Opinions on best RGB RAM? What are you using?

[TickleMyElmo]

I am using the G.Skill Trident Z 3200 RAM right now but when the 9900k's drop in price I plan on switching and with that I also may switch RAM.
What is everyone else using? What do you think are the best performing/looking RGB RAM? Is 3200 the sweet spot for intel? Thanks again guys!

 

[Woomack]

Most RGB work in the same way. The difference is mostly in software and if you can synchronize it with all other RGB in your PC.
The main problem with RGB effect are semi-transparent covers which give better or worse light/colors and sometimes the way how LED covers/bars are installed (sometimes a big part is covered by a holder mounted to the heatsink).

- G.Skill Royal is the best looking but also the most expensive. Different heatsink and transparent bar are not really worth premium price over Trident Z RGB.
- HyperX Predator RGB with new software works good (they had a delay with soft release) and you can find it quite cheap. It depends on store and country. For example in the US price is not the best but in EU it's one of the cheapest, good looking and well overclocking RAM.
- Ballistix Tracer looks great but is not available in higher speed and you can expect Micron IC there so everything from average to well-overclocking chips.
- Patriot/Geil/Team Group/Corsair/ADATA and some others ... for me not the best lighting effect, part of the RGB bar is covered, random and often cheaper IC as someone thought that RGB will cover everything else, some kits in weirdly high price, some kits are of course good

If you don't really need 5GHz CPU clock then I think that better idea can be Zen 2. We still have to wait for premiere to see the real performance. Personally, I wasn't happy with 9900K in a daily PC. I had some fun while benching it on dry ice but it was way too hot and was not really overclocking on ambient cooling. When I was done with benching then I sold it and I was using 8086K till now.

Both Intel and AMD work great with DDR4-3600 CL16 kits (for AMD it depends on the motherboard but Zen 2 will support that without issues). All of them except maybe new Ballistix Elite, are using Samsung B-die and let to OC past 4000 (usually up to 4400-4500).
Almost all 3200 CL16, 3400-3866 CL19/20 kits will be on Hynix/Micron and won't OC high so no matter what you pick then try to stick to 3200 CL14, 3600 CL16 or 4000+ memory kits.

Summary:
my pick for the best effect and good IC - some kits from G.Skill Royal series like 3200 C14, 3600 C16, 4000+
my pick for the best price/effect/OC - HyperX Predator RGB
if we were talking about non-RGB kits then I would add something

 

[TickleMyElmo]

I'm purely a gamer so I'm hesitant to switch to Ryzen. I'm also using the 7700k right now and honestly isn't much better than the 2600k I had before. I always have a couple chrome tabs, youtube, Kaspersky, Corsair HUE, and then games running so nothing to hardcore. All I know is the 9th gen is soldered, correct? Should be lower than this 7700k and much faster. Think I may go with the G. Skill Trident Z Royal silver at 3200. Love the RGB and bling. Lol. Also I have an Asus ROG board ATM and I'm thinking of switching to an MSI board in the future. Asus AURA sync is just too unstable. What do you think?

 

[Woomack]

9th gen is soldered but still runs hot. I had higher temps on 9900K at 1.25V than on 8086K at 1.30V. 8086K can keep higher stable clock with the same cooler. It was the main reason why I got rid of my 9900K when it still was in good price. At 5GHz and undervolted, it was going up to 95°C+ on 360 AIO in any benchmark with AVX.
I'm not saying don't buy 9900k or that it's pure evil ... but simply consider high temps or possible throttling during work. It's something about what you won't read in reviews or most users won't tell you on the forums. However, there are some users on OCF who were not so happy about their 9700K/9900K.
So again, 9900K is a nice CPU ... as long as you can keep it cool.

I have Trident Z Royal 3200 CL14 and it's a great memory kit. It's expensive and for most users it's not worth the price but it's about the best you can get. My 3200 kit runs up to 4700+.

I don't know if MSI will be better than ASUS. It really depends on the motherboard model. Some are good, some not. Let's say that the Hero is not ASUS top model and there were various issues with previous generations. I have Maximus XI Gene and it's great. There are no issues with RGB or anything else but it's expensive and as long as you won't take part in a competitive benching then I guess you can live with a lower series mobo or something from MSI which will be cheaper and still high end with all the features you need.

I know that new Intel will be released at the beginning of the 2020 (Q1 but hard to say which month). In this case if you can live with the 7700K then maybe better wait. If you really want to switch then wait and see what new Ryzen has to offer and then decide if you want to get 9900K or maybe that new Ryzen.