how to know what memory to buy for your computer

It'due south been a good, long run, merely the end may exist sight for the supremacy of DDR4 RAM, the kind of system retention that powers most consumer PCs these days. That said, we're certainly not belongings dorsum on our PC builds and upgrades to wait for the impending DDR5. (The simply thing that might brand united states do that this year is the dire toll of PC components.) Every new generation of DDR memory, historically, has started off with some stumbles and setbacks. DDR4, meanwhile, has a 7-twelvemonth runway record and endured a long, long shakeout in the consumer-PC market. That means it will have a leg upwards on both compatibility and developmental maturity for some fourth dimension to come.

But that long familiarity we take with DDR4 doesn't make memory upgrades today any less complex. How do y'all go nearly buying the all-time memory configuration for your PC? Whether you are building a PC new or upgrading the one you have, the answers come hands—but just one time you know the right questions to ask.

For Starters: How Much Memory Do I Actually Need?

We've been pushing 8GB of memory as the bare minimum for apply under Windows x for a while now. It's easy to notice mainstream-priced and even budget Windows 10 laptops and desktops shipping with just 8GB of DRAM. Indeed, that'southward the norm, and that's fine for workaday productivity tasks, light gaming, and minimal multitasking. But that'southward not a great starting point for an experienced user.

Fifty-fifty browsing the internet tin push memory usage over 50% on such systems, leaving piddling capacity for whatever remaining programs, such as PC games or photograph editors. And while modern web browsers typically lighten the load when other programs need more retentiveness chapters, that process tin make the motorcar feel sluggish.

That leads to our full general capacity guidelines. We recommend 16GB of main arrangement memory for most users who want to multitask without incurring the above-mentioned slowdown, and 32GB for heavy multi-taskers or those running memory-hogging programs such as video editors.

Across that is overkill for most folks. Programs that run optimally with 64GB or more are generally designed for experienced or professional person users who already know how much they need—or at least, who know that they need all they can become.

How Much Memory Do I Take?

One of the easiest means to encounter how much memory you already have is to open up whatsoever folder in Windows x (in the default view), find the This PC icon on the left, correct-click it, and become to Properties. This study below from an older, previously upgraded Dell notebook shows that it has an older Core i5 CPU and 8GB total memory, 7.8GB of which tin be used for programs. (The balance is reserved for use past the processor's integrated graphics.)

A basic memory report in Windows 10

The higher up report may also listing the manufacturer name and model, simply it wasn't available on this system subsequently upgrading from the factory installation to Windows ten. If yous need greater item, you lot tin download a tertiary-political party utility that will surface much more system info. Our become-to is the freeware program CPU-Z...

CPU-Z, on the other manus, tells all.

In this older example organization, the program'southward memory tab shows that this PC has a total of 8GB installed in dual aqueduct mode, running at around a 533MHz clock rate, which works out to the "DDR3-1066" retention type, since all generations of desktop DDR take a doubled data rate.

We also run into that the actual memory installed is a pair of 4GB DDR3-1600 modules, which are backward compatible to several slower settings. Note that the slot number of the "SPD" tab has a pulldown menu, which is particularly useful when the default "Slot 1" is empty. Boosted tabs show things like the motherboard model, which can be useful if y'all are having a difficult time figuring out what the chipset and platform are at the core of your PC. (For more about checking out the RAM in your current system, see this feature.)

Okay, So I Know What I Have. What's the Easiest 'Next Footstep'?

The search ends here for some PC upgraders, every bit some machines but tin't be upgraded. The to a higher place screenshots, for example, come from an former, DDR3-equipped notebook that doesn't support modules of 8GB each and already has its ii slots filled with 4GB memory modules. A central thing for starters: DDR3 is a sign of an older PC, and you tin can't simply swap in DDR4 modules in their place. On both laptops and desktops, DDR3 and DDR4 retentivity are keyed differently from i another and are incompatible. Just if you lot're non getting this information from the manufacturer, at that place are other ways to figure it out.

