If you’re waiting on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, get prepped with Cyber Monday savings on compatible DDR5 RAM
The upgrade your upgrade deserves
Anyone with the need for a new CPU and even the slightest inclination towards tech envy is currently waiting for new stock of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the unbeatably powerful new chip that our boffin friends at Digital Foundry are calling the fastest gaming CPU ever. If, however, you’re hoping to switch to the 9800X3D from an older system with DDR4 RAM, you’ll need to upgrade that as well as the motherboard, as the entire Ryzen 9000 series only works with newer DDR5 memory.
Cyber Monday won’t help materialise more processors into retailers’ warehouses, but it can help you make this RAM switch on the cheap. Relatively speaking. And I can recommend a nice, fast 32GB kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR5, which is down by £43 in the UK and $22 in the US.
UK deal:
 | Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (2x16GB)£94 (was £137) |
US deal:
| Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (2x16GB)$100 (was $122) |
Vengeance is a name that’s been synonymous with no-nonsense reliability – ironic, given the whole "dig two graves" saying – since well before DDR5 became AMD’s most favouritest memory platform. I’ve chosen this kit specifically because a) anything more than 32GB is a waste for games and b) besides the speedy 6000MHz clock speed, it’s also got a CAS latency rating of CL30, which is very speedy by DDR5 standards. Normally it’s CL32 or higher, and higher latency means worse performance, even if you do eventually pair it with the current king of CPUs.