8 Things to consider before buying a RAM | RAM Buying Guide 2022

Thinking of buying new RAM, but confused about which one to buy? Do not worry anymore. Here is the Best RAM Buying Guide of 2022 that describes 8 things you need to consider before buying a RAM. RAM is one of the essential components of a computer that helps the CPU store data & information temporarily.

Installing the wrong type of RAM can affect the computer’s performance due to incompatibility issues. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right RAM for your computer. Whether you are choosing RAM for building a new PC, or upgrading the RAM, or replacing it, this guide will help you in all scenarios.

You can check our Table of Content to get an overview of what we will be discussing in this article.

Purpose of Buying a RAM:

First, you need to understand the purpose of buying a RAM. There are different types of RAM in the market, which serve different purposes. So, Are you buying RAM for a new PC, replacing the existing RAM, or adding extra RAM? Just keep the purpose of buying RAM in your mind, and let’s proceed further.

8 things you need to consider before buying a RAM:

1. Buying RAM for Laptop or Desktop?

You cannot insert Desktop RAM into a Laptop, and vice versa. Desktop RAMs and Laptop RAMs are different in size and a little bit in performance. You can see the physical difference between Desktop and Laptop RAM in the below pic. So, if you are thinking of buying RAM for your Desktop, or extending the Laptop RAM, you need to buy the right RAM Stick.

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2. Choosing the Right Type of DDR:

As we discussed in our previous article (Types of RAM), DDR SDRAM is the latest type of RAM used in modern computers. But, even DDR RAM has different generations like

• DDR1 (Launch Year: 2000)
• DDR2 (Launch Year: 2003)
• DDR3 (Launch Year: 2007)
• DDR4 (Launch Year: 2014)
• DDR5 (Launch Year: 2020)

It is obvious that the latest generation RAM is the better one. But, it is also the expensive one. Moreover, you need to make sure the RAM is compatible with your motherboard and CPU.

3. Motherboard and CPU Compatibility:

If you are buying a new PC, you need to check whether the CPU supports the new-gen RAM. All the Intel and AMD CPUs built till now are compatible with DDR4 RAMs. So, if you are planning to buy DDR5 RAM, you should wait for Intel’s 12th Generation CPUs or AMD’s 5000 series CPU.

Besides that, you will also require a compatible motherboard. You cannot insert DDR4 RAM into a DDR3 RAM Slot. The RAM has a notch at the bottom that sits into the motherboard RAM slot. Therefore, you need to buy the RAM according to the CPU and motherboard specifications. Check out the image below that shows the physical difference between DDR1, DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4 RAM Sticks.

However, if you are replacing your existing RAM, your only option is to add the same generation RAM. For example, if you have a DDR3 2 GB RAM with 1333 MHz, you can replace it with DDR3 8 GB RAM with 1600 MHz. But, you cannot replace it with DDR4 RAM.

And, if you are planning to add an additional RAM stick to the existing one, you must get the exact same RAM stick. We have discussed more on upgrading and replacing the RAM in the latter part of this article.

DDR4 RAMs will get old in a couple of years. So, if you are planning to build a future-proof PC, you should go for DDR5. But, if you are buying a PC right now, DDR4 is the better choice as DDR5 CPUs are not yet available in the market. Buying anything lesser than DDR4 is a waste of money. However, if you are replacing the existing RAM, you don’t have much choice.

4. Clock Speed (Frequency):

The Clock Speed of RAM is measured in MHz (MegaHertz). It is the speed by which the RAM can transfer data. The Clock Speed makes a minor difference in the performance.

Example: If you search for DDR4 4 GB RAM, you will find various versions in it that indicate numbers like 2400 MHz, 3100 MHz, etc. The numbers indicate the clock speed of RAM. The higher clock speed means faster transfers, but it also costs more.

• DDR1 had a maximum speed of 400 MHz
• Whereas the lower-end model of DDR2 RAM had a speed of 533 MHz, and the higher-end model of DDR3 RAM had 800.
• You will find DDR3 RAM Sticks with a speed between 1066-1600 MHz.
• The Current Generation DDR4 RAMs have various models as well. Like 2400, 2666, 3000, 3200, 3600, and 3733 MHz.
• The Next Gen DDR5 RAMs will have a starting speed of 3200 MHz.

However, you must check the motherboard specifications before buying. For example, some motherboards only support up to 2666 MHz DDR4 RAM. Therefore, buying a 3600 MHz DDR4 RAM wouldn’t make any improvements as the data transferred through the motherboard will be a max of 2666 MHz only. 

Gamers can check out this video that compares three variants of DDR4 RAMs.

5. Memory Size:

RAM is available in different sizes like 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB. How much memory you need depends on the purpose of your use.

