SOVLED! Does RAM brand matter? Cheap vs Expensive RAM

There are a lot of PC RAM brands available in the market. Some of these are Corsair, Crucial, G-Skill, TeamGroup, Kingston, and PNY. There are other small brands but these six are the most common ones.

So, when you have a lot of options available in front of you, which one should you choose? Another question could be whether the brand of a RAM module really makes any difference or not. In this article, we are going to cover all this.

Any PC RAM brand makes very little to no difference in performance. If two different RAM chips are rated for the same frequency, their performance will be similar regardless of their brands. However, a named brand can offer you some extra features such as RGB and better-looking RAM chips. Also, popular and named RAM brands can give you a longer warranty period and a better customer support.

Before starting, I would like to tell you that there are some top brands and some less-popular brands available in this niche. So, generally, it is always suggested that you go for the leading brands in order to get the best products, build quality, finishing, warranty, and customer support.

Now, without any further delays, let’s get started.

Also Read: How Long Does a PC RAM Last?

What actually makes a RAM chip different from others?

First of all, any RAM’s speed will be the main determining factor of its performance. So, you can find different PC RAM sticks with different MHz ratings. So, the higher is the MHz (clock speed) of your RAM, the better will be its speed.

*Clock speed is Data Transfer/second (in Million)

Clock speeds are also related to the DDR versions of your RAM stick. But, two different RAMs coming with the same DDR versions can have different clock speeds. For example, a DDR4 RAM stick can come between 2400 – 4400 MHz clock speed. More specifically, the available RAM chips in the markets will have a 2133 to 4266 MHz clock frequency.

Currently, DDR4 is the most popular memory generation in the consumer markets. But, DDR5 memory is also launched and is supported by only the new generation CPUs. You can know more about the memory speed compatibility here. For example, the latest Intel Core i9 12900 Processor does support DDR5 memory at 4800 MT/s.

So, my point here is that the brand of RAM doesn’t make any difference when it comes to the speed of your RAM stick. The clock speed is the main factor determining the speed. However, a RAM coming from a named brand will have better heatsinks and possibly better internal components which may last longer as compared to the cheap memory modules.

Which PC RAM brands are available to choose?

The most common names are Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial, PNY, Team T-Force, Kingston, and Patriot. Generally, you will find Corsair’s Vengeance, T-Force Delta, G-Skill Trident, and G-Skill Ripjaws competing with each other on Amazon and NewEgg. So, there are not a lot of options to get confused about.

You should just see your budget and then make your decision depending on the kind of CPU you are using. The selection of your RAM’s speed will depend on the maximum memory speed supported by the CPU.

If you are ready to spend a good amount of money on your RAM, you should always try to pick the RAM with the highest clock speeds.

All these discussed brands will offer you various RAMs in different speed categories. So, choosing any of these popular brands will never cause any hassles for you.

Also Read: Does RAM speed affect gaming?

Why you shouldn’t worry too much about the RAM brand?

Well, RAM sticks are one of the most non-problem-causing PC components. Even if you are installing very cheap RAM modules on your computer, you will not see any problems in them for the years to come.

Also, if you are choosing the right RAM speed depending on your CPU’s specifications, you have nothing else to do to improve the performance.

Some people might think that a less-popular RAM will cause some problems but that isn’t try either. As we discussed earlier, RAMs are very less prone to sudden problems. So, whatever RAM brand you are choosing, you will face no problems at all.

Does RAM speed really matter?

We can boil down the process of RAM selection to choose the faster RAM chips. So, we generally try to pick the fastest RAM from top brands if we are looking for the best results. We all know that the RAM works as a high-speed data buffer between the primary storage (HDD/SSD) and CPU. So, the faster the RAM, the CPU will be able to grab and process the data.

Now, different CPU generations of both AMD and Intel CPUs have different memory specification requirements. So, as long as you are matching that speed, you have already done everything in terms of installing the right memory for the CPU.

Definitely, a slower RAM will also slow down the CPU processing. But, for example, if your CPU is rated for a 2400 MHz memory chip and you are using a 2133 MHz RAM, you have some room left for improvements. But, increasing the RAM from 2400 MHz to 3600 MHz will make no difference in performance.

Even if you check out the specifications of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU, it only supports DDR4 memory at up to 3200 MHz clock speed. So, going beyond that will not give you any benefits at all. You can see this video from Linus Tech Tips to know more about the RAM’s impact on performance.

Cheap vs Expensive RAM: Which one should you buy?

Well, this depends on your budgets and the requirements. You can find two different kind of RAMs working on the same clock frequency but available at different price tags.

So, the first reason why a RAM could be expensive is because of its high clock frequency. The next reason could be its RGB elements. Some other RAM can come with enhanced heatsinks or unique designs. Generally, a RAM without any extra beautification and enhancements will cost lesser and look simply like the green PCBs.

So, an expensive RAM may not give you a very high performance boost as compared to the cheaper RAM but it will surely come with some advantages for sure.

Which brand of RAM is good?

We have already discussed the popular RAM brands above in the article. But, again, Corsair, G-Skill, Kingston, T-Force, Crucial, and PNY are good RAM brands to go with. In fact, these are the only best RAM brands available in the market. So, whether you have a low or high budget, you can always find difference RAM series and pick the best option from any of these popular brands.

Thanks for reading!