Everyone talks about SSD upgrades, but I saw the biggest difference swapping RAM timings

Tbh I built a gaming rig for a client in 2019 with a Ryzen 5 3600 and some basic 3200MHz CL16 RAM. Ran fine for a year, but last March I swapped those sticks for some 3600MHz CL14 Samsung B-die modules. The boot times barely changed, but the 1% lows in games like Hunt Showdown went up by about 15 frames. I think everyone focuses too much on storage speed when the memory controller and subtimings actually matter more for smoothness. Has anyone else tested this and seen a real difference or am I just lucky with this kit?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylermurray27d ago

Yeah but how are you tuning those tertiaries? Are you using DRAM Calculator or bumping them manually in the BIOS? I've seen people swear by tRFC at 300 or lower on B-die but then their system craps out after a few hours of gaming because the IMC cant keep up with the refresh rate. And what about tFAW and tRRDS? Most people just set those to auto and leave performance on the table. Genuinely curious what numbers you're actually landing on.

sarahpatel27d ago

Oh man, nobody talks about how RAM timings affect CPU memory controller stability when overclocking! Tight sub timings can actually make a Ryzen system way more stable at higher FCLK speeds, which goes way beyond just gaming frames. I've seen people chasing 3800MHz on their RAM but they'd get way better results with 3600MHz CL14 and properly tuned tertiaries.

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