Best RAM in 2025

hace 1 mes 10

I’m conscionable going to travel retired and accidental it: RAM is not the astir breathtaking portion of your computer. That doesn’t mean it’s not an important portion of your system. Picking the champion RAM for your gaming PC is thing that’s usually either overlooked wholly oregon scrutinized to the constituent of prime paralyzation. The information is, for a gaming PC, particularly with a almighty graphics card, 32GB of CL38 DDR5 RAM is going to beryllium much than bully capable for the adjacent fewer years.

TL;DR – These are the Best RAM Kits:

The occupation is determination are dozens of RAM kits retired determination that acceptable that bill, and navigating the differences betwixt them is simply a bully mode to get mislaid successful the weeds. My proposal is to find a RAM kit with the close capableness for your needs, astatine a decent velocity and the lowest terms possible. When it comes to gaming, extracurricular of a prime fewer instances differences successful RAM latency and velocity are typically highly minor.

Still, I wholly get the impulse to get a RAM kit with gauche RGB lighting and a ridiculous heatsink, due to the fact that it conscionable looks cool. The constituent is, though, that you don’t need to fork implicit the other currency conscionable to person RAM sticks that look neat. RAM is RAM astatine the extremity of the day.

Contributions by Danielle Abraham and Georgie Peru

Just The RAM Basics

When picking your RAM, the astir important happening is figuring retired what benignant you request successful the archetypal place. This volition typically beryllium connected the property of your processor and motherboard, but a speedy mode to cheque is to look astatine your motherboard manual. Most processors released successful the past fewer years enactment DDR5, portion thing earlier the AMD Ryzen 7000 oregon Intel Core 13000 generations enactment DDR4, which is rather a spot slower.

After you fig retired what benignant of representation you need, you request to determine connected however overmuch RAM to enactment successful your system. The close magnitude is going to alteration depending connected what you’re doing with the system, but these days, 16GB should beryllium considered the minimum for a gaming PC. This is due to the fact that Windows 11 seemingly gobbles up much representation each day, and PC games are pursuing suit. If you truly privation to marque your strategy past a fewer years without needing to upgrade it, 32GB of RAM should beryllium a harmless stake for a fewer years.

You tin get much than 32GB, of course, with galore caller motherboards supporting up to 256GB of memory. Having precocious amounts of representation is highly important for originative professionals, arsenic apps similar Photoshop, Blender, and Adobe Premiere each request arsenic overmuch representation arsenic imaginable to tally astatine their best. For gaming, thing implicit 32GB is beauteous overmuch overkill, and volition lone get you bragging rights erstwhile comparing your rig to your friends’.

There is an progressive statement successful the computing satellite astir which is much important: CAS Latency oregon timepiece speed. The existent reply is that they’re some important. CAS Latency simply measures however galore cycles, oregon clocks, are required to transmit information to and from the RAM. This is typically measured successful a bid of 4 numbers, each representing latency successful narration to a antithetic benignant of information transfer. For instance, the G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB kit I usage successful my trial seat has an advertised CAS Latency of CL28-36-36-96. That doesn’t mean overmuch to the untrained eye, but fundamentally these numbers represent, successful order, the following:

CL: How accelerated your representation tin nonstop accusation requested by your CPU
tRCD: How rapidly your representation tin work and person a information matrix
tRP: How accelerated your representation tin extremity 1 relation and power to another
tRAS: How agelong your representation has to hold betwixt representation requests

For each of these, the little the fig the better. But don’t fto that beryllium the lone happening that guides you erstwhile picking retired your memory. The timepiece velocity is besides highly important. Clock velocity measures however rapidly your representation tin entree data. But a higher timepiece velocity besides means each rhythm is shorter. That’s wherefore DDR5 representation typically has higher CL ratings than DDR4 representation – due to the fact that DDR5 is truthful overmuch faster, it ends up being a wash.

The wide regularisation of thumb is that you should fig retired however accelerated your timepiece velocity should be, past find a kit with the lowest latency astatine that speed. You tin tweak CAS Latency successful your BIOS, but unless you’re experienced with overclocking, I wouldn’t counsel it.

You volition person to bash a small spot of overclocking to deed your RAM’s advertised speed, however. DDR5 memory, erstwhile you plug it into your motherboard, volition typically tally astatine astir 4,800MHz. To get to the velocity advertised successful the box, you’re going to request to spell into the BIOS existent quick. Intel and AMD some person programs to rapidly acceptable RAM to their optimized settings, called XMP and EXPO, respectively. Follow the instructions successful your motherboard manual to beryllium connected the harmless side, but it’s typically arsenic elemental arsenic going into the “tweaking” conception of your BIOS and enabling XMP. I wrote a full usher connected enabling XMP and EXPO, if you privation much elaborate information.

There are immoderate RAM kits that volition enactment some XMP and EXPO, but they’re not common. Instead, you should cheque to marque definite the RAM kit you’re getting supports the due processor, different you’re going to person to manually overclock your RAM, which is not for the faint of heart.

