Does RAM speed matter?

Got 32 GB (4x8gb) RAM running at DDR3 1800. Is that enough future-proofing to possibly run VR in the future?

For the record, I have a 8gb radeon RX vega 64 from asus

AMD FX-9590 8 core at 4.7 GHz

and 860EVO 1TB SSD from samsung.

Got win 7, so can't actually use a VR headset, but when I can get one, I'll get win 10 (crossing bridges as we get there)

Just wondering if RAM speed made all that much of a difference.

Thanks for your help.

Faster ram will probably help. Degree uncertain, but you'll probably get less stuttering.

for benchmarks designed to test speed, yes you can get faster performance with faster ram, but in real life?

with real applications and games i have seen very little to no noticeable perf increase.

it’s like buying a car that can go 300km/h instead of 200km/h.

is it faster? yes.

is it faster when you drive it?

probably not.

I haven't tested it in DCS, but in Arma 3 there is a benchmark scenario that I use. I get roughly 10% more frames using my DDR4 using the XMP profile (3000mhz) vs the standard profile (2100mhz).

There's lots of variables, though. I wouldn't worry too much.

for benchmarks designed to test speed, yes you can get faster performance with faster ram, but in real life?

with real applications and games i have seen very little to no noticeable perf increase.

 

it’s like buying a car that can go 300km/h instead of 200km/h.

is it faster? yes.

is it faster when you drive it?

probably not.

300 KM/h is faster ;)

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Does RAM speed matter?

300 KM/h is faster

yes, it is.... but not when you drive it.

there is a difference between theory and practice :)

There are places you can drive the car as fast as it will go.

DCS is like that. We can go as fast as our computers will go.

In my research I determined that the FPS increase is very minimal. I was looking at DDR4 3200 vs 4266.

What I found however was that the FPS drop was better with the higher speed ram by about 5 FPS. So if you gain 10 frames with 3200 you may see a lower end drop of 8 fps. With 4200, the same 10 fps increase may see only a 4 or 6 fps drop.

So, thats minimal, unless your trying to squeeze every frame out of your system for things like VR With that I went with the higher speed. Keep in mind you need to go into your bios to enable it.

I would also suggest that future proofing is the benefit of the higher speed ram. With items such as the pimax and others coming, the ram may by that little extra boost you need.

the math is a bit weird.

you increased ram speed by 33% but only gained 2fps when you experience a graphics drop during the highest loads? isn’t that when the extra ram speed is supposed to come into play?

what am i missing?

I believe it was a "jays 2 cents" video that had the comparison. I'll see if I can find it. The math is secondary to the reality.

This is a fantastic video that should answer your question...

Too long? 3200 is the sweet spot between price/performance before the benefit drops off. Speed does matter... you'll likely pick up a few frames upgrading to 3200. How many? ehhhh... 5? Shot it the dark.

the math is a bit weird.

 

you increased ram speed by 33% but only gained 2fps when you experience a graphics drop during the highest loads? isn’t that when the extra ram speed is supposed to come into play?

 

what am i missing?

Latency... If I can remember correct the lower the resolution the more important is latency, the higher the resolution the more come speed/bandwidth in to play

agreed. but in this real life situation, increasing the ram speed over 30%, provided very little benefit.

which makes me doubt some of the dubious claims about ram speed having a large effect on performance.

Beyond 3k MHz it's an Ego Trip. As long as it doesnt cost an arm and a leg its ok but look how the prices are ! YOu gotta be lucky to get a decent 3200-CL14 for a fair price, you actually can't.