Which RAM is better?

Ir0nMerc

Ir0nMerc

Disciple
I am looking to buy 16gb DDR4 3600Mhz RAM module for my PC and I am confused between different brands. I am not RGB fan so I don't want to pay premium for it. I am interested in the sweet balance between price and performance. I don't understand what is the performance difference between these modules. Is it more than 5-10% or is it negligible?

Patriot Viper Elite II
https://www.amazon.in/Patriot-Memory-Viper-3600MHz-PVE2416G360C0K/dp/B0957Z9KHQ/

Patriot Memory Viper Steel
https://www.amazon.in/Viper-Steel-DDR4-3600MHz-Module/dp/B088KSS19N/

G.Skill Ripjaws V
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0B71H114T/

Corsair Vengeance LPX
https://www.amazon.in/Corsair-Vengeance-1x16GB-3600MHz-Desktop/dp/B08D6GKX3J/

Patriot Memory Viper Steel RGB
https://www.amazon.in/Patriot-Viper-Steel-3600MHz-Module/dp/B08N68PKPR/

These almost costs the same.
 
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When the speeds are the same (3600MHz), its the CAS latency that matter (CL rating). lower is better. Going by that will the performance difference be too much, will have to check and see.
 
The general rule of thumb with RAM performance is:
  • higher clock speed (MHz)
  • lower CAS latency (at the same MHz)
the better is the performance.

So look up the timings for each. It will be a set of 4 nos, like 18-19-19-39. The first one is the CAS latency, often mentioned as C18. You can dive in to the full set of timings if you want the absolute best performance.

That said, the difference between a C16 & C18 RAM @ 3600MHz will not be noticeable in general use. In gaming the difference might be a frame or two. For RAM heavy apps, where it actually matters, you will see the difference in render speed, but then they might probably prefer more RAM rather than faster RAM.

And if you prefer research to experimentation, stick to your motherboards QVL of tested sticks. Others may work, it's just not confirmed.

Sidenote: Amazon usually has the highest price of all estores. Check on other trusted sites
 
Thank you for the info. I have a couple of question.

n1r0 said:
  • higher clock speed (MHz)
  • lower CAS latency (at the same MHz)
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Yes, I understood that part. But both of these being same, what is the difference between different modules. For example, all are 3600Mhz RAMs and timings are as following.

Corsair Vengeance Lpx - CL18-22-22-42
G.Skill Ripjaws V - CL18-22-22-42
Patriot Viper Steel - CL18-22-22-42
TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan Z - CL18-22-22-42
ADATA XPG Spectrix D60G - CL18-22-22-42

Question 1: So that means, all of these offer 99% identical performance.

Question 2: If yes, then how to chose which brand we should go with?
 
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enthusiast29 said:
Go with whatever brand is cheaper, provides more warranty and availability of service centers.
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All these are priced almost same, within 200 Rs. so not a huge difference. I will check warranty.

Do you have a personal preference for brand? Probably based on your experience.
 
Ir0nMerc said:
All these are priced almost same, within 200 Rs. so not a huge difference. I will check warranty.

Do you have a personal preference for brand? Probably based on your experience.
Click to expand...
For a similar price, I will prefer D60G for its looks, if you are into it else LPX. I personally have Corsair LPX because it was noticeably cheaper than others when I bought it.
 
buzz88 said:
I don't remember where and when but I had read on Reddit buildpc or pcmr sub that Corsair has dropped in quality in recent years and G.skill is the one to go for. Still, most RAM modules have 10 years to lifetime warranties so unless you are into overclocking, it shouldn't matter.
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I have been using Corsair Vengeance in my old PC from last 5 years, never faced any issue but this time I wanted to explore other options. G.Skill was my choice too but then I noticed a few new brands which I never heard about and a little cheaper than Corsair and G.Skill. So I thought to ask here.

Patriot Viper Elite is 400-500 rs cheaper. Although Amazon reviews are good but review on Tom's hardware is average. I have never heard of Patriot RAM in the past so I was skeptical. Is this a good brand?
 
Ir0nMerc said:
I have been using Corsair Vengeance in my old PC from last 5 years, never faced any issue but this time I wanted to explore other options. G.Skill was my choice too but then I noticed a few new brands which I never heard about and a little cheaper than Corsair and G.Skill. So I thought to ask here.

