With RAM speeds ranging from2133 MT/s to 8000 MT/s,you must find an ideal speed that suits yourgaming rig.

Gettingmore RAMis better in most cases. But if the CPU/board does not support it, the RAM will run at a lower speed. And, a slower RAM, will likelybottleneck other components, lowering the overall PC’s performance.

RAM speed above 3200 MT/s for DDR4 and 5200 MT/s for DDR5 is ideal for most systems.

you may install more, but it does not always mean an improved gaming performance.

So, here is a quick read on determining the ideal RAM speed for your setup.

The Ideal RAM Speed Depends on the CPU

You canget RAMwith a speed equal to the CPU’s maximum RAM speed limit.

The maximum RAM speed for most CPUs that support DDR4 is3200MT/s. ForDDR5-supported CPU, it’s5200MT/s. These speeds should give you adecent performance.

My system (Ryzen 5 5600 paired with a DDR4 32GB @ 3200MT/s CL 16 and RX 6650XT) gets around70-80 FPSon Cyberpunk 2077 with all settings high on 1080p.

You cancheck your CPU‘s max supported RAM speed via the manufacturer’s website:

DDR4 3200MT/s and DDR5 5200 MT/swill give you the most performance whileavoiding memory speed bottlenecks. This will also be suitable for casual, moderate, and competitive gamers.

RAM with such transfer rates is also easy to find, with prices being in the affordable range. It is also a good choice if you arebuilding a PC on a budget.

Further, if you want tosqueeze out more performance from the RAM, you may alwaysoverclock it.

Going Beyond the CPU’s Maximum RAM Speed

you may get a bang for your buck by going for the CPU’s maximum supported RAM.

But there is still an option to give your system a slight performance boost. That is, byinstalling a RAMfaster than the CPU’s recommended speed.

This depends onwhat motherboard you have.

The motherboard’s memory specification list consists of supportedmemory OC frequencies. It’s for users willing to spend a little extra for a slight advantage over their opponent.

Do remember that whether you get a speed boost completelydepends on the gameand how itmanages memory.

There is no doubt that a higher RAM speed is better for gaming. However, if a game is not utilizing the faster memory speed, the performance will remain the same.

In some games, a RAM speed of 4000 MT/s willsignificantly gain performancecompared to 3200 MT/s. Sometimes, both memory speeds havesimilar performance.

If you want a performance boost, you may stay in the range of3800 MT/s to 4000 MT/sfor DDR4.For DDR5, remain in the5600 MT/s to 6000 MT/srange.

Note that you may only get these speeds when youenable XMPor manually overclock RAM.

The Final Verdict

I’m repeating this time and again — the maximumRAM speedrecommended by the CPU manufacturer will be the best choice. It has thebest price-to-performance ratio, and there are alsono bottlenecks.

If you’re on a budget, you do not always need faster RAM. However, the answer is entirely different if budget is out of the question.

As you move to the top of the list for faster RAM, its price also increases. So, go with the faster oneif money is not a concern.

Due toInfinity Fabric, Ryzen CPUs are more sensitive to different memory speeds compared to Intel CPUs. So, in the case of Ryzen processors, higher is always better.

In general, the performance still vastly depends on how memory manages workload. Some games do not care aboutRAM speedwhile others findlatencyandbandwidthmore important.

For gaming, this meansbetter frame rates. However, all games may not be able to utilize this advantage. Therefore, few games won’t get much of a performance improvement.

Anyways, faster is always better! So, if you are looking for RAM for the long run, always opt for more.