Publication №9: How to choose RAM
At first glance, choosing a memory may not seem as complicated as choosing all the other components, but in fact there are a lot of subtleties. For fans of Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord - this will be especially important, I will explain why later.
Which brand should be trusted
Bad 2933MHz or less
Normal 3000 -3333 MHz
Good 3466 MHz or more
Volume and number of bars
To answer this question, let's take the average motherboard, which has four slots for RAM. A powerful gaming PC should haveon board 16 GB of memory, but in general you can start with 8 GB, later buying more.
If we talk about motherboards of a non-server segment, memory can work in three modes:
two-channel 4 + 4 + 4 + 4, 8 + 8;
single channel 16;
flex 8 + 4 + 4.
Regarding the first two modes, I think everything is clear, but flex is a mixed mode of operation of the first two. That is, taking the configuration of 8 + 4 + 4 (flex), 8 GB of memory will work in dual-channel mode, and the other 8 in single-channel mode. Below you can see the video for performance comparison. Video flex mode is not included.
Intel
AMD
As you can see, the performance gain is very scattered and can reach impressive values depending on the specific project and considered values. But remember, the activation of the two-channel mode will not make a rocket out of your computer, since the increase in the frame rate is most noticeable when the processor is the narrow neck of the system. To activate two-channel mode, the memory must be installed in channel A1, B1 or A2, B2. In the new boards 1 and 3 slot or 2 and 4 as in the image below.
DDR4 2400 - type and frequency of memory
X2 - number of modules
8700K 4500 - processor model and its frequency
CL 16-16-16-39 - timings the
AMD
Basically, there arein the home computer market peer and peer memory. Many people make the mistake of assuming that the ranking of the memory depends on the number of chips on the memory module. Suggest that if all microcircuits are on the one hand, then this is a peer-to-peer module, and if on two, it is a then a 2-rank module. In fact, this is not always the case. If there are 8 8-bit chips on the board, then we get a peer-to-peer module, if 16 8-bit ones, then a 2-rank one. In order to accurately determine the memory rank, it is better to go to the manufacturer's website. Well, now let's see the tests.
AMD Ryzen Zen 1-2
Frequency and timings
When choosing a memory, the next thing to pay attention to is frequency and timings. These two characteristics are very interconnected and the best performance when overclocking memory is achieved due to their correct combination. Now we will see tests of the influence of timings and frequencies.
Intel i7-8700k timings
AMD ryzen 7 2700x timings
Intel frequency
AMD Ryzen 7 2700x frequency
Looking at the tests, we can say with certainty that timings do not affect performance as much as frequency, but you definitely should not neglect them much, otherwise the memory will have big delays and this will lead to friezes and slowdowns in games. Some will notice that there is no memory with a frequency higher than 3400 in our tests, and all because modules with a higher frequency will cost much more, and performance in games will not only not increase, but may become lower. The recommended frequency threshold for Intel is 3200, and for AMD - 3400.
Briefly about the main
1) Do not look at the manufacturer, for you the main thing is the frequency of the memory and its timings. You can overclock to 3000-3400 many modules, this is proved by the tables at the beginning of the release, so whoever takes the time to overclock will be able to save by buying modules with a low frequency, but good microcircuits. If you are not one of those who use overclocking, pay attention to the modules with XMP, where the manufacturer has saved a predefined settings profile, which guarantees memory operation at the indicated frequencies. In order for the memory to work at the indicated frequencies, this profile must be activated in the BIOS.
2) Choose a peer memory with a module capacity of 8 GB, because if you buy two 8-gig dual-rank modules, later you maybe want to buy two more 8 gb modules, your computer may not work with four dual rank modules, and even if it works, there may be stability problems work. Buying two slats of dual rank memory will be good ideas only if your PC is not long-term and you are sure that you will not buy more memory. And change the platform within a couple of years.
3) Do not buy too expensive memory, everything has its reasonable limit, it is best to invest free funds in a video card or processor.
4) As for radiators in memory, this is more of an excess than a necessity. See that they are not too high, otherwise you may have problems installing large-sized cooling systems for the CPU.
5) The performance gain from high-frequency memory, dual-rank or installation of 4 strips is best seen when the processor is the narrow neck of the system. In the event that everything rests on the video card, the gain may not be noticeable at all. Since there will be battles in Bannerlord involving up to 1000 units, your processor will most likely be very busy and correctly selected memory installed in dual-channel mode will help it a lot at times of 100% load.[/spoiler]
Friends, we really need help with the correct translation! If it's not difficult for you, please suggest corrections.
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