Conclusion
The AMD AM5 platform has been known for its “sweet spot” DDR5-6000 configuration. In this review, we sought out to find out if upgrading or utilizing DDR5-8000 RAM would be beneficial to the platform by reviewing a high-speed kit from G.SKILL. We reviewed the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5 8000MT/s EXPO memory kit in both synthetic benchmarks and gaming performance. We tested the RAM at the default SPD performance, and we included a lower-latency DDR5-6000 memory at CL28 (also G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000). We tested the DDR5-8000 kit at the EXPO memory profile, as well as some light overclocking to see if games are affected by frequency at all on a Ryzen 9 9950X CPU.
Performance
Starting with synthetic benchmarks, in AIDA64 we can see the bandwidth improvements of memory frequency. On read performance bandwidth, DDR5-8000 is about 10% faster than DDR5-6000 lower-latency memory, and both are much faster than SPD 4800MT/s. Where DDR5-8000 shines is in the write bandwidth, at 21% more bandwidth compared to DDR5-6000 lower-latency memory, and combined, both are way faster than 4800MT/s. Memory latency is also greatly improved, with DDR5-8000 being 5% faster than DDR5-6000, and both much faster than 4800MT/s. In Geekbench 7, the results are smaller, with DDR5-8000 only being about 4% over DDR5-6000, but much greater than 4800MT/s. In PassMark, the performance is smaller still, at 1% faster than the DDR5-6000.
With the content creation tests, we do see some mixed results using DDR5-8000. In Cinebench 2026, DDR5-8000 is 5% faster than SPD 4800MT/s, but shares the same performance as DDR5-6000 lower-latency here. In Blender, DDR5-8000 keeps up with the DDR5-6000, but in some cases DDR5-6000 actually pulled ahead. In video transcoding, we saw very positive results, with DDR5-8000 producing the best performance, rendering the video in less time, even beating DDR5-6000 CL28 memory here. V-Ray saw a small improvement. However, in 7-Zip compression, we saw the biggest difference with DDR5-8000 over SPD, but it was still very close to DDR5-6000 performance.
When we tested gaming performance, one thing was clear: the default SPD 4800MT/s will hold you back on gaming performance. In Battlefield 6, there was a 6% improvement over SPD, but DDR5-6000 was just as fast as DDR5-8000 here; no advantage. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it was actually the DDR5-6000 CL28 kit that resulted in the best performance, where DDR5-8000 lagged a bit behind at CL38. The same was also true for Crimson Desert; DDR5-6000 CL28 was faster, and DDR5-8000 lagged behind. The pattern was repeated yet again with Cyberpunk 2077. However, in Doom: The Dark Ages, the table was flipped, and DDR5-8000 was actually slightly faster than DDR5-6000 in this game.
In Dying Light The Beast, we saw no difference at all with frequency. But with Horizon Forbidden West, that couldn’t be more further from the truth. This game responded positively to DRAM frequency. Moving to DDR5-6000 CL28 improved performance by 24%, and this was the same with DDR5-8200. However, at the EXPO 8000MT/s it lagged behind DDR5-6000 by 8%. Kingdom Come Deliverance II was also sensitive to RAM frequency. In this game, DDR5-8000 was technically the fastest, but it was very close to DDR5-6000 performance at 1.17% apart. Resident Evil Requiem was also sensitive to RAM frequency. In this game, DDR5-8000 was the fastest configuration, by about 2% over DDR5-6000. Finally, in Stalker 2 DDR5-8000 was again the fastest here, at 5% over DDR5-6000.
Final Points
We started this review with a simple question: Is DDR5-8000 Worth It on AMD Ryzen? Specifically, Zen 5 CPUs. Well, when it comes down to it, no, I guess it isn’t…. but also maybe? Here’s the thing: when it comes to the synthetic benchmarks and content creation side of things, DDR5-8000 CL38 generally had a higher percentage of providing a performance improvement over DDR5-6000 CL28. There are some real-world applications, such as video encoding/transcoding and workstation workloads, that benefit from the higher frequency. If you have long video renders, well, it can certainly be worth it. There are specific workloads that benefit from that higher frequency on AMD Ryzen Zen 5 CPUs, and if you are that person, it is useful.
But… when it comes to gaming, well not so much. Granted, there are some specific games that seem to respond well to, and be sensative of, DDR5 memory frequency. Certainly there are game engines, and certain games like Doom, and Stalker 2, and a couple of others that we saw DDR5-8000 technically have the highest performance. The problem is, though, that we are talking about less than a 5% difference in those scenarios compared to DDR5-6000 CL28 memory. And the hard truth of the matter is that DDR5-6000 lower-latency memory is generally faster in games on AMD Ryzen Zen 5 CPUs.
You see, it all comes down to the timings and latency on AMD Ryzen CPUs, in addition to the decoupled memory controller frequency. When you move up to DDR5-8000, you have to sacrifice timings and generally have to run at higher Voltages. In addition, the memory controller frequency gets cut in half, and ends up actually running slower (2000MHz) compared to DDR5-6000 (3000MHz). This decoupled nature just slows down performance too much, which would take a much higher DRAM frequency to make up for, and 8000MT/s isn’t enough to make up for that loss for games, in most cases. The fact is, you can get much lower-latency DDR5-6000 RAM, and that overall benefits your experience in a more positive way.
Therefore, at the end of the day, the age-old advice with AMD Ryzen that DDR5-6000 is the “sweet spot” holds true today on the latest Zen 5 CPUs. Our advice: get the lowest-latency DDR5-6000 you can, if gaming is your goal. If content creation, though, you may want to consider DDR5-8000 for those workloads; it can make a difference in that scenario, so it is all based on your goals and what you want out of your PC. At any rate, ANYTHING is better than SPD 4800MT/s, ANYTHING; man, that really slows down Ryzen CPUs, whew… Oh, and about the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB modules? Top-end hardware, great memory modules; would recommend.
Discussion (2 replies)
Join Discussion →Only once did you call the ram DDR6 in the conclusion so well done!!
lol - fixed