Patriot Viper Elite is 400-500 rs cheaper. Although Amazon reviews are good but review on Tom's hardware is average. I have never heard of Patriot RAM in the past so I was skeptical. Is this a good brand?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have used two separate 8GBX2 units from Patriot before and did not face any issues. Performance was as promised.
RAM is one of the least fallible PC parts. Like the others said above, don't over think it. Get the one with best price/offers and with good warranty/closer service centre. Chances are you are never going to use that warranty option, but it would just give you peace of mind.
 
buzz88 said:
RAM is one of the least fallible PC parts.
Click to expand...
I kinda disagree, with my experience of over 20 years of building PCs myself I've seen the most failure rate with RAM only.
If a RAM is bad it's mostly bad from the get go. So after building a PC if you experience random BSODs it's mostly due to a bad RAM.
I've experienced this like 4/10 times.

It's always advisable that one does memtest86 on a fresh RAM purchase to make sure that the stick is not bad.
 
enthusiast29 said:
I kinda disagree, with my experience of over 20 years of building PCs myself I've seen the most failure rate with RAM only.
If a RAM is bad it's mostly bad from the get go. So after building a PC if you experience random BSODs it's mostly due to a bad RAM.
I've experienced this like 4/10 times.

It's always advisable that one does memtest86 on a fresh RAM purchase to make sure that the stick is not bad.
Click to expand...

Yes, if it is bad, it should be evident from the first boot. If you get a BSOD on a new pc, RAM should be the first thing to be looked at. Often times people don't seat their RAM modules properly and that leads to such things too. But in most cases, if the PC boots up and performs optimally, RAM will be the last thing to cause problems later on. System drives, PSU, CPU, GPU are all more error-prone than RAM and would likely wear out or cause problems first in time.
 
enthusiast29 said:
I kinda disagree, with my experience of over 20 years of building PCs myself I've seen the most failure rate with RAM only.
If a RAM is bad it's mostly bad from the get go. So after building a PC if you experience random BSODs it's mostly due to a bad RAM.
I've experienced this like 4/10 times.

It's always advisable that one does memtest86 on a fresh RAM purchase to make sure that the stick is not bad.
Click to expand...
I have also never faced any issue with RAM so far but I don't have as extensive PC building experience as you have. I have only build like 10-12 PCs in my life and never once RAM was the issue. But I believe this confirms your statement... If a RAM is bad it's mostly bad from the get go. If it's good then 99% of time we won't face any issue.

Thanks for the tip. I will make sure to test the freshly bought RAM. :)
 
Ir0nMerc said:
I was checking G.Skill RAM details and noticed it only has 3 year warranty. Is this true?
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0171GQXME/

@enthusiast29 @buzz88
Click to expand...

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G.Skill F4-3200C16S-16GVK Desktop Ram Ripjaws V Series 16GB (16GBx1) DDR4 3200MHzSeries Ripjaws 4 Memory Type DDR4 Capacity 16GB (16GBx1) Multi-Channel Kit online at low price in india and browse more G.Skill products online at lowest best prices mdcomputers.in...
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G.Skill has lifetime warranty afaik. Still, check the actual box to confirm this. You can check the box at your local store before buying online, or ask the store to match the online price.
 
Higher clock speeds & lesser latency matter most if you're using iGPU for gaming or workloads like data compression. It's highly unlikely to notice difference in pretty much any other usage.
enthusiast29 said:
Go with whatever brand is cheaper, provides more warranty and availability of service centers.
Click to expand...
So, this is the best approach. I prefer to choose the lowest profile RAM possible, just to have one less thing to worry about when/if choosing CPU coolers or building an SFF PC. So, I'd add form factor to this.

Ir0nMerc said:
Corsair Vengeance Lpx - CL18-22-22-42
G.Skill Ripjaws V - CL18-22-22-42
Patriot Viper Steel - CL18-22-22-42
TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan Z - CL18-22-22-42
ADATA XPG Spectrix D60G - CL18-22-22-42
Click to expand...
Assuming these are base timings, just keep in mind that base timings often differ from tested timings. So, If you come across faster timings of a particular module, at a clock that your motherboard supports, it could be a better option in said use cases.
 
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