Which Ram from DS is the best for my configuration

Hello everyone I am a first time purchaser from Digital Storm. I placed my order about a week and a half ago. I am fairly confident in my setup my only concerns are the type of ram and possibly the PSU.

I had called in earlier and spoke with a technical department manager and asked him to review my selections he made one change. That change was from 64gb of 3200 MHz of Digital Storm Performance to 64gb of Trident Z RGB 3000 MHz. His reasoning was that Digital storms ram was much less reliable and of lesser quality than G. Skills. However from my understanding 3200 MHz is approx 6.6% faster and will give me more performance based on my research.
So I'm a bit confused on which to pick. I have posted my configuration below.

I have also researched that based on my motherboard/CPU the sweet spot for me is 3600 MHz. (But for now since I will not be installing my own ram I will be picking my best option form Digital Storm)

As for the power supply I think I should be fine. I'm not too concerned about it but I wouldn't mind some experienced feedback/wisdom.

Thank you in advance.

Feel free to comment on rest of config if you like :)


System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lumos
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X (12-Core) 4.8 GHz Turbo
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (Wi-Fi) (AMD X570 Chipset) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 64GB DDR4 3000MHz G.Skill TridentZ (RGB Light Bar)
Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 970 EVO PLUS) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3080 10GB (Performance Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Add On Card: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (1x Graphics Card + CPU)
HydroLux Tubing Style: Flexible Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
HydroLux Fluid Color: Clear Fluid + Clear Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Exotic Cable Management - White - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)
Chassis Fans: Cooler Master MasterFan Halo (RGB Fans) (Remote Control Only)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: Option Not Available
CPU Boost: Stock Factory Turbo Boost Advanced Automatic Overclocking
Graphics: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
OS Boost: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit)

Originally posted by hoserator Welcome to DS. Sorry to hear about the techs recommendations and comments. DS had a much better RAM selection in the past. Are we to understand that RAM is also hard to find?  In the past the DS label was ADATA and they are reliable AFAIK. I will not question the size (64GB) but it is a bit on the high side. 32GB is future proofing (although the latest MS Flight Sim states 32 GB is recommended) and 16GB is the norm. Be aware that the Hydrolx PRO is NOT maintenance free. At best, you will have to refill every so often and at worst...............nightmares with leaks. Also you don't need to tweak the OS. It is very fast as is with no meddling. Enjoy.

I'm sorry but you didn't seem to address my question in terms of which is the best suited ram for my config. I'm assuming you are not sure either. Also as I posted above my only concerns are regarding the speed of the ram relative to my config and the PSU. As for the size that is the minimum I should be getting for what I need it for I downgraded from 128gb just because of price.

Originally posted by hoserator In general 3200 is obviously faster than 3000. However, in real life you will not notice any difference. In the research you mention you must have encountered latency and cpu constraints. This is not a configuration for a workstation type system so it is really your option. I was merely stating that DS branded RAM used to be ADATA. As to the psu, it is what is recommended here. I always go for overkill but it's your budget. Good luck.

Thank you for your feedback. Do you happen to know if the slower MHz will have impact on render speeds including ray-tracing? As this configs primary use is for a workstation hybrid system.

Originally posted by hoserator Can't help you there. Others with that knowledge should help out. The G.Skill TridentZ is highly rated and G.Skill has been making RAM for a while so you can't go wrong there.

Alright. Thank you very much. I appreciate the feedback and your precious time you spent helping me. 😀👍

As you said, 6.6% max. Having enough RAM is much more important than it's speed. There are so many variables involved in a render that the small speed diffrential will not optimize and be of little consequence.

In my experience, which is over 5 years of Forum presence, I have never encountered anyone disputing that DS branded RAM is good quality, nor any issues/complaints after the fact. So, yes, I beg to differ with the "technical department manager". IMHO, getting the slightly faster, but much less expensive RAM will be of little consequence.

He also failed to point out that your Storage Set 1 is a PCIe Gen3 part when Gen 4 parts (Firecuda, Samsung 980 PRO) are at least 30% faster, and will help speed things. The 980 PRO has almost TRIPLE the read speed. Storage Set 2 is a SATA SSD needlessly occupying your second M.2 slot to no advantage. to me, these are flaws.

Your power draw with selected parts will be around 500-550W, allowing 300W of overhead, which is plenty for comfort IMHO.

Hope it helps.

Originally posted by Cretae As you said, 6.6% max. Having enough RAM is much more important than it's speed. There are so many variables involved in a render that the small speed diffrential will not optimize and be of little consequence. In my experience, which is over 5 years of Forum presence, I have never encountered anyone disputing that DS branded RAM is good quality, nor any issues/complaints after the fact. So, yes, I beg to differ with the "technical department manager". IMHO, getting the slightly faster, but much less expensive RAM will be of little consequence. He also failed to point out that your Storage Set 1 is a PCIe Gen3 part when Gen 4 parts (Firecuda, Samsung 980 PRO) are at least 30% faster, and will help speed things. The 980 PRO has almost TRIPLE the read speed. Storage Set 2 is a SATA SSD needlessly occupying your second M.2 slot to no advantage. to me, these are flaws. Your power draw with selected parts will be around 500-550W, allowing 300W of overhead, which is plenty for comfort IMHO. In regards to storage set 2 what would you recommend? Hope it helps.

