Performance - DDR4 System Memory
Performance System Memory: Memory Read Test
We test with a G.Skill FlareX kit at 3200 MHz CL14, a very much recommended kit for the AMD Ryzen platform as it has been received full BIOS support. You simply enable the 3200MHz profile in the BIOS and the system will boot right into Windows with the adjusted memory timings.
In this day and age, we give the AMD Ryzen platform the advantage of 3200 MHz memories. We do the same for Intel. We moved all processor testing to 3200 MHz DDR4, both for AMD and Intel for fair play.
The new X470 / Ryzen 2000 combo at 3200 MHz CL14 memory will show roughly 48K reads and writes. However, and this has been topic of much discussion, AMD was able to bring down memory latency. Now listed at 66ns.
Four DIMM Support
I've had a question on using four DIMMs in the forums. For 2017 Ryzen and X370 if you used 4 DIMMS, you often got stuck at a maximum 2667 MHz. We tested this with four Flare-X DIMMs from G.Skill. Basically, we inserted them, enabled the XMP and after a reboot, the system posted nicely at 32GB (4x16GB) 3200 MHz CL16. No problem there.
Faster memory
But wait for it Jim, there's more. X470 and Ryzen 2000 will bring faster memories to the platform. I mentioned that we test with the FlareX kit at 3200 as that is our default test suite. However, for review, AMD also submitted a really nice Sniper X kit from G.Skill at 3400 MHz. It is CL16 though, bandwidth increases a bit but perf roughly is the same as that 3200 MHz kit overall.
With current DDR4 DRAM pricing, stick to 3200 MHz and save yourself some money. It is the right balance in between performance and money with all common workloads and gaming.
