The Best Memory Speed for AMD Ryzen 9000 “Zen 5” is DDR5-6400

Last Updated on July 12, 2024 by Nahush Gowda

AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 9000 series “Granite Ridge” desktop processors, based on the new “Zen 5” microarchitecture, are set to offer improved memory overclocking capabilities.

It is well known that the Ryzen processors are sensitive to the memory speeds. DDR4-3200 was the sweet spot for Zen 2 and Zen 3 processors. For the Ryzen 9000 series, the processors will support DDR5-6400 memory with a 1:1 ratio between the memory clock (MCLK) and fabric clock (FCLK), a slight improvement from the DDR5-6000 sweet spot of the previous Ryzen 7000 “Raphael” series.

Also Read: AMD Keeps the AM4 Platform Alive with the Ryzen 5000XT Series

Built using TSMC’s 4nm process for the core complex dies (CCDs) and a 6nm process for the client I/O die (cIOD), the Ryzen 9000 series will retain a chiplet-based design similar to its predecessor.

This architecture allows for better memory management and performance improvements. Additionally, motherboard manufacturers and OEMs will have the option to enable a 1:2 ratio, allowing memory speeds up to DDR5-8000, although performance gains beyond DDR5-6400 are expected to be minimal.

Also Read: DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM: Is it time to upgrade?

To complement these advancements, memory manufacturers like G.SKILL are releasing new DDR5 memory kits with AMD EXPO profiles specifically optimized for DDR5-6400. This will ensure that users can achieve optimal performance with their new Ryzen 9000 systems.

Ryzen 9000 series

The Ryzen 9000 series, built on an advanced node TSMC 4nm FinFET, features significant architectural changes from its predecessors. AMD has focused on enhancing the front end and issue width of the CPUs, which are expected to boost overall performance.

The new series includes multiple SKUs: the Ryzen 9 9950X with 16 cores, the Ryzen 9 9900X with 12 cores, the Ryzen 7 9700X with 8 cores, and the Ryzen 5 9600X with 6 cores​. The lineup and core counts have remained the same as the earlier Ryzen 7000 series.