The Comparator

Academy · How to choose, by category

How to choose and compare RAM

Buying RAM starts with the platform: DDR4 or DDR5 has to match your board. Then compare kits for gaming, productivity or always-on servers.

Lessons · Memory

What jobs we grade

  • Gaming. Speed and low latency at a sensible capacity. 32 GB is the common target today.
  • Productivity. Capacity for heavier applications, with speed second.
  • 24/7 server. Capacity and warranty for sustained use, and ECC where the platform supports it.

The filters that matter

  1. DDR4 or DDR5. Your motherboard decides. Filter by it first.
  2. Capacity and number of sticks. Two-stick kits are the usual choice.
  3. Speed (MT/s) and CAS latency. Read them together. A faster kit with much higher latency may not be faster in practice.
  4. ECC. Error correction, for workstations and servers that support it.

Compatibility to check

Motherboards list the memory type and the speeds they support. A kit faster than your platform runs is speed you pay for and do not get. See Check compatibility.

What you will see in Explorer

One row per kit with price, the grade for your job, Value, capacity, type, speed and latency.

Things to check outside The Comparator

  • Whether a kit reaches its rated speed on your platform. Profiles such as EXPO and XMP depend on your motherboard and BIOS.
  • Overclocking headroom

For the DDR4 versus DDR5 question, see the Price2Click guide.

Terms used here

DDR generation
DDR4 or DDR5. Your motherboard decides; they are not interchangeable. Read the lesson · Deeper: Price2Click guide
Grade (S–F)
A letter from S (excellent) to F for one job, such as 1440p gaming. Read the lesson