DDR4 3600 CL 16 or 15...

zer · 21 Feb 2020 at 14:29

Hi there!
I'm currently pondering on updating my i7 9700K system (Gigabyte Z370 HD3 mobo) by replacing Corsair DDR4 2400 CL16 Ram with Trident Z 3600, and i was wondering if CL 16 or 15 will make any difference (to justify the increase cost...)
Remember its an INTEL system- not Ryzen...
Any thoughts?
Many thanks!

The Old School Gamer · 21 Feb 2020 at 15:12

You would probably gain a few FPS on average, and your 1% lows would be a little better with 3600 C16.
Not hugely noticeable in the grand scheme of things, but it would be a upgrade (as such).

IT Troll · 21 Feb 2020 at 17:02

As shown in the video, you only really see gains in gaming at 1080p. At 1440p it is minimal and at 4K non existent.
Some other tasks do scale really well with memory; e.g. compression/decompression.
But CL15 3600 is horribly expensive vs C16 for minimal gains.

zer · 21 Feb 2020 at 19:12

Many thanks!
I do game @ 1080p, so I guess I will see some gains, maybe a bit less stuttering at AC Odyssey, when paning the view fast, that sort of things...
SO, you don't consider necessary to pay the premium to get 3600 CL15 vs CL 16, right?

Joxeon · 21 Feb 2020 at 19:53

zer said:
Many thanks!
I do game @ 1080p, so I guess I will see some gains, maybe a bit less stuttering at AC Odyssey, when paning the view fast, that sort of things...
SO, you don't consider necessary to pay the premium to get 3600 CL15 vs CL 16, right?

You might be able to get the cl16 to run at 15 if you don't mind a bit of manual tweeking.

IT Troll · 21 Feb 2020 at 23:58

I guess it depends on what pricing you have found. But I would go 32GB of CL16 rather than 16GB of CL15.