AMD is being considered the best choice for budget gamers and their Ryzen processors provide high performance while not breaking the bank. Currently, there are three generations of Ryzen processors, with the latest generation being the third one.
It is a pretty solid fact that due to the invention of the latest generations, the previous generation products get pretty cheap and the same is the case with the 2nd-generation AMD Ryzen processors.
The difference in performance is not a lot when you compare the performance difference between the 3rd and 2nd-generation Ryzen processors but the difference in price is quite a lot, where the 3rd generation processors are priced almost 50% more or even higher sometimes.
That is why AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is greatly recommended to budget gamers these days and it is currently priced around $150. A notable thing about AMD Ryzen processors is that they demand high-frequency memory kits in order to perform at full potential and that is why people prefer to buy RAM kits having a frequency higher than 3000 MHz.
In this article, we will be looking at some of the Best RAM For Ryzen 5 2600, covering the high-performance kits, good-looking kits, and budget kits.
G.SKILL is one of the most mainstream manufacturers of RAM kits and the company has greatly improved over the past few years. Previously, CORSAIR RAM kits were preferred instead of G.SKILL kits but things changed a lot with the upcoming of DDR4 memory and now various series of G.SKILL are present, providing a lot of advantages.
G.SKILL Flare X series is a RAM kit which is a combination of performance and budget, neglecting the visual aspect of the sticks. It is the simplest-looking RAM kit on the list but we ranked it number one due to low rate and high performance.
Since AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a budget processor, it will be better to buy this stick, as it provides the highest price to the performance ratio on the list.
As for the specifications of this kit, it comes with two sticks of 8 GB each, making a total of 16 GB memory. It is a PC4-25600 memory, which means that it operates on 3200 MHz.
As for the latency of this RAM kit, it is very impressive to see a low latency of CL14 on this memory and this is the only kit on the list with this low latency. The memory operates at 1.35V but of course, you can modify the voltage through the motherboard if you want.
Now, as for the design of the memory sticks, there is no lighting in the sticks but still, the sticks look pretty good due to complex shape of the heat-spreaders. The height of the sticks is somewhat more than the regular sticks without heat-spreaders but heat-spreaders will ensure that the sticks don’t get overheated.
Summary
G.SKILL Flare X Series RAM kit is an awesome product that provides high performance while keeping the price low, however, there is a bit of compromise on the aesthetics of the sticks due to absence of any kind of lighting.
The look of the sticks is still better than regular sticks due to unique-looking heat-spreaders which also help a lot in the cooling of the sticks. Overall, if you want top-notch performance without spending a lot on the memory sticks, this RAM kit should be the best for you.This ram is also good enough to power processors like i7-7700K
CORSAIR has always been one of the favorite companies of the gamers when it comes to PC hardware whether you talk about internal components or gaming peripherals.
The company provides a wide range of products and among them, one of the most reliable products is its RAM kits. There is a long history of RAM kits by CORSAIR and some of the best RAM kits in the world are manufactured by CORSAIR.
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX is quite a similar RAM kit to the G.SKILL FLARE X series kit when it comes to overall price and performance. This RAM kit also does not have any kind of lighting that other expensive kits provide and thus provides a simplistic look.
The height of the RAM kit is really low and almost the same as the regular RAM sticks without heat-spreaders but this also makes it prone to overheating compared to other RAM kits on the list.
As for the specifications, the RAM kit comes with two sticks of 8 GB each and is PC4-24000 memory, which means that it operates on 3000 MHz. The latency of the kit is higher than the FLARE X series but is still lower than other RAM kits, which is quite expected due to lower frequency of the sticks. The voltage of the kits is 1.35V, which is the same as that of the FLARE X series kit.
Summary
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX is a memory kit that is great for those who are willing to go for the cheapest and since it has the lowest frequency on the list, it has the highest compatibility among these RAM kits.
This means that it might work with old motherboards like B350-chipset based motherboards while other RAM kits might not boot on these motherboards, especially on the advertised speeds.
As for the physical compatibility, this memory kit is great for those people who are using a beefy cooling solution that might limit the selection of RAM sticks due to lower RAM clearance.
The next RAM kit that we have on the list is G.SKILL Trident Z NEO series and it is the AMD-variant for the renowned Trident Z series. This is the flagship RAM kit from the company for the AMD system and it provides top-notch performance while not compromising on the looks at all.
The RAM kit comes with a black and white theme along with diffused RGB lighting at the top, which looks just fantastic. It is no doubt one of the best-looking RAM kits in the world.
The height of the sticks is although higher than the regular sticks, it should still be compatible with most of the air cooling solutions and if you use a liquid cooling solution, you won’t be having any clearance issues.
As for the specifications of the RAM kit, it comes with two 8 GB sticks and it is a PC4-28800 kit, which means that it operates at a high frequency of 3600 MHz, although the latency of the kit is quite high at CL18, making it the slowest kit on the list with respect to the latency.
A particular issue with this kit is that if you are not using the X570-chipset motherboard, you will probably not be able to boot the memory at advertised speeds and this greatly minimizes the speed advantage of this kit. As for the voltage, it operates at the standard voltage of 1.35V.
Summary
G.SKILL Trident Z Neo Series is a great RAM kit, which is targeted towards high-end users. This means that you should only get this memory kit if you are want good-quality RAM kit once and for all and will later upgrade your processor and motherboard.
The price of the RAM kit is quite higher than the previous kits but that is expected from it due to presence of RGB lighting. Overall, if you want a RAM kit free from compromises, you should check on this product.
