AMD Confirms DDR5-6000 as "Sweetspot" Memory OC Frequency for Ryzen 7000

AMD in its Discord AMA confirmed DDR5-6000 to be the "sweetspot" memory overclock for its upcoming Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors. A sweetspot frequency in AMD jargon is an inflection of performance, stability, cost, and ease. For the very first Ryzen, this was DDR4-3200. For Ryzen 2000, it was DDR4-3400. For the Ryzen 3000 "Zen 2," it climbed to DDR4-3800, the Ryzen 5000 "Zen 3" it was DDR4-4000.

At the architectural-level, it is usually the highest frequency where FClk, UClk, and MClk maintain a 1:1:1 ratio, before having to engage dividers that impact performance, making it a point of diminishing returns for investing in faster memory modules. AMD’s Robert Hallock, leading the Discord AMA, recommended that FClk be left untouched at "Auto" for the best results, and overclockers look for an Auto:1:1 ratio for the FClk, UClk, and MClk. As with both AMD and Intel now, the highest frequencies are possible only with one single-rank DIMM per memory channel (1DPC), and memory overclocking yield lower results with dual-rank DIMMs, or two DIMMs per memory channel. Among the AMD EXPO-certified DIMMs announced over the past few days, some do engage memory clocks beyond DDR5-6000. It would be interesting to see how they affect the "golden ratio" for Zen 4.