Need some opinions on ram for new build

Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
575
I recently acquired a AMD 5600x an a ASUS ROG Strix X570-I Gaming AM4 AMD X570 Mini ITX AMD Motherboard. I was wondering what does everyone reccommend as far as ram. I would like to do 32gb, an im not much of one to tinker with the ram setting so i would like something thats going to be good with just the XMP profile enabled. An im not sure if this matter but the computer is going to be used for VR sim racing only.

Thanks for all input! Brian
 
I saw some 4000MHz RAM for $210, but the price will go back up in two days. I'm curious, is there a difference between Intel and AMD DDR4 now? Why does some RAM say "for Ryzen"?

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374106

I have had pretty good experience with G.SKILL modules in the past, they generally do deliver their rated speeds.

These are the top of the line 4400MHz modules, I think. Way over priced, but the baseline is that $500 is about the max you can pay for a 32GB kit.

https://www.newegg.com/crucial-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820156273

Come down about 200MHz, and the prices start looking more reasonable. This is 4266MHz RAM for $360.

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374050

So really, it's about where the point of diminish returns is for you... prices stay pretty reasonable up to around 4000MHz, and then each speed bump after that costs you an extra $100 or so. That's what I gathered from looking around. Stay with the well-known brands like Corsair, Crucial, G.SKILL, etc... and you should be fine.
 
I use just the plain old 3600 ripjaws. After 3600mhz the price to performance rely drops off the cliff. I got the 32gb kit below for $130 back in 2019 and they have been solid. I was able to get the CAS down to 16 and that was about it. Really anything over 4000mhz is a waste cause most ryzen 5xxx have a hard time hitting 2000mhz on the IF.

/https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232928

I saw some 4000MHz RAM for $210, but the price will go back up in two days. I'm curious, is there a difference between Intel and AMD DDR4 now? Why does some RAM say "for Ryzen"?

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374106
That is not a bad price for that kit. It is up to you of you believe it is worth the extra cost.
 
I've never seen an actual for-real presentation of what might make a "for Ryzen" stick different. Assuming there really is something different, it may have mattered - or not - for Zen 1 or Zen+, but the Zen 3 IMC is a lot better. I would avoid anything faster than 3600 MT/s unless you're willing to fiddle with all the various detail settings to see how high you can get your f-clock, etc. (You can expect any Zen 3 to run 3600 MT/s easily, as you go higher you're at the mercy of your particular sample.) It wouldn't make a lot of difference anyway, maybe as much as 1% but certainly not more except on memory intensive benchmarks.
 
Make sure to check the mobo QVC list for compatibility. I had to return some RGB Corsair due to this on my B550 build (blue screen issues). Returned for some GSKILL and never had a issue.
 
i would also say to stick with the 3600 for ease of use and diminishing returns higher than that.
 
Can anyone reccomend something in the $300 range? is there a difference between have 2 dims used vs 4?
 
how does this kit look?
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374036

what is better 4x8gig or 2x16gig?
Id like to stay as close to $300 if possible but again im all ears if you have a better idea. I like to get the best from the get go instead of getting something an having to upgrade later.
Thanks for all input!! Brian

I generally don't pay extra for tighter timings, but some people do. That's a $100 premium over normal 4000 for CL16. I asked once about timings getting looser as MHz goes up, and was told that more MHz does more to make RAM faster than tight timings, but timings matter within the same speed. Because the looser timings are happening more times per second.

However, it seems like nearly everyone on this thread is saying that Ryzen is basically limited to 3600MHz, so maybe that means tighter timings are more likely to pay off with that than higher MHz. Your kit looks like a great deal if 4000MHz RAM can be used on Ryzen, but if it can't... then this was the tightest 3600MHz RAM I saw:

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374093
 
I've never had issues with Corsair. They're probably the most common brand and usually pretty high on the compatibility list. They're also really good at standing by their products if you ever do have issues. For Ryzen systems, just grab their Vengeance 3600's with the tightest timings you feel like paying for. You can usually get 32GB in the neighborhood of $200. Just turn on XMP and move on.
 
Make sure to check the mobo QVC list for compatibility. I had to return some RGB Corsair due to this on my B550 build (blue screen issues). Returned for some GSKILL and never had a issue.

