As a gamer and content creator, I always strive for high computer speed, fast and smooth work, and gaming experience, which has become a necessity for everyone. Like anyone else, you and I require high performance from our systems to have to most swift & smooth transitions, but the reality is sometimes different.
The Speed of your computer depends on three factors ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory) & CPU (Central Processing Unit).
RAM does increase computer speed but requires additional knowledge to use to obtain its best output.
Let’s break it down into details that will be easier and convenient for you to understand.
What is RAM?
Think of RAM as a short-term memory for your CPU to work with. Anything that needs to be accessed quickly and frequently can be stored here to speed up a multitude of processes.
What Does DDR4 Mean?
Although it sounds very cool and technical, what does DDR4 stand for? DDR stands for “double data rate,” meaning that there are two data transfers or every one clock cycle.
DDR4 RAM is the 4th iteration of DDR RAM before it came DDR3, DDR2, and of course DDR1. They have different technology that makes them better than the last, but none of them are compatible with each other.
If you want to use DDR4 RAM, it has to be with other parts that support it. Things like the motherboard and CPU exclusively support one type of RAM at the moment, which is DDR4.
Upgrading RAM – The Essentials
Most people think that upgrading RAM simply means getting more capacity. Yes, it can be the case if you don’t have a sufficient amount of it, and at a given point in time, a capacity upgrade might be what you require.
When you don’t have enough RAM on your system, your computer will start to pull things on and off from your HDD or Hard drive, which can make these tasks consume more time and your experience and your computer speed very laggy.
With the upgradation of the new generation of technologies of both hardware and game development, a lot of current applications and games require more memory to run things smoothly. So a RAM upgrade might meet your need.
Before planning to upgrade your RAM, you should consider the following checklist to receive the optimum output.
RAM Checklist
1. RAM Capacity
Capacity is measured in Megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB) & Terabytes (TB). RAM capacity now usually comes in the form of 4/8/16GB of modules. If you are facing slow processing, then increasing the RAM size is more likely to resolve the slow processing because it will decrease the need to use your hard drive for temporary files.
But once you have upgraded with enough capacity, you will reach a point where adding more will not provide the speed improvements that you were requiring and upgraded for in the first place.
In some cases, you can benefit from buying faster RAM with higher speed even with the same amount you currently have.
2. RAM Speed
Today’s PCs use double data RAM based on double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM technologies with a number after the acronym that shows its generation.
DDR4 – 2666/3200/3600 MHz
After identifying the class of the RAM, there is a number that indicates the speed or RAM frequency it can work at, measured in megahertz. Megahertz means millions of cycles or mega transfers per second.
2666/3200/4000 MHz is our ram speed, and it affects the maximum bandwidth, also known as how much data can travel from the memory module / RAM stick at a time or per cycle.
3. RAM Latency
Ram latency/ CAS latency indicates how long it takes the RAM to respond. Measured in a series of 4 numbers. 15-17-17-20
The lower the number, the faster the speed is.
It is important to consider both RAM speed and latency when trying to determine the overall RAM performance. It usually helps distinguish between the industry standard memory and overclocking.
What is overclocking?
Overclocking means using memory modules capable of operating at faster speeds, using lower timings, and sometimes at higher voltages than industry standards.
Do you need more RAM or Faster RAM?
Now comes the answer to the burning question. What do you need? More RAM or faster RAM? This depends on your usage to be answered accurately, and the amount of RAM you have is essential to a point.
If your need is multitasking or playing hardware-intensive games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Red Dead Redemption 2, etc., you will want to have a RAM capacity more than 16GB.
Extra: If you also want to play games with more FPS and high resolution, streaming the game from the same system you are playing on or creating content revolving around your gameplay, you will need to overclock the RAM to get smooth gaming performance.
If you have extra RAM slots on your motherboard, the general thought can appear to increase the amount/capacity of RAM improve your speed performance. The answer is YES, but NO if you want to go FASTER.
Mixtures of different RAM speeds and timings will always default them to perform to the slower of the two. In different situations, these inconsistencies cause stability issues in your system.
You can add more, but it may cause more hassle than it’s worth if the newly added RAM is of a different speed than the older RAM in your system. It’s always wise to buy a new set of memory sticks to avoid the potential hassle.
As we mentioned earlier, the CPU is significant and something you should consider before going for RAM speed. You should also check if your motherboard is capable enough to support the new frequency memory sticks out there in the market. If it can’t, and you add it to your system, then chances are you are most likely to face bottleneck issues.
Imagine this, 100s of people enter a room with several entrances and only one exit. The room is always going to be crowded. Now, what if the room had a lot of doors? Chances are it will never be loaded. Now the exit is the CPU, and the entrance and room are the RAMs.
If the processing speed of the CPU is not high enough, it is always going to be that way for the RAM, a room full of people. That is how CPU is significant and something you should consider before deciding on RAM speed.
Motherboard and RAM Compatibility:
As much as the CPU holds an impact on RAM optimization and usage, your motherboard should also be able to support the ram you will attach it with. Motherboards determine RAM capacity as mobos have a limited number of dual in-line memory (DIMM) slots which is where the memory sticks are attached to.
AS DDR factors categorize computer RAM modules, motherboards support only one, which depends on how old your motherboard is. Most common are DDR4 SDRAM & DDR3 SDRAM. DDR4 is the current generation of RAM found in systems from 2015 and later on. Any previous iterations of DDR are from before 2015.
Take Away
As mentioned earlier, RAM impacts your computer performance can be the turning stone between your laggy and smooth experience.
Increasing RAM capacity helps to a certain extent but doesn’t matter much. RAM speed and latency must be considered for best output, having the same kits with the same speeds and latency.
Also, your RAM upgrade should be decided judging from your CPU and Motherboard version, ensuring it will support its maximum output.
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