Why Samsung B-Die Is So Popular & Where To Find It

Why Samsung B-Die, and where do you even find it?

If you’ve been around the PC hardware scene long enough, chances are you’ve heard whispers about Samsung B-Die Memory by now, especially if you’re a Ryzen CPU user.

In this article, we’re going to break down all you need to know about B-Die, including where to find it and if you even actually need it.

What is Samsung B-Die?

The first and most important question: what is Samsung B-Die?

The answer is in the “Die”.

Basically, Samsung “B-Die” is a specific type of Memory Die manufactured by Samsung.

Think of a memory die as the specific chip being used for your RAM.

While there are dozens upon dozens of memory brands, there are ultimately only a few memory manufacturers, and Samsung is one of them.

All of the die designs come from this tier of manufacturers, and these dies include:

• Samsung A-Die
• Samsung E-Die
• Samsung B-Die
• Hynix CJR Die
• Hynic DJR Die
• Micron Rev. E / Micron E-Die
• Micron Rev. B / Micron B-Die
• Micron Rev. A / Micron A-Die

For the most part, though, you won’t really hear about those other Dies.

This is because Samsung B-Dies are specifically known for performing well with AMD Ryzen processors, making them a preferred pick for a sizable chunk of the market.

We’ll dive into the why and how below.

What Makes Samsung B-Die Different From Other Memory Dies?

The most distinguishing quality of Samsung B-Die DDR4 Memory Kits is their ability to achieve speeds of 3200 MHz or higher while still maintaining a CAS Latency of 14.

This makes them particularly good for achieving high performance with AMD Ryzen CPUs, but also sets them apart as speedy and low-latency Memory Kits in general.

So if your RAM is manufactured from a Samsung B-Die process, you’ll most likely be able to achieve higher clock speeds and faster overall performance…on Ryzen.

The difference isn’t nearly as pronounced on Intel (more on that below), though B-Die Memory can still be a great purchase for an Intel system, especially if the price is right.

Why Does Samsung B-Die Work With Ryzen?

All that being said, why does Samsung B-Die work so well with Ryzen, anyway?

In this case, the secret is actually Ryzen CPUs themselves.

While it took a few generations for AMD to get really competitive with Ryzen CPUs in single-core performance, a consistent strength of Ryzen CPUs has been their multi-core performance. (This was even a strength of past AMD CPUs.) Part of this is enabled by the Infinity Fabric architecture used by the Zen architecture and its successors.

The Infinity Fabric present in modern AMD CPUs makes AMD CPUs more reliant on fast RAM to reach their full potential than Intel CPUs.

The commonality of DDR4 RAM at 3200 MHz and higher on the market has made it a lot easier to be a Ryzen CPU user than it was some years ago, but you can still get a better experience by seeking out high-end memory.

Infinity Fabric is such an integral part of AMD’s CPU architecture that it’s actually something you can overclock for yourself alongside other components, and this is where having high-speed, low-latency memory will benefit you the most on AMD.

Samsung B-Die RAM is particularly successful in this regard because its high power capacity design when compared to most other RAM allows it to reach higher frequencies at lower latencies.

3200 MHz was the most popular choice for B-Die RAM when it first reached popularity, but in later years 3600 MHz and even 4000 MHz B-Die RAM has become more popular with faster CPUs from AMD.

Where To Find Samsung B-Die RAM & Our Recommendations

Fortunately, there’s already a great resource for this out there, and it’s even hosted on Github.

On Benzhaomin’s B-Die Finder, you can find B-Die memory kits from a variety of manufacturers, stores, and regions around the world.

You can also punch in your own RAM kit info to determine if a kit you’ve already bought or are looking at is B-Die.

But if you don’t feel like going through that tool yourself, don’t worry.

We’ve combed through that tool and Amazon listings in order to assemble a small but high-quality selection of Samsung B-Die RAM for you to get right here:

16 GB Picks: G.Skill Flare X Series (2 x 8GB) 3200Mhz CL14 Kit OR T-Force Dark Pro Series (2 x 8 GB) 3200MHz CL14 Kit

Our picks for 16 GB Samsung B-Die RAM kits are the G.Skill Flare X and T-Force Dark Pro. Both are clocked at 3200 MHz and a CAS Latency of 14.

