4 Reasons Why RAM Timings Are Important

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Normally, the technical convention for computers is “more is better”. More RAM, more storage, more Hertz, but computers are more than just moreIn fact, clocking is an often overlooked function of RAM that can be incredibly important and has nothing to do with the speed of the RAM itself.




RAM timings are usually expressed as a sequence of four numbers. You may have seen them written 5-5-5-15 or 8-8-8-24. This is the time it takes for your RAM to complete certain operations. These numbers refer to the order of four separate parameters.

name

symbol

definition

CAS latency

CL

The exact number of cycles between sending a column address to memory and starting data in response.

Delay between row address and column address

T(RCD)

The minimum number of clock cycles required between opening a memory row and accessing the columns it contains.

Line preload time

T(RP)

The minimum number of clock cycles required between the issuance of the precharge instruction and the opening of the next line.

Active line time

T(RAS)

The minimum number of clock cycles required between a row enable command and the issuance of the precharge command.

As a general rule, all timings work together and lower is better, but that's not always the case. RAM speeds and timings work hand in hand and you can get different results depending on how you match your timings and your speeds. Timings essentially affect how quickly the computer can access the RAM, but the speed of the RAM itself is the actual data transfer rate. For example, a 2400MHz CL15 DDR3 RAM stick is faster than a 2400MHz CL16 DDR RAM stick.


4 Overusing your RAM can lead to system instability

Low latency puts more strain on the RAM

Two red G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 RAM bars on a desk pad

Setting tighter clock speeds for your RAM can have a positive impact on performance, but it also puts a strain on your RAM and memory controller. You may get better performance, but your system may fail to boot or crash frequently, similar to if you overclocked your CPU too much.

However, if you can't shorten the timings as desired, don't just blame your RAM. Your motherboard may also not be able to meet the demands placed on it.

3 It can improve or hinder your gaming performance

Shorter timings can improve gaming performance

Counter-Strike 2 runs on the Lenovo G27q-30


When you play games on your PC, your CPU has to fetch, decode, and execute instructions. If instructions aren't in the CPU's cache or a cache miss occurs, the instructions are fetched from memory. While you won't notice much of a difference in memory timing and speed when performing everyday tasks, gaming is an inherently latency-sensitive process on a computer. Any delay will directly affect your frame rate or frame times, and lower CAS latency can mean your memory responds to requests more often.

Of course, there's more to this than just timings, and as mentioned, RAM speed also plays a role. That's why memory overclockers try to find a balance between timings and data transfer rates. You'll especially notice this in games where the CPU has a greater impact on performance than the GPU.


2 It can improve multitasking performance

Anything that reads or writes a lot of memory is affected by timing

Screenshot of Windows Task Manager with highlighted menu to restart Windows Explorer

While memory speed determines how much data can be transferred per second, timings affect the efficiency of access and processing. Demanding applications like 3D rendering, video editing, or even just multitasking access memory frequently, and for this reason your timings are important.

In other words, when latency is lower and applications are constantly trying to access your computer's memory, the overall performance of those applications is better because they are accessing RAM frequently.

1 Sometimes lower timings are better than the data transfer rate

It all depends on the application

Crucial Pro Overclocking DDR5-6000 RAM Kit on a desk pad


Let's say you have two sticks of RAM, a CL14 stick at 3200MHz and a CL18 stick at 3600MHz. The 3200MHz stick actually has lower latency than the 3600MHz stick, with the 3200MHz RAM having a real latency of 8.75ns and the 3600MHz RAM having a real latency of 10ns. This is calculated using the following formula:

Latency in nanoseconds = ((CAS latency) * 2000)/(RAM frequency) Of course, latency is only a small part of the equation, but the point is that if you're worried about latency, you need to do some math first to make sure you're getting the lowest latency possible.

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