Memory sellers that specialize in stop-user sales (notably, Crucial and Kingston) offer online "memory configurators" to help potential customers find an array of compatible memory-module options from their enormous production stacks. Dissimilar the oft-outdated memory-module "compatibility lists" that system and desktop motherboard manufacturers maintain on a board-by-board level, retention manufacturers' lists are constantly updated to represent real-fourth dimension availability. Buyers tin but select the fastest kit of the desired capacity recommended for their organisation, merely with the understanding that these lists typically lean toward the safest parts, rather than, necessarily, the fastest or best-value ones. (Crucial's is called Crucial System Advisor, while Kingston's is Kingston Memory Finder.)

Tracking RAM upgrade possibilities with Kingston's Memory Finder

Now, if all you want is a memory-capacity boost, and you're not concerned virtually eking out every last droplet of operation or overclocking, your search tin end there. Using a memory configurator is a safe bet, and information technology is oftentimes the all-time idea for upgraders of laptops, whose memory-upgrade options are ordinarily pretty limited, anyway.

If you're a PC enthusiast, though, and are looking at a loftier-performance desktop, a retentiveness maker's configurator may not get deep plenty. We like picking our own memory, which is where the next parts come in.

What Basic Type of Retentivity Do I Need?

If you're non already looking within your PC, an easy way to figure out the retentiveness format is to wait at the system manufacturer'southward product page, user manual, or service manual. Most desktop PCs make utilise of unregistered memory (UDIMMs, commonly just called DIMMs). DIMM stands for "dual inline retentiveness module."

A lineup of two desktop DDR4 DIMMs (top two rows) and two So-DIMMs (bottom row)

Notebooks, meanwhile, near all make utilize of shorter, "small-outline" DIMMs (SO-DIMMs, also called SODIMMs and pronounced "sew-dims"). Meaty desktops will utilize i or the other of these, depending upon what the designer found to exist the best fit for the organisation mainboard and chassis. The smaller the system, the more likely information technology is to rely on So-DIMMs versus regular DIMMs, simply because the former are much smaller in surface expanse.

A laptop-style DDR4 SO-DIMM

The wider spacing of the components on the printed circuit boards that make up desktop DIMMs allows for additional parts to exist installed, such every bit heat sinks and or even RGB lighting strips for PC modders. Laptop-style Then-DIMMs, on the other mitt, are designed to be installed in tight, stacked or overlapping slots, and to be invisible, and thus skip such backlog. A pair of each is shown above.

As mentioned, DDR4 is the norm in almost all current laptops and desktops. The basic data rate standard for DDR4 retentiveness is 2,133MT/s (that is, million transfers per 2nd), which transfers at double the clock frequency of 1,066MHz. The basic information rate for DDR3 was one,066MT/southward, which transferred at twice its 533MHz clock frequency. Note that information technology's not incorrect to label a data rate with "MHz," since a data bicycle is yet a cycle: Many industry writers simply choose "MT/s" classification to avoid confusion betwixt it and the clock frequency.

DDR4 was launched primarily at per-module capacities of 4GB to 16GB each, while DDR3 modules favored 1GB to 4GB capacities per module. The upper limits of these specifications were twice as high, but it took several years for 32GB DDR4 and 8GB DDR3 modules to reach the consumer market afterwards the introduction of the retention blazon. Because of those delays, many older motherboards required a firmware update to support the bigger, subsequently capacity. (As seen in the earlier "old Dell notebook" example, many platforms never got those updates.)

To summarize, at a basic level, virtually systems should back up at least 16GB per module of DDR4-2133 memory, or 4GB per module of DDR3-1066, without overclocking. And once again, if you lot're only looking for a memory crash-land to boost your multitasking and browsing, you can end in that location and go with this basic speed of module according to whether y'all need DDR3 or DDR4. But nosotros like to go past that—when we can!—and fortunately most DIY-minded desktops are designed with the performance credentials to become us in that location.

So, Well-nigh Retentiveness Specs: Is High Frequency Meliorate Than Low Latency?

This is where we start to get into the geeky stuff. Let's start with the brusk reply: While a higher data rate usually has a greater impact on measured functioning, optimally "timed" retentiveness kits such as DDR4-3200 CAS fourteen can oftentimes outperform poorly timed kits such as DDR4-3600 CAS twenty—despite the optimized kit's lower data rate. (More near what "CAS" is in a moment.)