If you privation to springiness your gaming PC a flashy borderline to it, you tin ever prime retired RAM with RGB lighting. When I’m gathering a PC with a solid broadside panel, it’s ever tempting to get the flashiest representation I tin conscionable to amusement off. Just support successful caput that nary substance however beauteous the RGB is, it’s not going to marque your machine immoderate faster.

1. G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB CL30

The Best RAM, Period.

G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB CL30

It doesn't look similar much, but this is the RAM I've been utilizing for investigating for 2 years, and it hasn't fto maine down yet.

As idiosyncratic who reviews PC hardware for a living, I request representation that’s some accelerated and reliable, particularly erstwhile investigating graphics cards and processors. And, well, there’s a crushed I person a G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB kit successful my main trial rig. Not lone is this RAM accelerated astatine 6,000MHz, it has highly choky timings, which means it keeps my Ryzen 7 9800X3D fed with data. Even aft moving this representation done hours and hours of investigating with EXPO enabled, I haven’t tally into a azygous clang oregon Blue Screen that could beryllium traced to the memory.

This RAM is beautiful, too. The AMD mentation of this kit has a achromatic colorway with a beauteous portion of RGB lighting moving mostly crossed the apical of the kit. The airy portion ends partway down the magnitude of each DIMM, truthful portion it doesn’t person the aforesaid amount of lighting arsenic comparable kits, it has a unsocial look that looks peculiarly bully successful all-white PC builds.

This RAM kit does lone enactment AMD EXPO, but you tin get the G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB, which is fundamentally the aforesaid RAM, but configured for Intel XMP. You tin astir apt get the advertised velocity retired of the AMD mentation connected an Intel system, but you’d person to manually overclock it.

2. Crucial Pro DDR5 CL36

Best The Best RAM for Most Gamers

Crucial Pro DDR5 CL36

This basal RAM mightiness not person flashy RGB lighting, but it's some affordable and reliable – what much could you inquire for?

Decent show for the money

Lackluster latency timings

As overmuch arsenic it mightiness look similar beauteous RGB lights marque everything spell faster, sometimes it’s champion to get a plain kit of RAM that conscionable works. This Crucial CL36 kit has 32GB of DDR5 clocked astatine 6,000MHz. It besides claims to beryllium compatible with some AMD EXPO and Intel XMP, which means you don’t person to interest astir having the incorrect strategy for the RAM. Just spell into your BIOS and alteration the due illustration and you should beryllium bully to go.

I haven’t tested this peculiar kit, but it’s the aforesaid benignant of RAM that I usually urge friends to grab, particularly if they privation decent show for the money. It’s conscionable a bully mid-range kit, adjacent if determination aren’t galore bells and whistles to drawback your eye.

3. Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB CL30

Best RGB RAM

Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB CL30

This flashy representation is arsenic stylish arsenic it is fast. Just marque definite your PC lawsuit has the clearance for the gangly heatsinks.

On the implicit other broadside of the spectrum is Corsair’s Dominator line. This is the benignant of representation you drawback if you privation your gaming PC to beryllium arsenic bully astatine catching someone’s oculus arsenic it is really playing games. This kit has 32GB of capacity, which is astir what I’d urge for astir radical these days, positive it’s clocked astatine 6,000MHz with 30-36-36-76 timings.

If that’s not accelerated enough, Corsair does connection this representation astatine speeds up to 7,600MHz, though, you’ll beryllium paying a batch much and it volition person somewhat looser timings. But adjacent astatine its basal level, it’s much than capable to play games, and forking implicit the other currency for the faster mentation isn’t going to marque that overmuch of a quality to your gaming performance. Plus, it’s going to look conscionable arsenic flashy nary substance what the timepiece velocity and timings are acceptable to.

4. G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 CL18

Best DDR4 RAM

G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 CL18

This DDR4 kit from TridentZ is 1 of the astir reliable I've ever used, and it doesn't look fractional bad, either.

Memory Type

288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM

Excellent DDR4 performance

If you person an older PC that you’re looking to upgrade, it’s apt you request DDR4 memory. This is the kit I utilized successful my rig for years, which meant I swapped it betwixt antithetic systems perpetually – and it stayed reliable the full time.

It’s much than accelerated capable to support up with the processors it’s compatible with, arsenic this kit is rated astatine 3,600MHz with CL18-22-22-42 timings. There is faster DDR4 retired there, but you’re going to commencement moving into diminishing returns rapidly if you bargain overmuch quicker memory. Plus, I truly similar the RGB connected this kit. It has this blocky lightbar aesthetic that looks truly good, particularly connected a achromatic motherboard. And, I mean, astir motherboards are achromatic these days, truthful you can’t truly spell incorrect there.

Best RAM FAQ

Is DDR4 RAM inactive good?

It truly depends connected what you mean by "good". Current-generation processors and motherboards astir universally necessitate DDR5, truthful DDR4 representation simply won't work. However, if you person an older processor – deliberation Intel 12th-gen and older oregon Ryzen 5000 and older – DDR4 volition beryllium your lone option. It's little a question connected whether oregon not "DDR4 is good" it's much "what representation modular does your CPU and motherboard really support?".

Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN. When she's not helping her friends and household bargain computers, you tin usually find her tinkering with her ain PC.

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