If you are a gamer, you might need at least 8 GB of RAM to run games over 30 FPS. The latest games demand at least 16 GB of RAM. Likewise, if you use your PC for office work, 4 GB of RAM would be enough. Content Creators and Graphic Designers may need 16-32 GigaBytes of RAM to process the tasks faster.

These days, even if you use the computer for basic activities like browsing the web and watching movies, you may require at least 4 GB of RAM. Because day-by-day, the applications are updating and demanding more resources.

For example, Google Chrome might take up to 3 GB of RAM if you open multiple tabs. Likewise, Media Players also require lots of RAM memory when playing HD and Full HD videos/movies. Therefore, 4 GB of Memory is a must for modern computers.

6. Single, Dual, or Quad Channel:

Suppose you need 16 GB of Memory. So, will you buy a solo 16GB RAM Stick, two-8 GB RAM Sticks, or four-4 GB RAM Sticks? This is where most of the users get confused. To clear this mystery, you must understand how multi-channel works.

When you insert a single 16 GB RAM Stick, the data is transferred only through a single slot. Whereas, if you get two-8GB RAM Sticks, the data will be transferred through two channels, which is faster.

A Real-Life Example:

Let’s say you have a 10 lt water bottle, and you are pouring water into a bucket. That’s how single-channel works. Now, suppose you have two 5 liters water bottles, and you are pouring water into the bucket with two bottles at once. The bucket will fill faster this way. And that’s how the Dual-channel works. 

Therefore, most experts will suggest you to buy a Dual or Quad Channel setup. However, there are a few drawbacks of it, which you need to understand. 

• Your motherboard must have the required number of slots. Some motherboards only have two RAM slots. So, you cannot have a quad-channel setup in such cases.
• For multi-setup, all the RAMs should be of the same type, brand, frequency, and memory. We do not recommend setups like 2+4 GB RAM, 4+8 GB RAM, etc.
• Buying multiple sticks can be a little expensive than buying a single stick.

See, even I was stuck in such a situation in the past. I had only two RAM slots in my motherboard, and my budget was restricted to 8 GB RAM. So, I bought a single stick because I was planning to extend it later to 16 GB by adding one more 8 GB Stick. 

So, if I had gone for a two-4 GB RAM setup, there was no chance to further extend the RAM in the future. Although Multi-Channels works better, it depends on your current setup and your future needs. 

Comment us if you need any assistance in buying a RAM. We will surely try to help you.

Here is a video that shows how much difference can a single-channel and dual-channel setup make.

7. Latency:

Now, there is one more thing you might want to consider before buying a RAM. It may not be as important as other things we discussed above. But, it is our duty to explain to you everything about the RAM. 

When we send a request to the CPU, it will first search for the required data in Cache Memory, then on the RAM. And when the CPU commands the RAM for the particular data, it starts fetching for the data.

Do not get confused between the RAM Frequency and Latency. The frequency indicates the speed by which RAM can send and receive the data. But, Latency is the speed taken by RAM to fetch the data in it. 

So, lower Latency means faster speed. The Latency of the RAM is measured in Nano-seconds and indicated as CL (Cass Latency) on RAM Sticks and Specifications. For example, CL 9, CL 15, CL 16, etc.

Note that lower frequency RAMs have lower Latency. Like a DDR3 RAM with 1333 MHz can have CL 9, and a DDR4 3100 MHz RAM can have CL 15. It does not mean you go for the DDR3 RAM. If all the specs of both RAM Sticks are equal, then you can consider buying the RAM that has lower Latency. 

For example, if you see two RAM sticks like

• 8 GB DDR4 3100 MHz with CL 15 and 
• 8 GB DDR4 3100 MHz with CL 16

You should go for the first one because it has lesser Latency.

8. Choosing the RAM Manufacturing Brand:

There are lots of brands that manufacture RAM, and it’s hard to choose one. There are also several local companies that manufacture RAMs and sell them for a cheap price. But, there are a few advantages of choosing a branded RAM for your PC like

• You will get slightly better performance
• Branded RAMs are good for long-term use
• It is easy to find branded RAM Sticks if you wish to upgrade the RAM setup in the future.

However, it does not make a huge difference if you choose a RAM brand from the list given below. 

Here are the Top 10 RAM Manufacturing companies around the world.

• Corsair
• G-Skill
• Kingston Hyper X
• Patriot
• ADATA
• Transcend
• Samsung
• Crucial
• Micron
• TeamGroup

9. Additional: Normal RAM or RGB?

You also need to choose between the Normal RAM or RGB RAM. If you are not aware, RGB RAM Sticks are also known as Gaming RAM Sticks that have fancy cases with three main colors R, G, and B (Red Green Blue).

There are lots of rumors that different colors on RAM have various functionalities. Some users believe the Blue color RAM indicates cooling. It’s all false. The lightings on RGB RAM Stick has nothing to do with the performance. RGB RAM will only make your CPU look awesome if you have a transparent cabinet.

