RAM-OC on AMD Ryzen 3000 in the test

– AMD Ryzen 3000 also benefits from RAM-OC, high clock rates and optimized primary and secondary timings. Overclocking memory has become much easier. If you want to see real success, you still have to get to the timings manually. Insulated infinity fabric OC, on the other hand, does little.

After Summit Ridge (Ryzen 1000) and Pinnacle Ridge (Ryzen 2000), Matisse (Ryzen 3000 (test)) also benefits from fast RAM. Due to the significantly larger L3 cache, the new generation of Ryzen CPUs can intercept access to the RAM more often and is therefore clearly superior in CPU-heavy applications or games compared to their predecessors. The storage controller outsourced to the I / O-Die, the so-called IMC, is therefore not a disadvantage.

Another advantage of Matisse: Overclocking the RAM has become a whole lot easier with Ryzen 3000. Operating XMP profiles with more than DDR4-3200? No problem! Simply select the corresponding profile in the BIOS and look forward to a functioning system. The last bit of performance, however, remains hidden behind optimized primary and secondary timings. This test shows what is still possible.

Nine completely different RAM kits in the test

To create a meaningful test, this time more than just two RAM modules with Samsung B-Die memory chips contested the test course. A total of nine different variants with different memory chips were used.

In the test, speeds from DDR4-2400 to DDR4-4400 were available. The Infinity Fabric was also scrutinized and, in the end, optimized RAM was used. The comparison of single-rank and dual-rank is also dealt with in the course of the article. It also looks at the extent to which the use of four instead of two modules costs performance or brings an advantage.

The timing of the memory of Crucial (Ballistix Sports LT *) was "rebuilt" with the G. Skill Trident Z and the results compared with the existing experience and reports from the RAM-OC community.

The following XMP profiles were used in the test. The technical aspect behind the information "IF" and "UCLK" was already explained in the Ryzen 3000 test.

In a nutshell: up to a clock rate of DDR4-3600, the internal dividers work with 1: 1: 1 (MEMCLK = UCLK = FCLK). In addition, the IF remains at 1,800 MHz and the UCLK is halved compared to the MEMCLK, which results in a “penalty latency”.

In Windows, the timings can be read out with the AMD Ryzen Master tool. However, the program still suffers from minor teething problems and does not correctly read out tensions and / or resistances.

Test system and test methodology

The following system was used for the power measurement. The Windows 10 version 1903 used was up to date. All available security updates were active.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (without PBO)
• ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero (Agesa 1.0.0.3AB – still without patch ABB)
• MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming 8G (GeForce 431.60)
• Samsung SSD 960 EVO 500 GB (M.2, NVMe)
• Windows 10 Pro (1903)

After the test was well advanced, ASUS and Nvidia released further software updates. AMD also released a new chipset driver on August 19, 2019. The system was not updated to the new versions because it would distort the test results already created. However, a short follow-up test is planned and should be able to show any differences.

The game benchmarks were recorded with the small tool CapFrameX. Because it acts as an analysis and recording tool, it is easy to use for this purpose. The team behind it is active in the forum, provides assistance and receives feedback and suggestions for improvement.

The following graphics settings were used for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Forza Horizon 4 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider:

On the next page: test results