why does everyone say 6000 cl30 for AM5 instead of just going faster?

Question

ok so i built a second am5 box last month for the office and grabbed a patriot viper venom kit, 32gb ddr5 6400 cl32, figured a bigger number was just better. now every build thread i read is chanting 6000 cl30 like its the only answer. did i mess up here? and if i did, am i better off just running the 6400 kit at 6000 instead. im probably overthinking it

jamesm · Accepted Answer

You didn't mess up. On most Ryzen chips the fabric runs 1:1 with the memory controller to 6000 and 1:2 past it, so the added latency usually eats what the higher speed gains. CL30 at 6000 is around 10ns true latency. Measured gaming gap versus a 6400 CL32 kit is about 1 to 3 FPS CPU-bound and nothing GPU-bound. Your kit is fine, and running at 6000 is optional not required

needmorehz · Answer

for shooters honestly id take any stable kit over chasing a spec sheet. 1-3 fps is NOTHING compared to what your gpu choice does

arch_btw · Answer

theres a supply angle too lately (shortage era) the exact 6000 cl30 kits everyone names seem to hold their price and sell out first, so that reputation feeds itself