Articles about RAM

Does RAM speed matter? Well, yes and no. Look, it is a good idea to get the fastest memory that your motherboard supports -- as long as you can afford it. The truth is, the performance benefits from slight increases in MHz often provides a negligible speed improvement. So if you are building a new gaming PC for instance, and you are on a budget, it probably isn't wise to allot too much money for what ends up being nothing more than bragging rights. Maybe focus more on the CPU and GPU instead.

But OK, let's say you are a PC enthusiast without a budget and you do want bragging rights. Well, HyperX has some new RAM that may excite you. Its popular Predator series is getting two new speeds -- 4266MHz and 4600MHz. They will only be sold in 16GB kits -- two sticks of 8GB.

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Sticks of RAM on their own are fairly boring aesthetically. These days, however, manufacturers are dressing them up to look fancy thanks to colorful heatspreaders and RGB lighting. There's nothing wrong with that -- it is nice to have an attractive PC build.

Today, popular memory maker G.SKILL takes things to an entirely new level. Its new Trident Z Royal Series DDR4 RGB memory kits feature gold or silver heatspreaders with transparent "crystalline" for the RGB lighting to shine through. Some may call it tacky, and maybe it is, but I find the gold in particular to be drop-dead gorgeous. As the "Royal" in the name implies, these are RAM kits fit for a king (or queen)! Even the font used on the sticks looks wonderfully pretentious.

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HyperX -- Kingston's gaming brand -- is most well known for high quality RAM. With that said, it has expanded over the years to include gaming peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and more. Still, despite a more diverse product offering, memory remains the crown jewel of its business.

To highlight just how important RAM is to HyperX, today, the company makes a shocking announcement. You see, the company has achieved an impressive milestone -- more than 60 million memory modules shipped since 2002!

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When building a desktop gaming PC, there are many brands of RAM from which to choose. If you think "RAM is RAM" and the company producing it doesn't matter, think again. Cheap RAM can lead to some serious headaches -- for system builders, nothing is worse than an unstable computer that experiences random crashes. In other words, the cost savings by going with a no-name brand of memory simply isn't worth the aggravation.

There are a some specific brands of RAM by which I swear, such as G.SKILL and HyperX. Speaking of the latter, today, the Kingston gaming brand announces that its Predator DDR4 and DDR4 RGB RAM kits are getting both increased frequencies and storage capacities.

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Samsung didn't become one of the most popular and important technology companies on the planet by accident. The recipe for its success is quite simple -- create quality products for both consumers and OEMs. Not only are its consumer electronics wildly popular, but many manufacturers turn to it for its components too. Samsung's memory and display offerings are top notch and found in countless products, such as the Apple iPhone.

The company never rests on its laurels, however, instead continually pushing the envelope. Samsung's breakthroughs are beneficial to the technology industry as a whole. Today, the company announces yet another milestone, this time with its low-powered memory. You see, Samsung has created what it calls the "industry's first 10-nanometer (nm) class 8-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR5 DRAM." The company promises significant power reduction -- up to 30 percent over LPDDR4X DRAM! This should be important for the upcoming 5G explosion.

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When it comes to PC gaming, consumers have a lot of options nowadays. Long gone are the days where you needed a massive tower for playing premium games -- you can now do so on a laptop. Younger folks may not find that so amazing, but back in the day, owning a notebook was like a death sentence for PC gamers.

There are many solid gaming laptops from which to choose, but often, you will find they are limited to 32GB of memory. Why? Well, many DDR4 SoDIMMs max out at 16GB, so when you pair two together, you hit a ceiling of 32GB. Today, Samsung announces that it has started mass production on 10nm-class 32GB DDR4 SoDIMMs. The company explains that "10nm-class" means "a process node between 10 and 19 nanometers." With a focus on gaming laptops, this will make such machines with 64GB of RAM more common.

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When it comes to computer building, yes, looks do matter. It sort of annoys me when people say a PC's appearance is meaningless. The same could be said about cars, clothes and houses -- why bother having different colors? They should all be gray! True, they would essentially function the same, but it would be rather boring too, right? So no, there is nothing wrong with taking pride and having fun with your computer's appearance -- both inside and out.

To drive that point home, G.SKILL launches new DDR4 RAM sticks under the "Sniper X" branding. This memory stands out because of its appearance. You see, the company has given it really cool camouflage-inspired heatsinks. Appearance aside, kits can be had in capacities up to 128GB with speeds up to 3600MHz -- it is not form over function!

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There have been many RAM kits being touted as the world's fastest lately. It almost feels like an "arms race" where memory-makers are looking to outdo each other. For instance, both G.SKILL and Corsair recently claimed to have the fastest 32GB DDR4 SO-DIMM kit in the world. While both kits shared the same clock speed, the former beat the latter thanks to lower CAS latency.

