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Can a Dell Precision 3620 Tower use Crucial 3200MHz RAM?
I have a Dell Precision 3620 Tower, with an Intel i7-7700K CPU, which has only 32 GB of RAM. I want to upgrade to 64 GB. I generally prefer Crucial RAM, since it's one of the most reliable brands and tends to be one of the more affordable ones as well. I'm looking to buy two 32 GB kits (two 16 GB sticks apiece), since that's the most affordable way to get 64 GB.
I put my computer's info into the compatible upgrade search feature on Crucial's website, and it claims that both their 3200MHz kit (CT2K16G4DFRA32A) and their 2400MHz kit (CT2K16G4DFD824A) are compatible with my computer.
3200MHz (CT2K16G4DFRA32A):
https://www.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct2k16g4dfra32a/CT18668443
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2x16GB-Desktop-Memory-CT2K16G4DFRA32A/dp/B08C4LXXCJ
2400MHz kit (CT2K16G4DFD824A):
https://www.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct2k16g4dfd824a/ct7970117
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-16GBx2-PC4-19200-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B019FRCQAK
I would much prefer to buy the 3200MHz kit, as (as counterintuitive as this might seem) it is about $15 less expensive per kit ($30 total) than the 2400MHz kit, and also could be re-used if I ever upgraded to a computer with a high RAM MHz specification.
The issue is that despite Crucial's assurances, I'm not 100% certain that the 3200MHz kit is compatible with my computer. I've read conflicting reporters that the Precision 3620 can handle up to either 2133MHz or 2400MHz, and the information on the Amazon page for the 3200MHz kit only says that it can be downclocked to 2933MHz or 2666MHz - it doesn't say anything about 2133MHz or 2400Mhz.
Is the 3200MHz kit truly compatible with my Precision 3620?
ejn63
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September 5th, 2024 20:13
DDR4-3200 will simply downclock to the current RAM speed, since that's controlled by the CPU (which won't change).
There should be no issue running DDR4-3200 Crucial recommends -- that said, it may not be future-proofing, since DDR4 is fading from new systems and it's likely your next system will require DDR5 memory.
Rocketeer
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September 5th, 2024 19:46
UPDATE: I just noticed that the 3200MHz RAm has a latency of CL22, while the 2400MHz RAM has a latency of CL17. Would that make much difference in performance?
Rocketeer
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September 5th, 2024 20:57
@ejn63 So it would likely be better to focus on a tighter latency for my current computer, as opposed to higher MHz for theoretical future-proofing?
I found a different option (from Corsair) that is 2400 MHz with a tight latency (16), and is cheaper than Crucial's 2400MHz RAM. It also has a nice heat spreader.
Do you know if this would be compatible with my computer?
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2x16GB-PC4-19200-Systems/dp/B01CYILUB8/
(edited)
ejn63
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September 5th, 2024 21:10
Do not go lower in latency. You have no way to adjust the settings with your system. Corsair doesn't guarantee compatibility and it's very likely low latency RAM will simply halt the system POST -- the system won't even boot with it.
Rocketeer
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September 5th, 2024 21:38
@ejn63 What's the optimal RAM latency for a Dell Precision 3620, and how much difference does it make? The Crucial 3200MHz RAM has 22. The Crucial 2400MHz RAM has 17. The Corsair 2400MHz RAM has 16.
Here's what Speccy says about the RAM my computer has (which came with it when I bought it refurbished):
Rocketeer
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September 6th, 2024 05:02
Update: I bought two of the Crucial 2400MHz kits (CT2K16G4DFD824A). There were only two of them left in stock on Amazon (and I need two to total 64 GB) and I figured that this kit was the best balance of reliability (Crucial's website guarantees it to be compatible with my computer and Crucial in general is one of the more trustworthy companies) and the right latency (17, which is the same as the latency of the RAM that came with my computer, and 5 cycles tighter than the 3200MHz kit).
Considering that they could sell out on Amazon at any moment (and are more expensive on the Crucial website), I decided to go ahead and order them. It was more expensive than the 3200MHz kits would have been, but probably worth it for the slight boost in performance that the tighter latency will probably provide.
(edited)