Best RAM for rendering ?

[remi11]

I want to upgrade my 8gb of RAM to 32GB but i'm not sure what to buy, something with high frequency (4000 Mhz ? ) or low latency ?
Will it make a huge difference in render time ?
Also would 64GB of RAM vs 32GB make a big difference ? Or do i only need that much for very big scenes ?

[GD3DESIGN]

You might be better off researching Tom's Hardware for the Frequency vs Latency question....I dare say you'll find more than a few threads dealing with this question.

I doubt the speed of your RAM is going to make much if any difference in render time, so long as you have enough memory. When I've researched RAM speed, I've come to the assumption that you should get at least 2400, and you wont see any real performance gains past there because of other system bottleneck. (If you have a Ryzen system, this is a different story....I hear with those systems, because of how the chips are stacked on each other using infinity fabric, somehow the whole system is reliant on RAM speed. But that's a whole 'nuther research project.)

For how much RAM you need.....well, only you can know that. Objectively, going from 32 to 64 is a 200% increase....so it should make a huge difference. But you already have 32gb and you've never run out of memory, then doubling your RAM will literally make no difference to you. I've gotten by for years using 32gb, but I have run out many times(oh, its a nasty ordeal). Once I restart, I figure out how to optimize the scene to consume less memory, and make sure no other programs are loaded/taking up ram. I should note that I believe I've only run out of RAM while rendering large exterior scenes in 3DS Max with lots of Forest Pack objects/Proxies/high poly objects, etc,......and when rendering with Corona, which tends to be a memory hog.

I'm building my new system with 64gb just so I don't have to worry about it. (despite the insane memory costs at the moment...

So, I guess the answer to your last question is: No, it wont make a any difference if you don't need it. and, Yes, you'll only need 64gb for very big scenes. (this is very subjective, though....only you can judge how much ram you need.)

Hope that helps, cheers!
GD

[remi11]

That does help GD, thanks ! I decided to go with G.Skill Trident Z 32GB DDR4 3200MHz CL14 1.35v Dual Channel , and in the future if there will be need i can buy another 32GB.
It would be nice to know if for ex 3200MHz with CL14 performs better vs 3600MHz with CL17

[GD3DESIGN]

Good choice! That is the exact type I was looking at for my new build...

The Trident 3200/14 are supposed to be 'top notch' with Samsung's best silicon..or...whatever..(this is just hearsay from when I was researching). Yeah, and at 628 USD/32GB....I definitely wouldn't buy more than I needed. And if your intel based, added another 32gb later if you need it wont be a problem...(Ryzen based systems can be more finicky, I hear...they like the RAM to be matched to run properly...?)

Again, the CAS vs MHz would be a good thing to search on Tom's for... (my research led me to believe that going with the low CL is better, as you don't really see any performance gains with higher MHz....because the memory isn't a bottleneck. But the trident 3200MHz @ CAS 14 is supposed to have the top shelf memory chips from Samsung.)

[remi11]

I have a Ryzen CPU so i really hope i wont run into problems, hopefully i will upgrade that 1300x to a 2800x and see a boost in render time. I really like the fact that AMD will support this AM4 socket till 2020, unlike the blue team which requires new a MoBo every year or so.
BTW GD what specs will your new system have ? My PC cost me a fortune, the prices now are insane for GPUs, RAM and all the other components add up real fast, but without them you can't render anything.

[Peter.Chaushev]

Hello,

As already mentioned, latency vs frequency is thoroughly discussed in hardware forums. Cannot advise on any particular brands, although, there should not be a noticeable distinction in V-Ray between top of the line and mid-class memory.
As for the amount - my recommendation is to observe memory usage while working on projects which are standard for your practice and base your decision on the average amount utilized.

Kind regards,
Peter

[remi11]

Hello,

there should not be a noticeable distinction in V-Ray between top of the line and mid-class memory.

Thanks Peter, that's what i needed to know.

[GD3DESIGN]

Hello,

As already mentioned, latency vs frequency is thoroughly discussed in hardware forums. Cannot advise on any particular brands, although, there should not be a noticeable distinction in V-Ray between top of the line and mid-class memory.
As for the amount - my recommendation is to observe memory usage while working on projects which are standard for your practice and base your decision on the average amount utilized.

Kind regards,
Peter

Always good to hear it from the source.

That RAM should be a good choice for you, then. While planning a Ryzen system, that particular type, Trident Z 3200/14 was supposed to be very compatible with the Ryzen lineup. I'd heard a lot about various modules failing to overclock to their full potential xmp profiles, but the Trident 3200/14 was reportedly very solid. And 3200 Mhz shoud give you a pretty responsive system. (I know that they were constantly updating to bios' to improve ram compatibility....for all I know it may not even be an issue anymore.)

I'm building machine based on the 8700k at the moment, but I'm cheaping out a little bit on the RAM, crucial ballistix @ 2666/16. But since I'm going with 64gb, it would cost me $1000 usd instead of closer to $600....and as I said, everyone says the mhz isn't important for intel systems once you get over 2400. (Plus I'm putting in two gtx1080i's....so I need to cut a few corners somewhere to try and keep this thing from being more expensive than my car...)

[remi11]

Funny you mentioned that GD, my system is already more expensive then my car and i still have to upgrade the CPU and get one more GPU cause it takes weeks of non stop rendering to get a few minutes of HD animations