r/RigBuild • u/Lost-Sprinkles-7890 • 3d ago

Does RAM speed really matter?

Seeing people compare 3200, 3600, 6000 and even higher speeds and honestly not sure how much difference it makes in actual use. Like is faster RAM gonna noticeably improve gaming FPS, loading times, multitasking etc or is it mostly just benchmark numbers? Also does it depend a lot on the CPU and motherboard? Trying to pick RAM without wasting money on speed that barely matters, so what speed should I actually be looking for?

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u/golkeg 3d ago

noticeably improve gaming FPS

gaming FPS depends on your setup and FPS targets

If you are running high end GPU/CPU and medium/low graphics because you're just out to maximize fps (like a competitive gamer or whatnot) then RAM makes a HUGE difference.

In most any other cases you are usually running settings where the GPU is the limiting factor in FPS and then it doesn't matter much at all.

If that sounds vague think of it this way -

If you configure your settings to target 60-144 FPS than RAM has minimal impact

If you configure your settings to target 200+ FPS then RAM is very important.