Best Computer Memory: March 2015

[13thmonkey]

Title has been updated to say 2020

Apologies, reusing articles doesn't help us.

 

[Crashman]

Title has been updated to say 2020

Sorry, the products get updated but broken links are an ongoing issue. The person responsible for updating the links is in a constant struggle to fix this. On the bright side, most of the P/N's are current.

 

[r7litepro]

Here are the best performing RAM kits we’ve tested: computer memory that’s ideal for gaming, video editing and graphics-heavy applications.

Best Computer Memory: March 2015 : Read more

Apologies, reusing articles doesn't help us.

i would like to see gaming performance of single rank 32 gb kits with a 5600x ( stock and 4.85ghz) > 3600 CL 16 vs 3600 CL18 w all new gpus... ( there are tons of zen 2 test not one useful zen 3)

 

[grogi]

Test after test (including from Tom's Hardware) show that going above the CPUs recommended memory speed produces minuscule (less than 5% in most cases less than 1%) gains in games framerates. Improving manually the timings of your RAM gives you even lesser return. So anyone who is following the tech sites knows that you can get much better results by spending the money on higher class video card than on fancy RAM. So unless you have some specific case where RAM speeds matter I guess just buy quality RAM and don't bother overthinking it.

 

[Crashman]

Test after test (including from Tom's Hardware) show that going above the CPUs recommended memory speed produces minuscule (less than 5% in most cases less than 1%) gains in games framerates. Improving manually the timings of your RAM gives you even lesser return. So anyone who is following the tech sites knows that you can get much better results by spending the money on higher class video card than on fancy RAM. So unless you have some specific case where RAM speeds matter I guess just buy quality RAM and don't bother overthinking it.

Why not have both?

 

[mikewinddale]

If you have a Ryzen board that supports ECC - which many do - you can get a 2x16 kit of DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM for about $230. See e.g. here and here.

And if you see how often people in the forums are telling each other to run Memtest86, then just go buy ECC.

 

[InvalidError]

Test after test (including from Tom's Hardware) show that going above the CPUs recommended memory speed produces minuscule (less than 5% in most cases less than 1%) gains in games framerates.

The benefits of higher frequency lower latency RAM are actually much bigger than that when looking at 0.1% lows and it is those 0.1% lows that are generally responsible for perceived stutters. If you like steady frame rates without frequent extreme frame time outliers, you do need to aim at least slightly above bargain-basement memory.

BTW, nice thread necro there, six months old

If you have a Ryzen board that supports ECC - which many do - you can get a 2x16 kit of DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM for about $230. See e.g. here and here.

And if you see how often people in the forums are telling each other to run Memtest86, then just go buy ECC.

The point of running memtest86 is to make sure you didn't get dud DIMMs at least to the extent that memtest86 is able to detect them. You will still be told to run memtest86 on ECC DIMMs since bad or excessively aggressively tuned DIMMs will cause massive performance degradation when errors are more frequent than rare occurrences since each ECC event triggers a machine check exception to log the error and the best way to find out about those if you don't read event logs on a regular basis or want to test your memory tuning without needing to boot into an OS is to run memtest86.

 

[Crashman]

I understand that the iminent arrival and full availability of DDR5 will have it all over DDR4. I am ready for a complete new-build and most definetely will wait to see for all the spec and performance cards being on the table. Before taking a new system jump and pricing for now playing second fiddle.

Actually, the higher "gear ratio" for Intel's memory controller will likely make DDR5 a net performance loser in latency-sensitive applications, at least at launch.

 

[Badgermonkey]

I don't know why I've never seen the only USA made memory in any of your lists, despite its value:
Mushkin Redline Black – DDR4 DRAM – 32GB (2x16GB) UDIMM Memory Kit – 3600MHz (PC4-28800) CL-18 – 288-pin 1.35V Desktop RAM – Non-ECC – Dual-Channel – FrostByte Black Heatsink – (MRC4U360JNNM16GX2) $124.99
It's all I buy and has been for years. http://www.poweredbymushkin.com/Home/

 

[Crashman]

I don't know why I've never seen the only USA made memory in any of your lists, despite its value:
Mushkin Redline Black – DDR4 DRAM – 32GB (2x16GB) UDIMM Memory Kit – 3600MHz (PC4-28800) CL-18 – 288-pin 1.35V Desktop RAM – Non-ECC – Dual-Channel – FrostByte Black Heatsink – (MRC4U360JNNM16GX2) $124.99
It's all I buy and has been for years. http://www.poweredbymushkin.com/Home/

Mushkin makes fine DRAM but usually ended up in second place in overclocking or price. But there's one place that NOBODY competes with Mushkin, so it's a category Mushkin will always win: ECC with XMP

 

[Friesiansam]

Most above need Con: RGB =P

Can't argue with that. When I next buy RAM, I'm not buying a kit where I'm paying for silly lights I don't want and won't see, in my windowless case.

