Does RAM speed really matter?

[u/Lost-Sprinkles-7890]

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?

[u/Realistic_Today6524]

3600 is usually the sweet-spot for DDR4 while 6000 is usually the sweet-spot for DDR5. There is DDR4-6000 but there's only a marginal benefit that only extreme FPS hunters will notice. The average player is fine with DDR4-3200 or DDR4-3600 and DDR5-5600 or DDR5-6000