Edited by hoserator - 31 May 2021 at 6:25am

Edited by hoserator - 31 May 2021 at 6:48am

Originally posted by MrCheetah Regarding the RAM... TLDR: The performance difference is going to be negligible unless you happen to receive a high quality batch and are an manual overclock enthusiast (i.e., expel a lot of time tweaking and testing). ......................... The clock rate/frequency (i.e., 3200, 3000, ...) is just one aspect. RAM chips also different operational latencies. What Is CAS Latency in RAM? CL Timings Explained To determine the "true"/"absolute" latency, both CL and frequency are used. Here's a calculator Digital Storm doesn't advertise RAM CL, but you could inquire. Although, typically, DDR4-3000 sticks have a CL of 15, DDR4-3200 a CL of 16, DDR4-3600 a CL of 18. Basically, all having the same final performance. Some exceptions I've seen are higher quality (and more expensive chips) and lower density (i.e., four 8GB vs. two 16GB sticks) allowing/offering lower CL. ......................... I won't say the tech you spoke to is blowing smoke because it is possible DS might sometimes use lower spec memory modules.

I will not be overlooking since I do not know how to do it yet. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate your time, so it seems like the only real deciding factor for me is price.

Originally posted by Cretae Originally posted by Crossrange I will not be overlooking since I do not know how to do it yet. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate your time, so it seems like the only real deciding factor for me is price. Just price is my opinion. As for Storage Set 2, you might really splurge and get the 2TB Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe ($291) paired with the lean and mean 500GB Firecuda for primary drive. 2.5GB of super-fast NVMe goodness. If that's out of reach, go with the Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SATA SSD. The PRO isn't worth the extra $$ IMHO. More SSD storage, including a second M.2 drive down the road is very easy to add yourself. In the case of M.2, you plug it into the motherboard slot, fasten the one screw to hold it down, and you're done. No wires, no cables. That's why you don't want a slow SATA drive in there. If you want to add another SATA SSD later, you fasten it somewhere in the case (often the mobo has a couple of drive-sized indents on the back of the board), and attach a power cable and a SATA cable which are already in your wiring behind the motherboard. Easy, honest.

Thank you again for the detailed description of replacing the drives I will refer to it when I make then upgrade sometime down in the future.

It's funny you say which one to pick as I requested ball the changes including the secondary storage option change to 870 evolution plus yesterday morning.

The only change I for see making now is the rtx 3080ti which was just announced and priced only roughly $50 more than the rtx 3080. I am hoping DS will have their website updated with inventory soon since it will be available June 3rd.

Originally posted by Crossrange Originally posted by Crossrange Originally posted by Cretae Originally posted by Crossrange I will not be overlooking since I do not know how to do it yet. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate your time, so it seems like the only real deciding factor for me is price. Just price is my opinion. As for Storage Set 2, you might really splurge and get the 2TB Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe ($291) paired with the lean and mean 500GB Firecuda for primary drive. 2.5GB of super-fast NVMe goodness. If that's out of reach, go with the Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SATA SSD. The PRO isn't worth the extra $$ IMHO. More SSD storage, including a second M.2 drive down the road is very easy to add yourself. In the case of M.2, you plug it into the motherboard slot, fasten the one screw to hold it down, and you're done. No wires, no cables. That's why you don't want a slow SATA drive in there. If you want to add another SATA SSD later, you fasten it somewhere in the case (often the mobo has a couple of drive-sized indents on the back of the board), and attach a power cable and a SATA cable which are already in your wiring behind the motherboard. Easy, honest.    Thank you again for the detailed description of replacing the drives I will refer to it when I make then upgrade sometime down in the future. It's funny you say which one to pick as I requested ball the changes including the secondary storage option change to 870 evolution plus yesterday morning. The only change I for see making now is the rtx 3080ti which was just announced and priced only roughly $50 more than the rtx 3080. I am hoping DS will have their website updated with inventory soon since it will be available June 3rd.

Excuse all the typos here my screen protector just cracked non my phone yesterday.

Actually on that note does anybody know how long DS usually takes to update their website with new graphics cards from the time they are made available to the public?

Originally posted by hoserator The SATA connected M.2 drives run a lot hotter for no benefit from their 2.5" SSDs brethren. For instance, I have a 970 PRO 1TB runnig at 50C and an 860 PRO 1 TB on the same system running at 30C. The M.2 is attached to the mobo so all that heat is going to it in some manner. The SSD is not attached to the mobo so its heat (much less) is going somewhere else. Heat kills.

Good to know. (This is pretty awesome I'm learning a lot please keep dropping that knowledge everyone :) ) even with my config setup with maximized cooling. I don't think I can a dress cooling the m.2 form factor SSDs since they only had the option of cooling the CPU and GPU. Hopefully the case is well ventilated and the fans that DS offers are of great quality.

You can disregard my last post there it seems the wattage requirement is the same for the 3080ti in addition from recent research it seems the prices may or may not be at msrp son in that case I will probably end up sticking with the 3080.

Originally posted by Cretae I was going to mention that the price would be be a variable you might not like. I think you will be just fine until such time as you can upgrade at normal prices. How 'bout a 4080 Ti @ $650? Would that work? Pure speculation, of course, but.... Here's my secret: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator I used your parts and threw a bunch of extraneous stuff in there to be sure I didn't underestimate. IIRC, the estimator said your rig would be around 570W, and you needed ~650W to run it safely. I'm comfortable with 280W of overhead that 850W allows. Play with the calculator and make yourself comfortable. The DS custom cooler is a Swiftek, I've heard. It's probably the middle one, but go ahead and use the Ultra for grins.

That is a great website thank you for the tip. The expert mode wasn't to hard to figure out you just look up the voltage/info and plug and play. Pretty sweet.

I think I will make a new post for this since it is off topic. I apologize.