At the most bones level, frequency is the number of times annihilation happens over a certain period, while latency is the time it takes to catch up. Increasing the frequency of a information transfer will always increment the bandwidth of a continuous transfer, merely because retention information is transferred in pocket-size packets, the filibuster betwixt packets pushes bandwidth in the opposite management. Latency is measured in nanoseconds just specified in clock cycles. Called "primary timings," the iv most significant of these are often indicated on a sticker on the memory module, or in its specifications listing.

Memory timings: Sometimes, they're right on the sticker.

Retentiveness cells are organized in rows and columns in a similar manner to spreadsheets:

CAS Latency (tCL) refers to the number of cycles required to access the cell in the correct cavalcade, when the right row is already open.
RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD) refers to the amount of time information technology takes to open up the right row.
Row Precharge (tRP) refers to the corporeality of time information technology takes to close the incorrect row.
Row Active Fourth dimension (tRAS) refers to the combined fourth dimension required to close the incorrect row and open up the correct row.

For most folks outside the overclocking oversupply, this gets pretty deep in the weeds. This costless-to-share video (by yours truly) gives a quick visual representation of these descriptions…

Merely how fast is a clock bicycle? Since frequency (operations per 2d) is the changed of latency (seconds per functioning), and since DDR4-3200 operates on a i,600MHz bus clock, the reply at DDR4-3200 is one divided by 1600000000, or 0.625ns per cycle. The same calculations place DDR4-2400 at 0.833ns per bike. And since xvi times 0.625 equals 10, and 12 times 0.833 also equals 10, DDR4-3200 CAS xvi has the same 10ns real-time latency as DDR4-2400 CAS 12.

Aye, that'southward some in-the-weeds math. But this explains why in our lead example, DDR4-3600 CAS 20 (11ns) can underperform DDR4-3200 CAS 14 (8.75ns) in certain operations: It takes 2.25ns longer for DDR4-3600 CAS 20 to respond. Most memory buyers won't get down to that level of granularity, but that explains why you lot can't weigh only a single specification in assessing operation memory.

What Is XMP?

Intel's Extreme Retentiveness Profiles (XMP) are additional configuration sets, accessed via the system BIOS, that allow the motherboard to automatically apply overclocking values to lucifer the needs of nonstandard memory. As an overclocking applied science, XMP has some limitations: Some motherboards don't back up XMP at all, and some modules are programmed only with specific XMP values that exceed a given motherboard's capabilities.

Turning on XMP in an Asus BIOS

It may be an Intel technology, but enthusiast-course AMD motherboards are also designed to support XMP. As motherboards are often programmed to slightly modify sure timings to farther stabilize AMD's unlike memory controllers, motherboard manufacturers take occasionally applied their own names to this setting, such every bit Asus and its D.O.C.P.

The usual drawback of XMP involves inadequate module programming. Many memory kits have just 2 automated configurations—say, DDR4-3600 CAS 18 and DDR4-2133 CAS 15, where the motherboard will retain the CAS 15 setting when you manually select a centre value such as DDR4-3200. The manual configuration fails if the memory required CAS 16 to operate at DDR4-3200.

Different users can debate differently about the best memory product, but from an ease-of-apply standpoint, it's easier to contend, say, for a DDR4-3200 kit that contains a DDR4-2933 secondary XMP forth with bones configurations of DDR4-2666, DDR4-2400, and DDR4-2133 than information technology is to fence confronting having those fallbacks. Overclocking is never a certainty, and it'southward overnice to know that the political party won't finish simply because some other part of the system (such as the CPU's memory controller) isn't cooperating with an XMP setting that'due south supposedly supported by the motherboard.

How Do Multiple Memory Channels Increment Performance?

A single channel of memory is 64 bits wide. Most modern systems support dual-aqueduct retention architecture, which widens the memory pathway to 128 bits. With more cores being fed more than information under heavier workloads, some High-End Desktop (HEDT) platforms, notably Intel'due south Core 10-Serial (on socket LGA2066) and AMD's Ryzen Threadripper (on sTR4) have this further, to 256 bits, with quad-channel memory arrangements.

