The RAM is one of the components fundamental to any PC, and fortunately or unfortunately there are several beliefs about it that can make you believe you need to change RAM when in fact, the profit going to get to doing so is rather limited. In this article we are going to tell you the reasons why it will be worth updating your computer’s RAM, as well as the reasons why it will not be worth it.
RAM memory is essential for the PC to function, since its main function – in a rough summary – is to make temporary storage for the operations carried out by the processor, so that you can have quick access to them when you need them without have to recalculate again. For this reason, it is important that the RAM has adequate capacity and a speed that allows good performance.
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Reasons why you should change your RAM
The main reason you might want to switch RAM is, of course, when you “jump” to a new architecture, that is, when you switch PCs. If for example you currently have a PC that uses DDR3 memory and you are going to buy a new one, obviously it will have to have DDR4 memory.
The second reason you might want to change or rather expand your RAM is because of capacity . Currently, a computer with 8GB of memory capacity has more than enough for most tasks, including gaming. If you have less than 8 GB it is quite likely that the equipment suffers in terms of performance and a capacity expansion will be more than justified; In fact, if you have a gaming PC with 8 GB, it may be a good idea to double that capacity and use 16 GB since many games already ask for it to have optimal performance, and you will also notice it in the general performance of the system.
Currently, having more than 16 GB of RAM is something that very few users will take advantage of, but it makes sense for people who use virtual machines, editing tools (audio, video or image) or who use their PC as a server of some kind (for example, a Minecraft server can easily “eat up” all the RAM you want to allocate to it).
Finally, changing RAM to have better performance in terms of speed (frequency) is something quite relative. If you have an early equipment that used DDR4 RAM, possibly it works at 2133 or perhaps 2400 MHz. Changing your RAM for a higher speed one, such as 3200 or 3600 MHz can significantly improve performance, especially in games, but it will depend on the rest of your team. Check before doing so if your motherboard supports it, and what is the native speed of RAM for your processor.
Reasons RAM isn’t worth upgrading
Let’s assume that you have a PC from 4-5 years ago, so you probably already have DDR4 RAM, not the speeds that currently exist and that in some cases exceed 4,000 MHz, but surely you do have them from one speed of at least 2666 MHz. So let’s say you have 8 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz, will it be worth upgrading to, say, 16 GB at 3200 MHz?
Possibly not. You will not gain a great performance with the increase in speed (you will gain performance, but it is not that it involves a too notable increase) or capacity, except in the assumptions that we have put in the previous point. Therefore, in your case it would not be worth investing in RAM, and you may want to use that money on another component whose performance improvement is more noticeable, such as an SSD.
The same happens if you already have a relatively modern PC, for example with 16 GB at 3200 MHz. Is it worth buying some 4,000 MHz RAM? Definitely not, high-speed RAMs are still very high prices and the performance improvement is not going to be worth it. You are going to improve the performance somewhat, yes, but again we are facing the situation that you may want to invest that money in a faster SSD or a better graphics card, that you are going to notice it more.
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