Would going from 16GB of 3600MHz RAM to 32GB of 3200MHz make much of a difference in gaming?

Technology Forum
1

I have a 5600X CPU and a 3060 Ti GPU, so I’m around mid-range anyway. Would the extra RAM make up for it being a bit slower?

Edit: Thanks for all the answers! I’ve pretty much made up my mind to go for it. Marking as solved.

2

Unless you’re running out of RAM or close to that, you won’t notice much of a performance hit. If you are running out of RAM, then the difference will be night and day. The lower frequency won’t cause a huge difference, though AMD is a bit more sensitive to it.

3

I have been running out of memory playing games on one monitor while having my browser (and streaming software as well) open on the other. I was mostly wondering if the slower speed would noticeably impact gaming performance.

4

Overclocking my RAM gave me a measurable FPS boost in CS2. So you might have a slight performance loss, but running out of RAM should be worse.

5

For sure, the paging file is going to be way slower than having the RAM. 32GB isn’t even expensive really, and the difference for the 3600 over 3200 is like 15 bucks. OP would benefit even with the drop, but the slight bit more to double and stay at the same speed is worth it being so close already.

6

Noticeability will depend on the game. Games like CS2 will show it more, but on average it won’t be more than a couple of percent. Don’t forget that timings also matter (lower is better and they are relative to frequency).

7

I live in a third world country where it’s still very expensive. The 3600MHz is about a third more expensive than the 3200MHz.

8

Might be worth paying international shipping then. The prices are pretty close in the US, so maybe the extra fee might still only be a little bit different.

9

Unfortunately, international shipping to the arse end of Africa is astronomically expensive.

10

Going from 3600 down to 3200 wouldn’t be noticeable. Doubling your RAM count will be noticeable; definitely worth the trade-off.

11

I know you’ve made your decision OP, but after I upgraded to 32GB, I just never looked back. 16GB always felt just enough while 32GB meant I never got past 20GB of usage lol.