Question Performance upgrade from 2x8 2400 to 2x16 3200 RAM?

[Skimpadelics]

Hi everyone,

I currently have 2x8Gb 2400 RAM in my i5-7640x - RTX2070 rig.

I use it primarly for gaming but occasionally I also do video editing.

What kind of performance increase can I expect by upgrading to 2x16Gb 3200 / 3600 RAM?

Could I expect any issues? My mothrrboard is an AORUS GAMING 3 (X299)

 

[Oussebon]

You could expect very minimal gains in most titles. Going to 32gb would make 0 difference in almost all titles. RAM frequency could make a bit of difference, but not usually bags of it.

If you had no RAM at all (i.e. you were building the PC from scratch) I'd advise you to get 3200MHz/3600MHz over 2400MHz because the price difference is small and there can be some gains. However, since you already have the RAM, my suggestion would be to stick with what you already have. Because whatever improvement you get it's not going to be £150/$/€/whatever worth of 'better'.

More than 16gb RAM could benefit video editing, although tbh given the rest of your setup (that i5) it would seem a waste of cash to buy it.

I don't mean the following in a negative way, but rather as a pointer for future upgrades.

The i5 7640x is an appalling invention by Intel. The problem with it is that it is a quad core i5 CPU (4 cores, 4 threads) on the X299 platform - i.e. it is a mid-budget CPU - on an extremely expensive, workstation-focused platform. The more popular choice at the time would have been to buy an i7 7700k CPU (4 cores and 8 threads) on the Z270 platform, for probably about the same total price and giving better performance for just about everything. There is virutally nobody that the 7640x would have made the most sense for at the time of purchase. It's shameful Intel even released that part.

When you come to upgrade, for instance if and when you find the 4 cores/4 threads of that CPU to be holding you back, make sure to look at the consumer level platforms first, not the HEDT ("high end desktop" which really means professional workstation) first. The Intel consumer platform (currently Z490 etc motherboards) supports CPUs with upto 10 cores and 20 threads, while AMD (B450/B550/X570 etc mobos) support upto 16 cores and 32 threads.

You've already sunk money into your current platform - my advice would be to keep using it for as long as humanly possible to get as much out of that money as possible. If you could stick it out to 2022 for instance we might be on new technologies like DDR5 RAM by then. And when you do upgrade your platform, beware of the platform and CPU you buy

 

[Skimpadelics]

You could expect very minimal gains in most titles. Going to 32gb would make 0 difference in almost all titles. RAM frequency could make a bit of difference, but not usually bags of it.

If you had no RAM at all (i.e. you were building the PC from scratch) I'd advise you to get 3200MHz/3600MHz over 2400MHz because the price difference is small and there can be some gains. However, since you already have the RAM, my suggestion would be to stick with what you already have. Because whatever improvement you get it's not going to be £150/$/€/whatever worth of 'better'.

More than 16gb RAM could benefit video editing, although tbh given the rest of your setup (that i5) it would seem a waste of cash to buy it.

I don't mean the following in a negative way, but rather as a pointer for future upgrades.

The i5 7640x is an appalling invention by Intel. The problem with it is that it is a quad core i5 CPU (4 cores, 4 threads) on the X299 platform - i.e. it is a mid-budget CPU - on an extremely expensive, workstation-focused platform. The more popular choice at the time would have been to buy an i7 7700k CPU (4 cores and 8 threads) on the Z270 platform, for probably about the same total price and giving better performance for just about everything. There is virutally nobody that the 7640x would have made the most sense for at the time of purchase. It's shameful Intel even released that part.

When you come to upgrade, for instance if and when you find the 4 cores/4 threads of that CPU to be holding you back, make sure to look at the consumer level platforms first, not the HEDT ("high end desktop" which really means professional workstation) first. The Intel consumer platform (currently Z490 etc motherboards) supports CPUs with upto 10 cores and 20 threads, while AMD (B450/B550/X570 etc mobos) support upto 16 cores and 32 threads.

You've already sunk money into your current platform - my advice would be to keep using it for as long as humanly possible to get as much out of that money as possible. If you could stick it out to 2022 for instance we might be on new technologies like DDR5 RAM by then. And when you do upgrade your platform, beware of the platform and CPU you buy

Thanks for your very comprehensive answer! It is greatly appriciated!

In regards to the cpu I did research before biting the bullet on buying this setup. I knew it had almost no upgrade path at that time and Ive read reviews that although it was pretty powerful, it was an obsolete product with other options available.

But.... I could get it in a combo deal with the motherboard at a heavily discounted price. So Ive saved a few bucks at the time. And by overclocking it I haven't been dissapointed in the performance thus far.

So as far as upgrades go, I think you make a very valid point to stick with the RAM for now and will follow your advice.

Since there are now options to upgrade my CPU because of i9 releases for the X299 platform, would you say this could be a substantial upgrade? Or would a new MB and other CPU be a better option for the price of the i9 X series?

I'm not sold on even doing an upgrade at this moment but I want to have a future proof system and I'm playing on an ultrawide monitor so I want to keep playing on minimal 60 FPS with High-Ultra settings for the coming years while not having to completely overhaul my setup.

 

[Oussebon]

Since there are now options to upgrade my CPU because of i9 releases for the X299 platform, would you say this could be a substantial upgrade?

Yes, but you shouldn't buy one. If you're not leading with "my performance is below par, I need to upgrade, what should I upgrade to" then you probably don't need to upgrade.

With AMD's Zen 3 on the horizon, buying an overpriced i9 that you apparently don't really need anyway doesn't sound like the way to play it

As for futureproofing, it's a bit of a myth. The only way to futureproof is to wait until you actually need something new, then buy that thing which is currently a future product.

 

[Skimpadelics]

Yes, but you shouldn't buy one. If you're not leading with "my performance is below par, I need to upgrade, what should I upgrade to" then you probably don't need to upgrade.

With AMD's Zen 3 on the horizon, buying an overpriced i9 that you apparently don't really need anyway doesn't sound like the way to play it

As for futureproofing, it's a bit of a myth. The only way to futureproof is to wait until you actually need something new, then buy that thing which is currently a future product.

Last question, again many thanks for your answers. I think they will result in me not throwing a lot of money in purchases I don't really need, but woukd you say my CPU bottlenecks the RTX 2070 atm?

 

[Oussebon]

The fact that you're asking that question suggests not / not enough to be a problem.

Otherwise you'd be saying something like "I get terrible stutter and FPS drops, my performance blows, my GPU is rarely at 99/100% usage, is it my CPU?"

There are games where a 4C/4T CPU will not give as good an experience as a 4C/8T or better CPU. Quite a few of them actually - plenty of modern titles and even some older ones like Fallout 4 (which is a weird creature). And that's likely only going to become more the case going forwards But if you're not playing those, or you are but you don't feel it, it's a non-issue and not a reason to upgrade

The end of the year will see a lot of new titles come out what with the console launches, and it will also see new CPUs by AMD. Maybe hold off until then and review your options. if you find your 7600k lets you down a bit for, say, Cyberpunk 2077 or AC:Valhalla, perhaps a Zen 3 CPU on a B450/B550/X570 board will be the way to go. Or perhaps you'll be fine and can think about it again at the end of 2021.