What is the best RAM you can buy for a desktop PC?
Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at
4:15 am
I’m putting together a new pc and am a first time builder, and I was just curious as to which is currently the best/fastest ram I can buy. And also, do different types of ram require different slots on the motherboard, meaning does every type of memory come in the same size.
Tagged with: memory • slots • time builder • types of ram
Filed under: PC
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What you should do is consult your motherboard manual. Most motherboard manuals give you a list of “tested” RAM. While the exact same tested RAM may be hard to find, usually I have found, when they list a supplier/vendor such as Micron or Patriot or OCZ or Corsair, for example…their RAM will work. The “BEST” RAM is a debatable term. Usually, RAM with a low CAS latency is best, but CAS latency is becoming less and less important as the speed of the RAM increases.
Every one of the vendors spends a fortune on art graphics boasting theirs is the best, the fastest, etc. The fact is, that for example, DDR2 800 Mhz on one chip with the same type of specs and another vendor’s RAM is probably pretty much equivalent in terms of the term “BEST.”
You do want to stick with just ONE vendor’s RAM at a time, get only dual paired RAM so you double the speed. Typically, motherboards have four available slots, and Slot 1 & 3 are typically colored one color and you put the RAM modules in there first. If you want to populate the second set, slots 2 & 4, you try and get an identical PAIR. The reason for not mixing vendors is that there are slight differences in the timing and sometimes, when you mix vendor RAM types, you get an incompatibility. This does not mean the RAM is “BAD,” it means it is “DIFFERENT.”
So check your motherboard manual, and see what they tested your motherboard with…then try to match up the Vendor and similar RAM type as best you can and then try it out.
Most of the time, slight differences will yield slightly different results, but they are differences you won’t notice as a human being…only some test program or benchmark software will pick it up. And the same RAM that performs subperbly on one motherboard, may be a dud on another motherboard. A lot has to do with the motherboard and how the traffic is handled…so it also comes down to the chipset on the motherboard sometimes more than the RAM does.