The Ryzen platform is still very young. We are seeing improvements on a regular basis. As board partners and AMD iron out any existing bugs, the performance will only improve.

One of the most interesting discoveries about Ryzen was that RAM speed can have a significant impact on performance. For years with Intel’s various processors and platforms, RAM speed didn’t have much of an impact on compute performance. AMD’s new infinity fabric is directly effected by the speed of your RAM.

So I wanted to put this to the test. I was using a dual channel 32GB kit of Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz RAM. I then ordered a 3000MHz kit. I wanted to control as many variables as I could. These RAM kits are practically identical aside from the speed and timings. Now let’s take a look at the test system.

For testing I used the system components featured in my latest Ryzen 7 build inside an S4 Mini case.

Test System Components

CPUAMD Ryzen 7 1700
MOTHERBOARDBiostar X370 Mini-ITX AM4
GPUZotac GTX 1060 Mini
CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9a
HDDSamsung 960 EVO 256GB
RAM32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz

Interestingly when I began testing, the Biostar X370GTN mini-itx motherboard would not run RAM over 2400MHz. I had to download and install the most recent BIOS update which added memory support up to 3200MHz.

The BIOS update was only released a few days ago. I noticed it also added voltage stability when overclocking as well. If you are building a system with this board make sure you grab the new updated BIOS.

RAM Testing Methodology

ryzen ram test corsair vengeance lpx kits

For testing, I put the system through my typical synthetic and gaming benchmarks. I tested everything at stock settings first, then ran all tests with the Ryzen 7 1700 overclocked to 3.625GHz at 1.275v. All tests were run with the newest BIOS for my motherboard installed.

The charts will be broken down into three sections. First you will find synthetic CPU benchmarks, then Synthetic gaming benchmarks, and lastly real world gaming benchmarks.

RAM Timing & Specs

ModelTimingTested SpeedVoltage
PC4-19200 2x16GB16-16-16-392400MHz1.2V
PC4-24000 2x16GB15-17-17-352932MHz1.35V

Full RAM Speed Test Benchmark Video

If you prefer to watch rather then read, you can see the full benchmark video here. Or you can simply scroll down and browse through the benchmarks in written form.

Ryzen RAM Test: Synthetic CPU Benchmarks

ryzen ram test cpu benchmarks

Benchmarks – (3.25GHz Stock)2400MHz3000MHz+/-
Cinebench CPU14031410+0.5%
Geekbench (Single Core)39144297+9%
Geekbench (Multi Core)2087521643+3.5%
Passmark CPU1417015050+5.9%
CPU-Z (Single Core)363375+3.2%
CPU-Z (Multi Core)39523957+0.2%
Benchmark – (3.625GHz OC)2400MHz3000MHz+/-
Cinebench CPU15711585+0.9%
Geekbench (Single Core)41334325+5%
Geekbench (Multi Core)2304424062+4.3%
Passmark CPU1557516104+3.3%
CPU-Z (Single Core)412415+0.8%
CPU-Z (Multi Core)44484430-0.41%

In the CPU tests I saw performance increases across the board. At stock on average I saw increases of 3.71% at stock, and 2.32% when overclocked. While these are not massive improvements they are repeatable.

Ryzen RAM Test: Synthetic GPU Benchmarks

ryzen ram test gpu benchmarks

Benchmarks – (3.25GHz Stock)2400MHz3000MHz+/-
3D Mark Timespy42724315+1%
3D Mark Firestrike1104811157+1%
Valley39904172+4.4%
Heaven30703133+2.1%
Benchmark – (3.625GHz OC)2400MHz3000MHz+/-
3D Mark Timespy43394359+0.5%
3D Mark Firestrike1114911347+1.8%
Valley43924605+4.7%
Heaven30893104+0.5%

Other than the Valley benchmark, you will see much lower gains in these benchmarks. The GPU benchmarks don’t rely on the CPU’s performance as much. I saw an average of +1.63% with the Ryzen 1700 at stock speeds, and +1.88% when overclocked.

Ryzen RAM Test: Gaming Benchmarks

ryzen ram test gaming benchmarks2400MHz

GameAvg. fpsMaxMin
Metro Last Light14227622
Tomb Raider196230160
Batman Arkham Asylum10113061

3000MHz

GameAvg. fpsMaxMin
Metro Last Light15028227
Tomb Raider198230160
Batman Arkham Asylum10313552

You can expect to gain around 2-3fps in games. I would be interested to see what type of increase you could get from RAM clocked at 4000MHz. Metro Last light turned in interesting results, with +8 average fps.

Conclusion

In my testing I found that faster RAM speed does effect Ryzen CPU performance. My tests were definitive and repeatable. You should expect to see even more gains with faster RAM speeds.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Jay, At first, very good post! I have a question for you: The reason why Corsair Memories (PC4-24000 2x16GB – CMK32GX4M2B3000C15) do not reach the 3000MHz and only run at 2993MHz with Ryzen processors is due to: “The AMD Ryzen™ processor does not offer memory dividers for DDR4-3000 or DDR4-3400. Users shooting for higher memory clocks should aim for 3200 or 3500 MT/s.” source: https://community.amd.com/community/gaming/blog/2017/03/14/tips-for-building-a-better-amd-ryzen-system Do you think this will be resolved in the future with a bios update? Thanks for your time, regards from Argentina!

    • I made a mistake, I meant “… and only run at 2933MHz (not 2993) with Ryzen processors …” regards!

    • Hey Adrian, I don’t think AMD is going to change their RAM frequencies in the future. Now that most Ryzen motherboards can hit 3200MHz I don’t tihnk it matters too much.

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