Dominator Platinum DDR 3600 C16 or Vengeance Pro RGB DDR 4000 C18

I am trying to decide between 2 Corsair Memory rams for my intel system (i9 10900K)

Which will be a better choice?

1) Dominator Platinum RGB DDR 3600 C16

2) Vengeance Pro RGB DDR 4000 C18

Vengeance Pro RGB is definitely a cheaper option of the 2 so wondering if it is a better choice in terms of price/performance.

How is the RGB on Vengeance ram compared to Dominator Platinum?

I think this is mostly an extension of what we were discussing before. I have the 3600C16 4x8GB Dominator kit. It will run 4000 17-19-39 at 1.40v. Good chance you can take the Vengeance Pro kit down a rung to those same timings from 18-20-41 with a small voltage bump. Either way, you are talking slight differences.

That really leaves this then as visual appearance and cost. You can make a case for either on appearance and one or the other might look better suited in a particular build. Cost you can determine for yourself. If it's of any importance, the Dominator heatsink is better at shedding heat than the Pro. I can't break 45C on mine in 4x8 packed at 1.45v unless I blow hot air at them. I see some Vengeance Pro owners report common temps beyond that. This is generally not a factor in normal use, but if your intent is to press the overclock as far as you can or you know your case is a bit of a hot box, then the Dominators probably extend your potential range.

Thanks for your reply.

I am considering these 2 options

1) 4 x 16gb Dominator Platinum RGB DDR 4 3600 c16

2) 4 x 16gb vengeance Pro RGB DDR 4 4000 C18

The Dominator Platinum costs about US $168 more. Wondering if it is worth it or is the Vengeance Pro RGB a better choice?

I think if....

1) You want overclock the RAM to the highest possible level and/or you have a hot case, then you get the Dominators.

or

2) Whichever one you have a strong personal preference for in terms of appearance. If you want to get nitpicky, some people don't like the "squares" of the Platinum and it does not necessary match the more prominent light loops of the Corsair fans. The Vengeance Pro do, but then people sometimes feel the colors don't blend right through the light zone, which is why the Dominators have squares.

If neither of those matter much, then take the savings.

I have 6 ML120 fans in the system. The vengeance pro will blend in better?

It is nice that the Vengeance Pro DDR 4000 runs at c18 out of the box at 1.35V and it is still cheaper than the Dominator Platinum DDR 3600 c16

Wondering if the c18 DDR4 4000 will be slower than C16 DDR 4 3600

I don't think it matters for ML fans. More of a concern if you have the LL/QL everywhere plus something else with a ring like LED zone.

In terms of throughput, 4000 Mhz is going to offer a 5% improvement on general bandwidth. Looking at my various runs, copy seems to benefit the most with a 12% jump between 3600 and 4000 MHz (no secondary tuning). However, for most people this is irrelevant since they won't be using the max bandwidth on any of these and actual work latency is going to be lower on the 4000 kit.

If you don't want to do any settings tweaks at all, then the XMP 4000 kit could be the way to go. However, be aware any 3600 kit is going to be one click and ready. I don't know how Gigabyte handles its auto settings for IO/SA voltage, but if it's scaled like Asus Z490 BIOS versions, then you may need to change a few things on the XMP 4000 kit. 1.40v SA voltage is the default for my board and it's too much, causing black screens and freezes. The stable SA voltage is lower and that does require some fiddling.

that said, on its SPD, i imagine the 4000C18 would run something like C16 at 3600 maybe?

If the price is close, not much of a loss at worst :p

I don't think it matters for ML fans. More of a concern if you have the LL/QL everywhere plus something else with a ring like LED zone.

 

In terms of throughput, 4000 Mhz is going to offer a 5% improvement on general bandwidth. Looking at my various runs, copy seems to benefit the most with a 12% jump between 3600 and 4000 MHz (no secondary tuning). However, for most people this is irrelevant since they won't be using the max bandwidth on any of these and actual work latency is going to be lower on the 4000 kit.

 

If you don't want to do any settings tweaks at all, then the XMP 4000 kit could be the way to go. However, be aware any 3600 kit is going to be one click and ready. I don't know how Gigabyte handles its auto settings for IO/SA voltage, but if it's scaled like Asus Z490 BIOS versions, then you may need to change a few things on the XMP 4000 kit. 1.40v SA voltage is the default for my board and it's too much, causing black screens and freezes. The stable SA voltage is lower and that does require some fiddling.

How can I check if my gigabyte motherboard auto sets the IO/SA Voltage?

that said, on its SPD, i imagine the 4000C18 would run something like C16 at 3600 maybe?

If the price is close, not much of a loss at worst :p

That is also what I was thinking.

The Vengeance Pro ram could probably also run at 3600mhz c16, too

How can I check if my gigabyte motherboard auto sets the IO/SA Voltage?

All motherboards will auto set the IO and SA (VCCSA) voltages unless you give it a specific value. My point was not to expect a simple "XMP on" and done at 4000 MHz. At that level and above, it usually requires further tweaking based on motherboard and CPU IMC strength. A 3600 XMP kit can be turned on and that's probably all that needs to be done. Finding the proper IO/SA voltages is not an overly difficult task, but if you are phobic about entering the BIOS, then a 4000 MHz kit may not be a good fit.

The Vengeance Pro ram could probably also run at 3600mhz c16, too

It surely can. That will require setting at the least the primary timings and DRAM voltage (easy), but also there isn't a gain to running 3600 16-18-36 vs 4000 18-20-41. It's not less bandwidth but more "responsive". It's just has lower capabilities across the board.

10900K (Aida Read/Write/Copy/Latency)

Dominator 3600C16 at XMP 16-18-36

R: 52,071 Wr: 53,151 Cp: 47,254 Lat: 51.8

Same kit at 4000 (18-19-41) *as close as I have.

R: 54,701 Wr: 57,290 Cp:53,199 Lat: 49.9

These are all illusory gains for 99% of the people out there. You should decide on price and any personal feelings for one kit or the other.

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Now for a straight forward question.

Which is more worth upgrading from DDR 3200 C16?

1) DDR 3600 C16

2) DDR 4000 C18

Forget about Vengeance pro rgb or dominator platinum rgb.