That's terrible advice, especially on a motherboard that's been out for 2 years. The mobo QVL is a dated document. RAM manufacturers will often switch out ICCs depending on availability and pricing and finding the exact RAM on the QVL becomes increasingly difficult and expensive. Mobo manufacturers won't go back and reevaluate the QVL with different AGESA updates either. Realistically, with a 5600X, the OP won't have an issue with any kind of RAM he's trying to use.

You are far better off researching what are the differences in RAM on the QVL and then buying something comparable. For example, I bought a set of 2x16GB Timetec 3600 CJR memory using standard CJR Hynix for $110 with stock timings of 18-22-22-42 (IIRC). It tightens to the same 16-19-19-38 that I'd get if I bought the G.Skill Trident Z with the same timings and same ICCs for some $90 less (at the time). You could not tell the difference between the two in real world use (other than the lack of LED/RGB).

There's definitely a point of diminishing returns above ~3600. You will likely NEVER notice a difference except in synthetic benchmarks and you spend significantly more money to obtain those speeds and timings.

If I were buying right now, I'd probably buy these at $149 for 2x16GB. If I really couldn't be bothered to adjust the XMP timings slightly to Cas 16 and just want to use the XMP, I'd buy either these for $187 or these for $199 even though the $149 sticks will likely tighten to the same timings.
 
That's terrible advice, especially on a motherboard that's been out for 2 years. The mobo QVL is a dated document. RAM manufacturers will often switch out ICCs depending on availability and pricing and finding the exact RAM on the QVL becomes increasingly difficult and expensive. Mobo manufacturers won't go back and reevaluate the QVL with different AGESA updates either. Realistically, with a 5600X, the OP won't have an issue with any kind of RAM he's trying to use.

You are far better off researching what are the differences in RAM on the QVL and then buying something comparable. For example, I bought a set of 2x16GB Timetec 3600 CJR memory using standard CJR Hynix for $110 with stock timings of 18-22-22-42 (IIRC). It tightens to the same 16-19-19-38 that I'd get if I bought the G.Skill Trident Z with the same timings and same ICCs for some $90 less (at the time). You could not tell the difference between the two in real world use (other than the lack of LED/RGB).

There's definitely a point of diminishing returns above ~3600. You will likely NEVER notice a difference except in synthetic benchmarks and you spend significantly more money to obtain those speeds and timings.

If I were buying right now, I'd probably buy these at $149 for 2x16GB. If I really couldn't be bothered to adjust the XMP timings slightly to Cas 16 and just want to use the XMP, I'd buy either these for $187 or these for $199 even though the $149 sticks will likely tighten to the same timings.
I didn't know checking the list was bad advice. Guess I'll tell people that from now on that it's a waste of time.. even though I've never had issues doing so.
 
Last edited:
I didn't know checking the list was bad advice. Guess I'll tell people that from now on that it's a waste of time.. even though I've never had issues doing so.

I guess it's not bad to look if you're running a Zen2 CPU on a first revision bios.

But Zen3 on a recent Bios? It's a useless document.
 
Good chance the Crucial Ballistix sticks are single rank and since you don't want to spend time tweaking just get a cheap 3600c16 kit that has a decent chance of being dual rank.
High speeds may work but there is a good chance the IF wont be stable over 1866\3733 and unless you manualy set IF when over 3600 it will default to a lower speed which means that faster RAM will perform slower which is why I sugest sticking to 3600 for set and forget.
If you did want to tweak then spending extra on a kit of b die will guarantee dual rank and tuning it could bring you up to 25% increase in CPU performance over 3600XMP in programs that are sensitive to RAM speed.
Even just tweaking this $200 Hynix DJR kit from G.Skill could get you ~15% increase to performance.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232907?quicklink=true

A lot of AMD MB just call it XMP in BIOS still and DOCP is mostly used on Asus.
 
Technically 3733 is the best frequency for Ryzen. You won't break any of the bus clock ratios. But I don't think I've ever seen that spec in real life. Buy 3600MHz RAM and you can overclock to 3733 if you want. 3600MHz I believe is the closest physical media to the ideal frequency.
 
Back
Top