![]() ![]() That said, if you are pinching pennies, you shouldn’t invest too much in RAM. As usual, the GPU is the main component to keep an eye on if you are a gamer who wants to get the best value for their money. Usually, capacity is more important than speed when it comes to gaming, and if a game can indeed benefit from a higher RAM clock speed, the performance increase will come down to a handful of frames that you could easily do without. When it comes to gaming, it mainly depends on the game i.e., how much RAM the game actually uses. Technicalities aside, do higher RAM clock speeds improve performance? Well, the answer is a disappointing “maybe.” ![]() Of course, RAM performance is still limited by the CPU and the motherboard, and pushing a RAM module beyond the clock speed that it was designed to operate at (and beyond the speeds that the CPU and the motherboard can support) can lead to unstable system performance and/or boot issues. As we have already mentioned, DDR4 RAM can reach clock speeds as high as 4800 MHz, though not everyone will want or need to go to such an extreme. This is the minimum speed that needs to be met to ensure that the CPU operates at optimal capacity, but it isn’t the maximum speed that the CPU can handle.īoth the CPU and the RAM can be overclocked, providing a noticeable overall performance boost. For example, the Intel i9-7900x CPU supports DDR4 RAM operating at 2666 MHz. The two leading desktop CPU manufacturers, Intel and AMD, provide detailed specifications for all their CPUs, including RAM specifications. Go beyond that threshold, and any performance benefits offered by faster RAM will remain more or less unnoticeable in games. In any case, meeting the motherboard’s and the CPU’s minimum should be the top concern when picking out a new RAM module or RAM kit.Īs for higher speeds, they can often provide a performance boost when it comes to professional programs and applications that require tons of RAM, but if we’re talking about a gaming PC, then the minimum mentioned above will be the best and most cost-efficient choice. If the clock speed is lower than the minimum specified by the motherboard, the system could behave unpredictably – it could simply result in subpar performance, or it could lead to the PC refusing to boot up altogether. Well, the easiest way to go about it is to simply see the RAM speeds supported by the CPU and the motherboard. That said, how do you determine the appropriate RAM clock speed without the fear of underspending or overspending on RAM? Basically, you don’t want the system slowing down due to a RAM bottleneck i.e., the inability of the RAM to transfer data quickly enough to keep up with the other components. Now that we have established that the RAM clock speed is essentially bandwidth, it becomes relatively obvious as to why having a higher clock speed would be a good thing. The higher the clock speed, the more data the RAM can transfer between components in a shorter period of time. So, essentially, RAM speed is actually bandwidth. RAM doesn’t process data but merely transfers it between components i.e., the CPU, the GPU, the SSD, the HDD, external storage, etc. However, these are memory modules we’re talking about, not processors, so it’s not the same deal. ![]() It can be expressed in both MHz and GHz (usually the former), and one Hz equates to one clock cycle per second. Well, when we say “speed,” what we really mean here is “clock speed,” just like with the CPU or the GPU. First off, let’s answer the most basic question here – what is “RAM speed”? ![]()
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