Here we are with another CORSAIR RAM kit, which is the flagship RAM kit from the company. CORSAIR Dominator Platinum is no doubt the dream of many gamers due to its unique design and high performance.
In fact, it was the favorite kit of many PC gamers back in the era of DDR3-based systems, although the RGB lighting is recently included in this RAM kit.
The design of CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB is somewhat different from the original non-RGB sticks which used a silver-color theme while the RGB kit is available in either black or white color.
The RGB lighting of the sticks can be seen from both the sides and the top and there is Dominator written at the top of the sticks as well. The RGB lighting is definitely not as good as the Trident Z sticks but the overall presentation looks quite clean.
Coming to the specifications of the RAM kit, it comes with two 8 GB sticks and it is PC4-25600 memory, i.e. it works at a frequency of 3200 MHz, as long as the system supports it. The latency of the kit is also quite balanced, at CL16, although you can fiddle with the motherboard settings to achieve even better performance.
Summary
CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB is a great alternative to the G.SKILL Trident Z Neo Series and if you are a fan of CORSAIR products, this RAM kit should serve you greatly as well.
You might be able to overclock this RAM kit to match the speed to that of the Neo Series kit as well, although it cannot be guaranteed. Overall, the looks of this RAM kit are quite superior to most of the RAM kits in the market and you won’t be disappointed in this RAM kit at all.
TEAMGROUP T-Force is a company that has greatly improved in the past few years and is hugely praised these days for manufacturing low-priced RAM kits. TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB is a great-looking RAM kit that tends to make a balance between price, performance, and visuals.
TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB provides a unique look, with diffused RGB lighting at the top and it comes in either white or black color. The height of the RAM kit is quite higher than the standard kits, which is why make sure to check the RAM clearance of your cooling solution before buying this RAM kit.
As for the specifications, the RAM kit comes with two sticks of 8 GB each with PC4-25600 configuration. For most people, 3200 MHz frequency should be more than enough whether you are making the system for gaming or other workloads.
Although you might be able to push the RAM kit further by overclocking. The RAM kit has a balanced latency of CL16, which is fine and the kit works at 1.35V of voltage.
Summary
TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB is a RAM kit for those people who are on a budget but they don’t want to compromise on the looks of the kit or the performance for the most part.
The high frequency of the kit allows the user to maximize the potential of the processor while the RGB lighting greatly enhance the looks of the system. Overall, this RAM kit provides a great value when it comes to price, performance, and aesthetics.
In this part, we will be discussing the basic information that you must have in order to select the best possible RAM kit for your system.
Frequency
The frequency of a RAM kit is one of its most basic specifications. Most of the good-quality RAM kits these days have a higher frequency than 3000 MHz and if you want to maximize the performance of your AMD Ryzen processors, it will be better for you to buy a RAM kit with frequency higher than or at least 3200 MHz.
Latency
The latency of a RAM kit is as much important as the frequency of the RAM kit. The higher frequency RAM kits usually have higher latency but the high-end RAM kits provide high frequency while having a very little increase in the latency. For a RAM kit with a frequency of 3200 MHz, it will be preferable to have a latency of CL16 or lower.
Compatibility
The compatibility of the RAM kits is of two types. First is the physical compatibility and the other being the technical compatibility. Physically, AMD Ryzen processors demand DDR4 RAM kits, and apart from that the cooling solution of the system must provide enough clearance for the RAM sticks to be inserted in the slots perfectly, which is often difficult with RAM kits having high height.
This problem usually comes when you are using high-end air cooling solutions because they are quite big in size and cover the RAM slots from the top. On the other hand, liquid cooling solutions do not suffer from these issues at all.
The other compatibility is the compatibility between the motherboard, the processor, and the memory kit. Older motherboards do not support high-frequency RAM kits such as B350, X370, or even B450 in some cases.
In this case, your best bet is to use the latest AMD motherboards, such as motherboards that are based on the latest X570 chipset. These motherboards are although quite expensive from the basic motherboards like B350 or B450 chipset motherboards.
Price and Aesthetics
Price and aesthetics of RAM kits are directly proportional to each other and if you want a RAM kit with great aesthetics, be ready to pay a much higher price for it, especially when there is RGB lighting involved.
However, if you are interested in a budget system, you should let go of such an idea and focus more on the performance aspect of the RAM kits.
Conclusion
All-in-All, AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a processor whose performance can be greatly improved just by changing the RAM kit. High-frequency RAM kits with low latency ensure great performance but cost more while the glitters in the sticks such as RGB lighting add to the cost of the kit as well.
We have listed the most popular RAM kits above and we hope that you can easily decide between the kits after reading the guide in the last section.
Well! Ryzen 5 2600 supports up to 64GB Dual-channel memory RAM and it can be overclocked to work faster.
What RAM works best with Ryzen?
Pretty much any DDR4 RAM should work with Ryzen but try to get 3000MHz or faster RAM. One of the best RAM that works with Ryzen processors is Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Kit.
Is 3200MHz RAM good for Ryzen?
Yes! Even the new Ryzen 3000 series processors support 3000MHz RAM. So 3200MHz RAM will work fine without any problem with a Ryzen processor.
I have been fond of computer technology for a long time, ever since childhood, and was always meddling with various hardware and software. With graduation in computer engineering from a recognized university like NUST was a dream come true and enabled me to pursue my dreams in swift ways. Currently, I am working for various websites as a hardware reviewer and content writer.
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