Today, G.SKILL continues to brag about being the world's fastest, but this time, it is regarding its all-new 64GB DDR4 SO-DIMM kit. The 4x16GB kit runs at an impressive 3,466MHz with CL17-17-17-37 timings using 1.35V. Like the aforementioned 32GB SO-DIMM kit, these sticks are not designed for typical all-in-one computers or laptops, but instead, some desktops using the Intel X299 chipset.

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Just last week, Corsair announced the world’s fastest 32GB SODIMM DDR4 kit at 4,000MHz. And now, Corsair’s kit is no longer king of the hill. The technology world moves fast, eh?

Why is it no longer the fastest? Because today, G.SKILL bests Corsair with a new 32GB SODIMM DDR4 kit. While the speed is the same at 4,000MHz, the CAS latency on G.SKILL’s Ripjaws kit gives it an edge.

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When you think of speed and overclocking, a desktop computer probably comes to mind. After all, for enthusiasts and gamers, a tower is the best option for a PC. Not everyone goes that route, however. Instead, some consumers opt for laptops, mini-desktops, and all-in-one PCs.

When you don't choose a traditional desktop, and go with one of those aforementioned alternatives, you cannot use normal RAM sticks. Instead, you must buy SODIMM memory which is physically smaller and typically slower. Today, however, Corsair is launching what it calls the world's fastest DDR4 SODIMM 32GB Memory Kit (the company sells a faster 32GB desktop RAM kit). How fast is it? This new Vengeance kit runs at an insane 4,000MHz! Before you get too excited, please know it is very expensive and your computer probably can't run them at that speed.

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When consumers buy RAM for their computers, they often look at the rated speed. That is a smart thing to do, although it is only part of the picture. Actually, CAS latency timings are just as important, if not sometimes more so. You see, it is sometimes possible to get better performance out of slower RAM with a lower CAS rating. In other words, throwing money at MHz and ignoring CAS is a big mistake. Here is a great video to learn more about RAM timings.

Today, G.SKILL announces a 32GB CL17 Trident Z RGB DDR4-4266MHz memory kit, which the company claims is the only RAM at that speed with a CAS latency of 17. In addition, there are CL17 Trident Z RGB kits at 4000MHz and 4133MHz too. To prove stability, G.SKILL has successfully tested the kits using an impressive machine -- an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU and ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X HERO motherboard running Windows 10. The memory easily ran at both claimed speeds and latency without errors using Intel XMP 2.0.

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For many home computer users, a five or even 10-year-old PC can be powerful enough for their needs. For some other people -- gamers and enthusiasts, primarily -- a computer can never be quick enough. These consumers will spend massive amounts of money for the latest and greatest hardware to achieve the fastest speeds.

If you like having the fastest hardware on your block -- whether you actually need it or just for bragging rights -- Corsair has a new memory kit that will tickle your fancy. The VENGEANCE LPX CMK32GX4M4K4333C19 kit runs at an insane 4,333MHz. This is the world's fastest RAM using a 4x8GB configuration, and it narrowly beats G.SKILL with its similar kit running at 4,2666MHz.

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When you build a PC, you don't necessarily need the best and fastest. After all, most consumers have a specific budget with which to work. You don't want to blow your money on a top-of-the-line CPU and then buy no-name RAM or a flaky power supply. In other words, it is smart to balance things out.

But OK, if you do have a lot of money to spend, and you want the absolute best, I have some interesting news for you. Today, G.SKILL announces the world's fastest DDR4 32GB (4x8GB) RAM kit. Just how fast? An insane 4266MHz. Designed with special Samsung B-die DDR4 ICs, this RAM is made to work with the latest 8th Gen Intel Core processors. With that said, compatibility will likely vary from motherboard to motherboard, so keep that in mind when purchasing -- if you can even afford this kit.

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If you are building a new PC these days, you should definitely check out AMD processors. Its Ryzen chips are an amazing value, while the Ryzen Threadripper variants are multi-core beasts. There's nothing wrong with Intel, but now is clearly the time for AMD to shine.

If you need RAM for such an AMD build, compatibility can sometimes be a bit of a pain, so you should always consult with your motherboard manufacturer's list of compatible sticks. Of course, you can never go wrong with G.SKILL, and today, the company unveils new memory kits for both regular AMD Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper. These Trident Z sticks aren't standard, however -- they feature RGB lighting to make your build look pretty! I mean, everything is better with lights, right?

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G.SKILL makes excellent memory -- affordable and dependable. When someone asks me for advice on RAM, it is among the few brands I recommend first. Many in-the-know system builders will echo my feelings.

To highlight how good the RAM can be, G.SKILL announces that its DDR4 memory is now a record-holder. You see, a user has successfully overclocked some of its sticks to 5.5GHz! This trounces the previous record of 5GHz.

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