 

[InvalidError]

Can't argue with that. When I next buy RAM, I'm not buying a kit where I'm paying for silly lights I don't want and won't see, in my windowless case.

I'm not a fan of windowed cases either. My last two were Antec 300 and 300v2. My next one will be something that comes with noise-dampening panels. No silly windows or extra fan locations I'll never use for me.

 

[Crashman]

I'm not a fan of windowed cases either. My last two were Antec 300 and 300v2. My next one will be something that comes with noise-dampening panels. No silly windows or extra fan locations I'll never use for me.

Strangely, I'm finding that tempered glass does at least as good a job as asphalt sheet for reducing noise transmission. Unfortunately, all that reflected noise still comes out the uncovered places 😛

 

[escksu]

All these reviews and roundups proven 1 thing over and over again. There is little to gain from premium memory. So, you are better off spending it on faster gpu or cpu or even bigger SSD. When you have spare budget left, then spend in on faster memory.

 

[pinkeye]

Can't argue with that. When I next buy RAM, I'm not buying a kit where I'm paying for silly lights I don't want and won't see, in my windowless case.

Or those of us with a windowed case… and want to appreciate clean internals, without tacky RGB clown-vomit

 

[InvalidError]

Or those of us with a windowed case… and want to appreciate clean internals, without tacky RGB clown-vomit

There isn't much to see of internals with a windowed case without abundant clown vomit to light it up though, especially with today's mostly black-themed components.

 

[Crashman]

There isn't much to see of internals with a windowed case without abundant clown vomit to light it up though, especially with today's mostly black-themed components.

I like white lighting to show off components, but frequently use clown show to do publicity photos.

 

[Co BIY]

1. These articles deserve a new comment section when updated. Seems like a simple copy paste into the "New article" form but obviously not that simple.

2. We really need an article that covers DDR4 or DDR5 for your new Rocket Lake processor. How much performance are you giving up verses how much do you save ? Numbers / value calculation. Is DDR5 even to the point where it is always better yet ?

 

[Crashman]

1. These articles deserve a new comment section when updated. Seems like a simple copy paste into the "New article" form but obviously not that simple.

2. We really need an article that covers DDR4 or DDR5 for your new Rocket Lake processor. How much performance are you giving up verses how much do you save ? Numbers / value calculation. Is DDR5 even to the point where it is always better yet ?

I wouldn't worry about Rocket Lack being much different from Alder Lake, and those tests were already out last year:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/ddr5-vs-ddr4-how-much-performance-will-you-gain-from-todays-newest-ram

New motherboard firmware has given older DDR5 platforms new ability to run memory at higher data rates and tighter timings, as seen when that same motherboard reached DDR5-6800 on the 12900K and DDR5-6933 on the 13900K here:

Intel Core i9-13900K CPU Review

Intel’s top mainstream-socket CPU is a whopping $100 cheaper than its competitor’s: We investigate why

www.pcinq.com

 

[bitbucket]

I don't see a recommendation for a large DDR5 kit (64GB). Can you include that in the next review?

 

[ct007]

An article recommending the "fastest RAM", that doesn't even mention it - 32GB DDR5-6000 Team Group Delta T-Force 30-36-36-76, $230.

 

[buttabean2]

If anyone is looking for a dual rank 64gig set of ddr5 that has sk hynix chips, I just picked up these
F5-5600J3036D32GA2-RS5K

i got them up to 6200 but settled for 6000mhz 38-38-38-77 1.35v. currently $315 on amazon. passed memtest 4 passes

 

[Hotrod2go]

If anyone is interested for mid 2023 & here in Australia, now you can get a 2x8GB kit of DDR5 4800MHz CL40 (Crucial) for under AUD $80!
Shop around there are some great bargains to be had with storage tech atm.

 

[ripbeefbone]

we're still pretending "16gb is plenty" in 2023?

 

[Hotrod2go]

we're still pretending "16gb is plenty" in 2023?

It is for a business machine & light home use. RAM capacity is overrated unless the end user is a heavy multitasker or specific apps that demand large pools of RAM.