Viii DIMM slots (for quad-aqueduct operation) on an Asrock X299 Taichi motherboard

One thing to remember is that most systems require a matched pair of modules to run dual-aqueduct style, or 4 matching modules to operate in quad-aqueduct fashion. While by platforms have occasionally allowed for mixed modes using different modules, those didn't perform optimally. That doesn't necessarily mean that you take to ditch an old pair of modules when a pair of empty slots are bachelor, every bit we've had good experience adding a new matched pair to an quondam matched pair of the same data rate, but doing so may make XMP mode unworkable. We've fifty-fifty added 2x 8GB kits next to 2x 4GB kits without breaking dual-channel mode, creating a 24GB (12GB per-channel) configuration every bit 8GB-4GB-8GB-4GB, by simply leaving the board at default (non-XMP) settings. You'll simply want to make sure the matched pairs are inserted into the proper paired DIMM slots recommended past the motherboard maker.

What Are Memory 'Ranks,' and Why Should I Care?

Each dual inline memory module (DIMM) has two 64-bit interfaces (one on each side) connected in series. Each interface supports ane rank of memory, so that a unmarried-sided module usually has 1 filled rank, and a double-sided module usually has both ranks filled. (Caveat alert: Though less mutual, some memory has through-paths, or "vias," that connect both sides to a single interface.) Since the two sides of a dual-rank module are connected in serial, i might not expect the added rank of memory ICs (integrated circuits, i.e. "fries") to ameliorate performance. This is where interleaving comes into play. Interleaving allows two different operations to occur simultaneously, such as accessing data on one rank while transferring information on the other.

The memory controllers of most consumer processors support upward to four ranks of memory per aqueduct, which is why so many dual-aqueduct boards have four slots and why so many quad-channel boards have eight. If every module used in these boards was dual-rank, the retentiveness controller would be "full."

How does i make up one's mind whether a module is dual- or single-rank? Specs may tell you, but you lot can't count on that. If non, physical exam is another way. A await under the edge of a module's rut spreaders would reveal how many ICs are used. Since the ICs on most functioning-oriented retentivity modules accept an eight-bit interface, 8 of those brand up a 64-scrap rank. (Some low-end memory uses 4 16-bit ICs per rank. These "fries" tend to exist rectangular.)

All the same, really looking at RAM modules and peering under stickers or heat spreaders is not a realistic method for anyone ordering RAM online or trying to examine memory that's packaged upward in a store. Researching memory via retentivity reviews can aid, only finding a review of the verbal kit and speed/capacity flavor you are looking information technology is hitting-and-miss. And even professional RAM reviews are relevant merely if they're very recent. Why? We've seen companies apply an old part number to a new product with half every bit many ICs (each at twice the density). Tweaking the actual on-module components can make all the deviation.

Depending on what you exercise, it'southward a legitimate strategy to buy a kit containing 4 DIMMs for a four-slot dual-channel motherboard, since you're guaranteed to accept at to the lowest degree i rank per module. But some motherboards are wired to overclock improve with only two DIMM slots filled. If that is what you aim to do, you demand to factor that in. Alternatively, kits that incorporate 32GB modules always take dual-rank DIMMs, since 16Gb is the electric current density limit for loftier-stop consumer DDR4 ICs, and viii of those brand a 16GB rank.

What Is the All-time Memory Kit for About Performance Enthusiasts?

Owners of enthusiast-grade PC desktop motherboards take the reward of multiple firmware settings to get their auto configured perfectly, but there are limits to what the hardware can back up on a board-past-lath level. Contempo AMD architectures, and the latest Intel ones, clock the CPU's memory controller at the aforementioned frequency as the retentiveness, and well-nigh samples announced to hitting limits somewhere between DDR4-3700 and DDR4-3900.