Alongside the requisite Ryzen CPU, you have yourself a strong machine for personal productivity and gaming with either of these kits.

32GB 3200MHz Pick: G.Skill TridentZ RGB Series (2 x 16GB) 3200MHz CL14 Kit

If you want to bump up to 32 GB and are still using a Ryzen 3000 CPU or earlier, you may have a harder time reaching higher memory clocks than 3200 MHz (especially without Infinity Fabric overclocking).

If this is the case for you, a great option to stick with would be the G.Skill TridentZ RGB series linked above, which boasts 32 GB of 3200 MHz B-Die RAM at the expected tight CAS Latency of 14.

32GB 3600MHz Pick: T-Force XStream ARGB Series (2 x 16 GB) 3600MHZ CL14 Kit

If you’re using a Ryzen 3000 CPU or newer, you may want to consider opting for faster B-Die memory.

In this case, 3600 MHz at CL 14 should work well for the majority of modern Ryzen CPUs with minimal tweaking required on the user’s end.

It will also be well within the workable ranges for past generations of AMD Ryzen CPUs, though you may not be able to achieve the peak 3600 MHz CL14 shown on the box with older chips.

32GB 4000MHz Pick: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series (4 x 8 GB) 4000MHz CL15 Kit

With the Ryzen 5000 series or newer, you may even want to consider 4000 MHz Samsung B-Die memory.

However, there is a small increase to CAS Latency here- up to 15 from 14. This is still much better than most non-B-Die chips, though, which have much higher CAS Latencies than 15 at this same speed.

The reason to consider RAM like this for the Ryzen 5000 series is to allow you to make the most of the larger Infinity Fabric on Ryzen 5000 CPUs.

This allows for higher Infinity Fabric overclocks, and since this is tied to memory overclocking on Ryzen, it makes a stable 4000 MHz at CL15 most easily achievable with Ryzen 5000 CPUs.

This is our Samsung B-Die recommendation for Ryzen 5000.

FAQ

Is Samsung B-Die Memory still being manufactured?

Yes and no. Chips using B-Die are still clearly being put out by vendors like G.Skill and T-Force, like the listings above.

However, stories telling you that B-Die is no longer being manufactured aren’t necessarily incorrect.

What’s happening is that Samsung is no longer manufacturing B-Die to sell directly to businesses and consumers. B-Die instead goes to partners before it is rebranded.

Do I Need Samsung B-Die Memory For Good Performance With Ryzen?

Not necessarily, especially with newer generations of Ryzen motherboards that support higher memory speeds out-of-the-box.

When B-Die Memory first came into prominence in the early generations of Ryzen, however, it was arguably a necessity for achieving the best memory speeds with Ryzen processors.

Zen 3 and newer platforms support much faster clock speeds on both the overall RAM and the Infinity Fabric itself than Zen 2 and older did, though.

This means that B-Die Memory that’s clocked at much higher speeds (like 4000 MHz) can more comfortably be used with Ryzen 3000 and newer processors.

Does Samsung B-Die Memory Matter For Intel CPU Users?

Not really, no. Since Intel CPUs are not beholden to Infinity Fabric, they do not need to have Samsung B-Die chips in order to achieve high memory clocks.

However, B-Die sticks are fairly good in their own right even if they don’t specifically benefit Infinity Fabric, and they’re fairly good for any DDR4-based system.

Does B-Die Memory Matter For Servers?

Unless you’re running something like a personal game server, not really.

B-Die RAM will work just fine, but you’ll see more benefit targeting high capacity or high reliability, like investing in ECC.

ECC, or Error-Checking RAM, is slightly slower than standard DRAM but will be much more resistant to crashing and actively fixes data errors where standard memory cannot.

If you’re investing in a server, then B-Die Memory specialized for Memory Overclocking most likely isn’t what you’re looking for.

Over to You

Have any other questions about Samsung B-Die? Feel free to ask us in the comments or our forum!