[section_title title=”RAM Speed vs Performance Gains”]
RAM Speed vs Performance Gains
High frequency RAM and tight timings are one of the most important things when it comes down to the integrated GPU (iGPU) performance on an AMD APU. The bandwidth increase allows the GPU to stretch its legs a little. In order to give you all an idea in terms of the scaling involved, I’ve done a quick test using 3DMark Fire Strike to show the performance differences. All tests were run with the CPU at stock and the GPU at stock too. The only thing that changed was the DRAM frequency, as the RAM timings were kept at 9-11-11-27-1T with automatic secondary and tertiary timings.
This is by no means an accurate representation of performance in other sectors of the computer world, such as gaming for example, but it does give you an idea as to what performance gains can be achieved by using faster RAM.
As you can see from the graph above, the results started off at 1265 marks with 1333 MHz RAM, which steadily increased to a final score of 1482 marks at 2400 MHz. The biggest increases were obtained by going from 1600 MHz to 1866 MHz and again from 1866 MHz to 2133 MHz. The overall increase in performance (based on this test alone) is approximately 17 per cent, which is a substantial number when you take into consideration the cost of DDR3 today. Granted the RAM used for this test is a lot more expensive than your average RAM, it does still show that spending a little more in the initial purchase will allow you to get the most out of your new APU system.