Both also allow the user to cull a retentivity-controller ratio other than one:1 to attain even higher data rates, just doing and then reduces performance by underclocking the retention controller. Motherboards using AMD's X570 chipset will automatically reduce the memory-controller frequency (a spec called "FCLK") at settings across DDR4-3600, and those based on Intel's Z590 chipset with 11th Generation Core CPUs switch from what's known on that platform as "Gear 1" (synchronous memory controller frequency) to "Gear two" (half-speed) at settings above DDR4-3200. Overclocking motherboards let AMD'south FCLK to be forced to 1:one and Intel's Z590 to Gear 1, but stability at synchronous data rates beyond DDR4-3600 is hard-fought.

Thus, the fastest applied kits for well-nigh performance enthusiasts volition contain (and we'll emphasize this with boldface!) dual-rank modules rated at DDR4-3600 CAS 14. (That is, unless yous tin can detect these specs at something lower than CAS 14.) Compatible platforms include contempo mainstream AMD AM4 boards, forth with almost Threadripper (sTR4), Intel Cadre-10 (LGA2066, LGA-2011v3), and mainstream Intel (LGA1200, and LGA1151), assuming the board is equipped with overclocking features.

Notation that Intel's 10th Generation and earlier processors ran retentiveness asynchronously to the controller clock and thereby avoided controller frequency reduction, though performance gains were minuscule at data rates beyond DDR4-3600.

Let's Get Granular! Our Platform-Specific RAM Recommendations

Nosotros've come up with an, ahem, "short" listing of what yous tin (and/or should) utilise with specific desktop platforms, attempting to place these in rough chronological gild (by release appointment, newest to oldest). For custom desktop PC builds, we recommend treating the statements of motherboard manufacturers regarding their memory support every bit theoretical limits and reading reviews to determine practical limits. Additionally, firmware limits gear up by system manufacturers normally cannot be exceeded, regardless of whether the machine is a notebook or desktop.

▶ Intel Z590, H570, and B560 Chipset Motherboards (With an 11th Generation Core "Rocket Lake" CPU)

The short version: Plenty overclockers have shown the Intel 500 Series of chipsets stable at DDR4-3600 that we have no reservation recommending that form of DIMM to anyone with a 125-watt-TDP 11th Generation ("Rocket Lake") processor like the Core i9-11900K, an adequate motherboard, and fifty-fifty the nearly modest tuning skills. Getting maximum performance from this data rate requires the memory controller to be overclocked by manually setting Gear one (synchronous retentiveness controller frequency) mode.

Buyers who won't or tin't overclock should stick to Intel'due south guidelines to retain Gear 1 level operation, which are…

DDR4-3200 for the Core i9-11900K
DDR4-2933 for lesser 11th Generation Core i9, Core i7, or Core i5 chips
DDR4-2666 for Core i3, Pentium, or Celeron

The default switch from Gear 1 to Gear 2 when using DDR4-3200 with anything less than the Core i9-11900K is disabled on most retail motherboards, simply we've yet to meet the DDR4-2666 limit exceeded on budget processors, and Intel's inclusion of retention overclocking in its H570 and B560 chipsets has not helped those with a DDR4-2666 limit.

Recommended by Our Editors

Lower-energy CPUs, such as Intel's 65-watt TDP models, often power-throttle under heavy load, and the increased voltage of performance DRAM can amplify the problem. Manually configuring higher ability thresholds is possible within the firmware of adequately provisioned (overclocking) motherboards. But once you're in that zone, it's a tricky push-and-pull of performance versus thermals, the likely reason y'all opted for a 65-watt CPU in the first place.

▶ Intel Z490, H470, B360, H410 Chipset Motherboards (With a tenth Generation Core "Comet Lake" CPU)

The short version: With no "Gear" modes to worry about on these previous-generation chipsets, there'south piddling to end a mildly experienced builder from simply enabling a DDR4-3600 XMP profile on an overclocking-enabled Z490 motherboard. That's a pretty safe bet for system builders working from a retail-sold DIY motherboard. Note, all the same, that some OEM systems might accept the (ostensible) overclocking chipset, but non the firmware settings to actually reach this.

Without overclocking, Intel's 10th Generation Core i9 and i7 processors support retentivity upward to DDR4-2933, while its Core i5 and i3 versions top out at DDR4-2666. Intel never unlocked overclocking for its B or H 400-Series chipsets.