RGB RAM Pros:

• Looks Awesome

RGB RAM Cons:

• Expensive
• Require more power supply
• Slightly decrease in performance.

Therefore, if you are building a budget PC, you should avoid RGB RAMs.

10. Additional: Which Slots to Use?

A motherboard contains 2, 4, 8, or 16 Number of RAM Slots. Usually, if you are running it on a single channel (using single RAM), you can use any of the slots. However, if you are using a dual-channel setup, you need to place the RAM Sticks in a particular order to get maximum performance.

Take a look at the pictures below. The motherboards with 4 or 8 RAM slots have different color slots. If you are placing multiple RAM Sticks, you should place them in the same color slots. If you are having a dual-channel setup, you must either insert the RAMs in the 1st and 3rd slot or the 2nd and 4th slot to get the best performance. Just remember to place them in the same color slots.

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Upgrading RAM Guide (Adding Additional RAM to the existing one):

Here is an additional RAM Buying Guide for users who just want to upgrade their RAM.

1. Check RAM Usage:

We do not want you to waste your money on things that are not required. So, you need to question yourself, whether you really need to upgrade the RAM or not. How would you know that? Let’s check it out. 

• The first thing you need to do is, open all the applications that you wish to run regularly, like chrome, media player, word file, etc.
• Now, go to the Task Manager by pressing the Alt+Ctrl+Del keys together, or you can also go through the start menu.
• Next, Go to the Performance tab.

As you can see in the picture above, my RAM usage is 5.9 GB out of 7.9 (8GB). It also shows the percentage of RAM being used. Therefore, the RAM Memory I have is sufficient for me. If you are having anything less than 90%, then the current RAM is sufficient for you. In case your RAM usage is more than 90%, you shall add more RAM to your machine. 

• You can also check the processor Tab in the Task Manager.

As you can see in the pic provided above, it shows the RAM used by each application. The Chrome is using about 2 GB of RAM because I have 25 tabs open right now, including YouTube. 

Gamers need to download Third-party applications like MS Afterburner, to track the RAM usage while playing games.

2. Hardware Compatibility:

If you want to upgrade RAM, the first thing you need to check is, whether your motherboard has free RAM slots. Motherboards usually have 2, 4, or 8 RAM slots. Now, you need to see how many of them are free. When you bought a PC, your motherboard may have only 2 slots, which may be already occupied by 2 numbers of 2 GB RAM Sticks. In such a case, you cannot upgrade your RAM. You have to replace them.

Another important thing is getting the same type of RAM. If you own a HyperX 4 GB DDR4 2600 MHz RAM, then you must add the same type of RAM in the other slot as well. Adding different RAMs will cause your system to crash or underperform. 

It is very important that you get the 

• same brand
• equal Gigabytes of Memory
• same DDR type
• and even the same clock speed.

Even if one of the above specs is not similar, your computer might cause issues like crashing and hanging. If you insert different RAM Sticks in your PC, it might run. But, you won’t get its full performance, and the issues might arise in the long term.

Replacing the existing RAM:

If you have low-memory RAM sticks and do not have any free slots to upgrade, the only option is to replace the RAM. For example, you can replace a 2GB RAM Stick with a 4 or 8 GB RAM stick. Or you can also get the same memory with a higher clock speed. Or you can go for different brands or RGB RAMs.

But, there are two things you need to consider before replacing the RAM.

• You must buy the same type of DDR RAM. It’s because you cannot fit a DDR4 RAM stick into a DDR3 RAM slot.
• Every motherboard has memory and speed limits. Most motherboards these days can support up to 64 GB of RAM. But if you own a very old motherboard, you need to check the limit before upgrading. Also, you need to check the maximum clock speed of your motherboard.

Is Adding 8 + 4 GB RAM Good?

Lots of people ask this question. Is adding an 8 GB RAM Stick and 4 GB Stick a good option? No, it is not. The Stats will show you 12 GB, but it doesn’t work that way. The CPU is going to use either 12 GB or 4 GB Stick, not both at the same time. Plus, this is not how a dual-channel work. As we mentioned several times in this RAM Buying Guide, you need to Buy RAM Sticks with similar specs like memory, speed, DDR type, and manufacturing brand. Only then, you will be able to get the best performance.

Conclusion:

With the help of this 2022 RAM Buying Guide, you can now choose a RAM that is suitable for your needs. The conclusion is, you must check your CPU and motherboard specifications to make sure they support the type of RAM you are buying. After checking the hardware compatibility, you need to decide on how much memory and speed you will require. Next, you can choose to have a single RAM stick, dual-channel, or quad-channel setup. Finally, you can choose the brand and buy the required RAM Stick in retail shops or online stores. 

If this RAM Buying Guide helped you choose the best RAM, then share this article with your friends. However, if you are still having difficulty in choosing RAM, then feel free to comment below. We will be happy to help you.