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Obviously, blinking lights won’t change your performance either. So long as you have some air blowing through the case and over the memory, you can opt for bare sticks.

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Generally speaking, most memory doesn’t run fast enough (unless perhaps you’re pushing it to extreme levels with manual overclocking) to require metal heat spreaders. Heat spreaders and lights are just for show.

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If you aren’t running memory-sensitive software and you have a dedicated graphics card, you can save some money by opting for slower RAM and spend that on a larger SSD or a better graphics card or CPU. Do some research on the programs and games that you use most often. Some games will see a benefit, as well as compression software like 7-zip, as well as some aspects of content creation software. The amount of software that sees major gains from faster, tighter-timing memory kits is actually fairly small.

Many programs and games don’t benefit heavily from faster RAM and better timings.

But if you have to spend more on components to support that speed, as well as higher-clocked memory, it may make more sense to splurge on a dedicated card that will deliver a better gaming performance overall. If you plan to game without a dedicated graphics card, you’ll get noticeably better frame rates if you opt for faster (supported) memory.

Higher speeds have the most impact if you’re using integrated graphics.

Check the motherboard manufacturer’s specifications for supported speeds and buy accordingly. You won’t be able to achieve the higher speed, and may wind up stuck at an even lower fallback speed. So if, for instance, your system only supports 2,666MHz, there’s no point in buying RAM that’s rated for 3,600. Memory speed is limited, particularly with some low-end and mainstream Intel CPUs and chipsets.

Don’t pay for clock speeds your system doesn’t support.

Those doing serious content creation will likely want more. Given you can buy 16GB for as little as $25 more than 8GB, most should opt for 16GB. But several open browser tabs and other running programs can use this up pretty easily. Gamers and those doing basic mainstream productivity tasks can get by with 8GB.

16GB is the current sweet spot at today’s pricing.

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. But first, here’s a few key shopping tips in case you’re already in the store trying to figure out what to buy. We’ll also detail many of these details and others below.

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You can dive deeper into memory capacity considerations in our How Much Memory Do You Need feature.įor details on rated clock speed (measured in MHz) and timings (listed as a series of numbers, like 15-15-15-36), you can check our frequency and timings primer, were we also look at how the number of ranks (or banks of memory on a given stick or kit of memory) can significantly affect real-world performance.

Content creators and enthusiasts heavily into multitasking may want to consider more. If you’re not sure exactly how much memory you need, the short answer is, considering common workloads and today’s pricing, that 16GB is the sweet spot. So be sure to check your manual before making any buying decisions. Many modern slim laptops also have their memory soldered to the motherboard. With laptops, you’ll just have to buy an SO-DIMM (small outline dual in-line memory modules) kit, rather than the longer DIMMs (dual in-line memory modules) that are used in traditional modern desktops. We’ll primarily be focusing on desktop memory here, although much of the advice and technical details carry over to laptops as well. We’ll help you work through the many things to consider when shopping for RAM.

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If you’re shopping for some memory for a new build, or an upgrade to your existing laptop or desktop, and you’re confused whether you need 8, 16, or 32GB (or more), how much clock speed matters, or what memory timings actually mean, you’ve come to the right place.

Pc memory monitor