As with the Z590, it might be necessary to increment the power threshold of lower-energy (65-watt) processors to foreclose a power-throttling increase. Check your motherboard firmware for these settings prior to memory selection.

▶ AMD TRX40 (Threadripper) and X570, B550, or A520 (Mainstream Ryzen) Chipset Motherboards

Even though these ii are completely different platforms, both back up DDR4-3600 at a synchronized FCLK. AMD recommended DDR4-3200 at the time of the launch of the Ryzen 3000 Series, and buyers who tin't afford DDR4-3600 at reasonable timings (CAS 18 or lower) might wish to consider this less-expensive option.

▶ Intel Z390, H370, B360, and Z370 Chipset Motherboards (With 8th and 9th Generation CPUs)

Intel's Z-series chipsets are super-friendly to retentivity overclocking on adequately provisioned motherboards, and then the same DDR4-3600 "all-time" and DDR4-3200 "culling" recommendations apply for these chipsets catering to eighth Generation and ninth Generation CPUs. Unfortunately, H370 and B360 do non more often than not support anything across Intel's official limits, which are DDR4-2666 for the Core i9, i7, and i5, and DDR4-2400 for the Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron.

▶ AMD X470 and B450 Chipset Motherboards (With Mainstream Ryzen CPUs)

Support for high RAM data rates beyond various motherboard models under these chipsets is mixed. Some easily exceed DDR4-3600; others barely go to a higher place DDR4-2933 when paired with a Ryzen 2000 Series CPU. The closest thing we've seen to consensus has been DDR4-3466, just once again, we've had boards that topped out at far less.

The good news is a resurgence of AMD-compatible DDR4-2933 memory modules on the market post-obit Intel's add-on of this speed to its 2020 desktop processor guidelines. Those who think that DDR4-2933 is unacceptably tedious should dig a little deeper to discover out what other people are running with the same motherboard and processor. Imitation can be far more than the greatest form of flattery—it can salve you a heap of fourth dimension and trouble!

▶ AMD X399 Chipset Motherboards (With First or Second Generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs)

Remember that Threadripper X399 boards tend to accept 8 memory slots. Breaking from DDR4-3600 recommendations because many builders wish to fully populate these boards with eight dual rank modules (16 total ranks), stability at this setting is still mutual when using upward to eight total ranks with the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X. Earlier processors can be fussier, though. DDR4-3200 is uniform beyond almost Threadripper processor models and retentivity configurations, but AMD recommends only DDR4-2933 for second-gen Ryzen Threadrippers and DDR4-2666 for get-go-gen Ryzen Threadrippers.

▶ Intel X299 Chipset Motherboards (With LGA2066 Cadre Ten-Series CPUs)

Like Threadripper, Cadre X-Series boards gravitate to eight slots for quad-channel support. CPUs from the 9th and 10th Generation of Intel's HEDT platform typically supported memory frequencies exceeding DDR4-3600 with up to iv dual-rank modules, but DDR4-3200 became a far safer choice when deploying the platform's 16-rank maximum configuration or when using a 7th Generation Core X-Serial processor. For non-overclockers, Intel supported up to DDR4-2933 on tenth Gen and DDR4-2666 on 9th and 7th Generation Core X-Series CPUs.

▶ AMD X370, B350, A320 Chipset Motherboards (With Older Ryzen CPUs)

High information rates are a piping dream for most users of the 300-Series AMD chipsets, and that's mostly because of some major variation in the retentivity-controller stability of Ryzen thousand Serial CPUs. Some motherboard and CPU combos were good by DDR4-3466, while others couldn't arrive over DDR4-2400. Failures in trying to boost frequencies were more probable to occur as the number of ranks increased (for example, using dual-rank rather than single-rank DIMMs, or using 4 rather than ii DIMMs).

Given this variation, we'd personally recommend DDR4-2933 that has a DDR4-2666 secondary XMP and DDR4-2400 SPD, such as Kingston'southward HX429C15PB3A (HyperX Predator RGB DDR4-2933) series. A set that this writer tested functioned properly on every older platform tried and blew by DDR4-4000 on newer platforms. So transmission overclocking remains viable to those who find their CPUs exceeding our justified low expectations hither.

