mhz

32gb is better for photo and video editing

 

[SimplyGone]

All DDR4 ram is 2133MHz out of the box.  All you are paying for is a sort of 'guarantee' that the RAM will reach the advertised speeds.  That being said you should check Strix Z370-E Ram compatibility Before you do anything

[Crunchy Dragon]

12 minutes ago, YouSirAreADudeSir said:

All DDR4 ram is 2133MHz out of the box.  All you are paying for is a sort of 'guarantee' that the RAM will reach the advertised speeds.  That being said you should check Strix Z370-E Ram compatibility Before you do anything

Intel boards are a lot less picky about RAM compatibility than AMD boards are.

The main reason AMD boards are picky is because Ryzen CPUs love faster RAM, in the region of 3000Mhz. Intel doesn't care as much about RAM speed, so 2400-2666Mhz would be just fine as well.

[matus177]

27 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Intel boards are a lot less picky about RAM compatibility than AMD boards are.

The main reason AMD boards are picky is because Ryzen CPUs love faster RAM, in the region of 3000Mhz. Intel doesn't care as much about RAM speed, so 2400-2666Mhz would be just fine as well.

Well it can improve performance even with intel at certain tasks. Not by much but it can. And with today prices of ram it is not worth buying 2666mhz instead of 3200mhz because there is minimal price difference.

 

Second thing is rgb rams are usually clocked higher. As you are paying kinda premium.

 

To OP. I would go with 3000 or 3200 mhz ram as it is a sweet spot atleast in my opinion. Try to look for the lowest cl. Gskill trident z with b die chips are probably one of the best you can get but very expensive. I would not pay that much for ram. So I would recommend going with 3000mhz cl15 or 3200mhz cl16 you can find some nice rgb sticks there.

[Crunchy Dragon]

8 minutes ago, matus177 said:

Second thing is rgb rams are usually clocked higher. As you are paying kinda premium.

 

To OP. I would go with 3000 or 3200 mhz ram as it is a sweet spot atleast in my opinion. Try to look for the lowest cl. Gskill trident z with b die chips are probably one of the best you can get but very expensive. I would not pay that much for ram. So I would recommend going with 3000mhz cl15 or 3200mhz cl16 you can find some nice rgb sticks there.

Most of the faster memory is RGB since it's higher end.

 

I was giving a range of what still works well with Intel for a lower price when I said 2400-2666Mhz.

[aRealCyborg]

get a good speed stick you mite want RGB if you have temper glass and want to see it