LONG-TERM MEMORY

RAM IS A CORE COMPONENT of any computer. With DDR4 now well and truly entrenched in the memory market and DDR5 on the horizon, manufacturers are looking out in different directions: massive 64GB and 128GB sets running across eight channels, and faster speeds than ever seen before. Frequencies only continue to rise, with companies such as HyperX and Corsair pushing commercially available sticks at well over 4,000MHz.

But it ain’t cheap. RAM price-per-GB skyrocketed between 2016 and 2018, although recent trends have shown that DDR4 kits have slowly lowered in price from the latter half of 2018. RAM offering 3,000MHz and above remains expensive, with a seemingly endless list of brands and product lines to choose from. It’s daunting. The vast majority of modern memory comes packaged with integrated heatsinks, with many sporting multicolored LEDs to boot. Some beefier packs even come with their own coolers, mounting awkwardly above the DIMM sockets. With an open mind and an even more open wallet, it’s easy to spend a silly amount of money.

Choosing RAM in this day and age can be a laborious process, but fear not—as always, Maximum PC has got your back. Over the next few pages, we’re going to break down the technology and nuances behind random-access memory, and discuss which kits are best for which builds. A discerning eye is important when buying RAM; what you pay for is not always what you get.

Size Does Matter

WHEN LOOKING AT MEMORY KITS, there are three key elements to consider: capacity, speed, and latency. We’re going to take a look at capacity first, as it tends to be the biggest deciding factor when choosing your RAM. Industry regulation from standardization body JEDEC (more on that later) means that memory only comes in certain multiples: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and so on, doubling each time.

For consumer use, the standard maximum capacity of DDR4 chips is 1GB, due to limitations in transistor size, although a theoretical 2GB per chip is possible, so the largest commonly available capacity per DIMM slot is 32GB. 64GB sticks are available, but not for general consumer use; they’re more likely to be found in server farms. With a mobo supporting full memory capacity, the current maximum available for desktop systems is 128GB.

Of course, 128GB is far more than the average PC will ever need. RAM should be chosen based on the requirements of the system; it can be one of the more expensive components of a fresh build, and it’s easy to overspend on capacity that isn’t required. With