▶ Intel Z270, H270, and B250 Chipset Motherboards (With seventh Generation Core CPUs)

Intel's seventh Generation Cadre processors are getting on in years now. But they were (and remain) DRAM overclocking monsters, with many motherboards pushing data rates across DDR4-4000. Making DDR4-3600 run stably is usually no more than difficult than just enabling XMP on overclocking-enabled Z270 motherboards.

DDR4-3200 could be a better choice for users who can't afford DDR4-3600 at CAS 18 or lower latency, though. And given the age of these platforms, even slower (and thus, cheaper) memory could be appropriate. Investing in premium RAM for a venerable PC may non make sense within your budget, especially if you remember you might upgrade the whole organization before long.

Neither the H270 chipset nor the B250 supports memory overclocking, and DDR4-2400 is Intel's default frequency limit across all seventh Generation Core CPUs.

▶ DDR3 Motherboards

DDR3 is the sign of a geriatric PC, and spending to the max on performance-minded RAM for a platform that is fast disappearing in the rearview mirror may be imitation economy. Well-nigh DDR3 motherboards supported at to the lowest degree DDR3-1600, with later examples such as the AMD 990FX and Intel Z97 ofttimes exceeding DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2800, respectively.

That said, check those specs carefully. Many early on platforms limit you to installing only up to 4GB per module, while later ones might back up 8GB with a proper firmware update. Challenging examples, such every bit the notebook shown in the screenshot at the kickoff of this article, put boosted pressure upon buyers to use the compatibility lists of various retentiveness sellers to find improve options than those available from the outdated back up lists of system manufacturers. Indeed, if you are shopping for a RAM upgrade for a DDR3-only PC, spending the least money possible is your best value play.

Finally: When Buying RAM, What Near Maximizing Value?

When it comes to a PC component as opaque as system memory, the idea of value-for-money often gets put bated when considering the "best" pick for a performance automobile. But at that place'southward a big statement that should be made here: Most programs run into very little proceeds from high-performance memory with aristocracy specs, and even the most retention-impacted programs we've used have showed less than 6% operation proceeds in going from ordinary DDR4 to an optimized configuration.

Moreover, most of that proceeds can merely be achieved past moving from 1 rank per aqueduct to two, something that you might attain by only adding some other 2 matched-spec modules to a machine that has 2 empty slots. Then bear that in heed every bit you lot shop the sales.

Popularity also drives retentiveness-module availability to the indicate of affecting supply and demand. For case, DDR4-3200 CAS 16 retention represents some of the best electric current values we've constitute, at $80 for a pack of 2 8GB modules. The sword cuts both means, though. Take DDR4-3000. It became so popular that it nigh displaced DDR4-2933 from the market place a few years ago, and that kind of memory is nonetheless commonly available, at less cost than DDR4-2933. It would be nice if people who actually wanted DDR4-2933 could trust the slightly faster DDR4-3000 modules to self-configure at the slightly slower speed, but as outlined in the "What Is XMP?" section in a higher place, this isn't ordinarily the instance. While some motherboards will allow users to option a DDR4-3000 XMP profile and manually drop the data rate to 2933, others won't. So your purchase, in terms of speed-versus-dollars, needs to be gauged against what you know your motherboard will play nice with.

For an extra chip of good news, consider this: DDR4-3600 CAS 18 is merely as quick, has more than bandwidth, and generally costs only ten% more than DDR4-3200 CAS xvi. It might not be the CAS 14 pinnacle, just who among us, if we care about eking out performance at this level, wouldn't find a way to afford and then small-scale a price departure?

That's the kind of smart merchandise-off that you lot're looking for in memory shopping. But ultimately, the simple luxury of having 16GB versus only 8GB at your PC's disposal, or 32GB versus 16GB, will be what has the biggest existent-world impact. So don't allow a sliver of specs go far the way of making that upgrade. Like that second slice of chocolate cake, extra RAM is ane of those splurges that you'll seldom regret making.

Like What You're Reading?

This newsletter may contain advertizement, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Utilize and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

wilsonwitte1936.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-choose-the-right-ram-for-your-desktop-or-laptop-pc-in-2021