Best RAM Speed For Gaming

For years now, PC enthusiasts have been obsessed with getting the fastest available hardware components for their shiny new builds. When it comes to RAM, though, this might not be the best way to go.

Is higher computer RAM frequency (MHZ) better in general? And what’s the best RAM speed overall? These are the sort of questions that gamers and keen PC builders ask themselves regularly and the very reason why we’re going to try to explain what RAM speed does and whether it’s worth the extra money.

FPS in some games and while this improvement isn’t quite as good as a GPU upgrade, it is still worth noting. Regardless, if you’ve gone for AMD or Intel, RAM kits in the 3200MHz to 3600MHz will serve you well.

Our Top 3 Picks of Best RAM Speed For Gaming

Team Xtreem ARGB 16GB DDR4-3600MHz C14

Overclocking RAM Speed For Gaming

With a CAS latency of 14, the Team Xtreem kit leads the way in low-latency RAM favored by gaming PCs, especially AMD Ryzen rigs. As such, it takes the top spot as our pick for the best RAM for gaming.

Not all that long ago, a kit as well-rounded on both price and performance would’ve been a distant dream. However, a recent DRAM price crash and an increasing process maturity in DDR4 production mean kits such as this can often be found for far less than they would’ve been only a couple of years ago.

That’s great news for those of you eyeing up AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, which favor a memory clock around the 3,600MHz mark—thus ensuring the Infinity Fabric clock is kept at a 1:1 ratio with your memory and your chip ticking over happily with minimal latency penalties. A kit such as the Team Xtreem is optimal for AMD Ryzen CPUs.

Even the RGB lighting on this kit is kept within moderation. Each DIMM features diffused RGB lighting that creates a glow-in-the-dark effect. And while that doesn’t sound great on paper, it’s surprisingly smart in the flesh.

If you want to eke out all your CPU has to offer and ensure your system looks fresh in the process, the Team Xtreem ARGB kit is a great option. The Xtreem ARGB DDR4-3600 C14 is the fastest memory kit in its class and will certainly serve AMD Ryzen owners very well.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Superb overclocking capability.
• Excellent choice of specifications for AMD Zen 2 usage.
• No proprietary/additional RGB LED software forced upon users.

Cons

• High price for a 16GB kit and currently limited availability.
• Minimal advanced lighting modes.

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Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB DDR4-3200MHz

RGB Supported RAM Speed For Gaming

Corsair has outdone itself with the Dominator Platinum RGB. The original DDR4 kit has been our favorite high-end memory bundle for quite some time now. Its sleek exterior patented DHX cooling technology, and unrivaled performance has made it a formidable flagship over the years, often topping our best RAM for gaming list. Now, the iconic Dominator Platinum is back with a stealthy new design and Corsair’s new Capellix LED technology.

The Dominator Platinum RGB takes the same best-in-class performance as the original, adds higher-clocked SKUs, and 12 individually addressable Capellix RGB LEDs. The new LEDs are brighter and more efficient than previous iterations and are only available from Corsair. Combined with Corsair’s iCUE software, the Dominator Platinum RGB has become both the best RGB and high-end performance kit.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Ultra-bright Capellix RGB LEDs
• Dominator DHX heat-spreaders
• Advanced iCUE software

Cons

• Requires iCUE software for RGB control
• Expensive

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G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB DDR4-3600MHz

High Speed RAM Speed For Gaming

Like the original Trident Z RGB series, the Trident Z Neo comes equipped with brilliant RGB lighting done in a very tasteful manner. More importantly, the Neo series is optimized for AMD Ryzen builds, making this budget-friendly option the perfect choice for budget-conscious Ryzen PCs.

Like its counterpart, the Trident Z Neo comes in various speeds and configurations ranging from 2,600MHz all the way up to 3,800MHz. Each module comes equipped with five individually addressable RGB LEDs that can light up any PC build beautifully.

G.Skill’s Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 C16 2x16GB kit offers great DDR4-3200 value at XMP settings. That should make it the perfect kit for many of our value-minded builders looking for this much memory.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• High speed and high capacity RGB kit
• Optimized for AMD Ryzen builds
• Excellent headroom for manual tuning

Cons

• No fallback settings between DDR4-3200 and DDR4-2133
• No lighting to appease the RGB crowd

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Conclusion

With the best RAM for gamin, you can achieve peak performance without the hassle of complicated swap-outs. It’s the easiest and swiftest upgrade for your rig, and although it might not seem as exciting as dropping the best graphics card into your system, it’s just as vital.

When purchasing RAM, you will notice that there are so many numbers to pay attention to, some are of utmost importance, such as the RAM capacity of your memory modules, but then there is RAM speed and RAM timings – which sometimes aren’t paid attention too.

This is because it may not affect your gaming performance as significantly as say a faster CPU or GPU, and the overall payoff in performance isn’t clean-cut and easily understood.

Faster RAM speeds allow your processor to access the data stored in the hard drive quicker, giving your system a boost in processor performance. For the majority of us, the answer is no, and there are actual sweet spots to consider that largely depend on the CPU in your build. We found that RAM kits with tighter timings can improve

You’ll see a large number followed by MHz (Megahertz). This, as you probably already know, represents the speed of the memory you’re looking to purchase. But how does RAM speed affect your computer and the tasks it’s trying to perform? Is higher speed RAM good for gaming?

Getting the right RAM kit can make a huge difference. It’s also worth mentioning that better speed and timing configurations are going to make multi-tasking scenarios much more accessible – think streaming and rendering. To see similar products, visit Amazon.com