Hi all, I'm starting to get back into hardware and things have really changed up a bit from when I last paid much attention (or I'm just delving more into the detail with the better availability of information). I've spent a bit of time bargain hunting on eBay etc and am building/upgrading a finished system for myself as well as a couple to sell on through unwanted components, and selling some other stuff individually if it came packaged and/or was surplus.
I'm trying to get my head around a RAM conundrum and have read a few things on this forum which has helped, but I know there's more detail below the surface with timings and maybe also hardware interaction, so I'm hoping someone can steer me right please?
I currently have:
Prime A320m-k
R5 3600
A lowly Strix GTX 960 4Gb
512Gb NVME boot drive
500Gb SATA SSD game storage
1Tb HDD
Usage is gaming and home office, with mostly 365 apps, and some basic image, video, and audio editing, but nothing using hardcore software requiring hardcore hardware.
I am going to be getting another Motherboard, but undecided if I get the same/similar for the sold system or something better to keep for me - but either way still relatively cheap/cost effective to flip.
I have an option of:
2x 8Gb Lexar (non OC) 3200 CL19
2x 8Gb Corsair Vengeance 3000 CL16
I've learned that there's a very marginal true latency difference in favour of the CL16 modules (if I understand correctly), but probably not enough to make a real world difference? Is there anything else missing that should sway me either way as to what I should use? (i.e. the 3200 would overclock better or have a better potential timing amendment). I'm not necessarily looking to OC, but if a small tweak gave a big enough benefit then I would think about it.
And I suppose I should ask if there is a motherboard upgrade that would have a noticeable, but cost effective impact on my choice? 4 useable SATA, 1 PCIe x16 and an x4 for a WLAN card, plus an x4 M.2 is sufficient for me - no RGB header or on board WiFi really needed - essentially I'm pretty sure the A320 gives me all I need - at least on paper.
Tangential context about the system I'm building to sell (if anyone cares) hidden as a "spoiler" below:
The idea for the system I sell is "low-end/casual gaming, but with large upgradeability ideal for young enthusiasts getting into tech hardware as a first project" and I might try to find a deal to put a cheapish 128Gb M.2 in there and push a "quick and responsive productivity desktop for home office/school" - 8Gb 2400 for spreadsheets and YouTube ought to be enough. Currently keeping an eye out for a minimum 2Gb GPU that would be an improvement on the APU for gaming performance as optional upgrade that I could at least sell at cost regardless of if it was wanted with the PC.
The sold system is going to have an AMD A8-9600 on a TBC board in an Antec 300 case, which I can currently pair with 2x 4Gb 2400 Crucial (all pulled out of my current system - or possibly just a transplanted motherboard) or one of the above options, but my feeling is perhaps the Vengeance would be worth most of the three RAM types sold standalone and a slight performance hit in my rig would be a worthwhile compromise (it came bundled with another 2x 4Gb of the same and the Ryzen 5, so betting I might end up with a nett cost for the CPU in line with what the 2600 and 2600X are currently fetching after selling the RAM - only reason I went 3600 over 2600). Benchmark research suggested that R7 wasn't worth the extra cost for gaming yet.
I'm trying to get my head around a RAM conundrum and have read a few things on this forum which has helped, but I know there's more detail below the surface with timings and maybe also hardware interaction, so I'm hoping someone can steer me right please?
I currently have:
Prime A320m-k
R5 3600
A lowly Strix GTX 960 4Gb
512Gb NVME boot drive
500Gb SATA SSD game storage
1Tb HDD
Usage is gaming and home office, with mostly 365 apps, and some basic image, video, and audio editing, but nothing using hardcore software requiring hardcore hardware.
I am going to be getting another Motherboard, but undecided if I get the same/similar for the sold system or something better to keep for me - but either way still relatively cheap/cost effective to flip.
I have an option of:
2x 8Gb Lexar (non OC) 3200 CL19
2x 8Gb Corsair Vengeance 3000 CL16
I've learned that there's a very marginal true latency difference in favour of the CL16 modules (if I understand correctly), but probably not enough to make a real world difference? Is there anything else missing that should sway me either way as to what I should use? (i.e. the 3200 would overclock better or have a better potential timing amendment). I'm not necessarily looking to OC, but if a small tweak gave a big enough benefit then I would think about it.
And I suppose I should ask if there is a motherboard upgrade that would have a noticeable, but cost effective impact on my choice? 4 useable SATA, 1 PCIe x16 and an x4 for a WLAN card, plus an x4 M.2 is sufficient for me - no RGB header or on board WiFi really needed - essentially I'm pretty sure the A320 gives me all I need - at least on paper.
Tangential context about the system I'm building to sell (if anyone cares) hidden as a "spoiler" below:
The idea for the system I sell is "low-end/casual gaming, but with large upgradeability ideal for young enthusiasts getting into tech hardware as a first project" and I might try to find a deal to put a cheapish 128Gb M.2 in there and push a "quick and responsive productivity desktop for home office/school" - 8Gb 2400 for spreadsheets and YouTube ought to be enough. Currently keeping an eye out for a minimum 2Gb GPU that would be an improvement on the APU for gaming performance as optional upgrade that I could at least sell at cost regardless of if it was wanted with the PC.
The sold system is going to have an AMD A8-9600 on a TBC board in an Antec 300 case, which I can currently pair with 2x 4Gb 2400 Crucial (all pulled out of my current system - or possibly just a transplanted motherboard) or one of the above options, but my feeling is perhaps the Vengeance would be worth most of the three RAM types sold standalone and a slight performance hit in my rig would be a worthwhile compromise (it came bundled with another 2x 4Gb of the same and the Ryzen 5, so betting I might end up with a nett cost for the CPU in line with what the 2600 and 2600X are currently fetching after selling the RAM - only reason I went 3600 over 2600). Benchmark research suggested that R7 wasn't worth the extra cost for gaming yet.
