Best RAM 2020: Desktop DDR4 Memory for Gaming and Productivity

Whether you’re building a new PC or upgrading an older system, the best RAM kit for your money depends on the platform you pick and the software you plan to run. Pretty much every desktop sold in recent years uses DDR4 and supports at least DDR4-2133 speeds. That’s the easy part.

The hard part is understanding when faster RAM matters. If you’re running an Intel-based PC with an add-in graphics card, most programs won’t respond in a meaningful way to faster or slower system memory. A few will scale upward with data rate to the highest possible speeds, including some games and programs like the file compression program 7-Zip.

On the other hand, AMD’s current architecture is affected much more by memory speeds. The company’s “Infinity Fabric” (the internal bits that link various blocks of logic inside of Ryzen CPUs) is tied to the speed of the memory bus. You can read about this in detail here. So, increased memory speeds on Ryzen- and Threadripper-based platforms often translate to real-world performance gains. In games, that means faster frame rates at mainstream resolutions like 1080p, as well as smoother performance at higher resolutions.

Lastly, memory speed makes a big difference if you’re gaming on an integrated graphics engine using either Intel or AMD processors. Since the graphics silicon baked into CPUs doesn’t generally have its own dedicated memory (as discrete graphics cards do), upping the clock rate of your system memory also generally increases performance (though the ultimate speed-up varies greatly from game to game). So, you want faster RAM for those kinds of systems if mainstream gaming is important. Keep in mind, however, that if you have to pay top dollar for the fastest RAM to get playable framerates, you’re better off buying slower system memory and an add-in graphics card.

In short, you want faster RAM if you’re gaming without a dedicated graphics card, if you’re running an AMD Ryzen system, and in some edge cases with Intel chips. But if you don’t care so much about squeezing the best performance possible from your hardware, DDR4-2133 memory should be drop-in compatible with any modern PC platform.

Quick Shopping Tips

• For many people, 16GB is the current sweet spot. Programs get bigger and messier over time, 1080p and 4K video are now common, PC game files are always expanding, and websites get more complex by the day. While heavy multitaskers and power users may need 32GB to keep from tapping into much slower disk-based virtual memory, 16GB is far more affordable, and sufficient for gaming and mainstream productivity tasks.

• Think thrice About 32GB-per slot. While 32GB DIMMs have been around for a year, poor availability has given firmware developers an excuse to deprioritize its support. That makes it essential to check each motherboard model's compatibility list (at the manufacturer's website), and to be certain that compatible motherboards have the correct firmware installed.

• Heat spreaders look nice, but often aren’t necessary. Unless you’re running RAM at high overclocked data rates, RAM generally doesn’t generate enough heat to require serious cooling. At most speeds and settings, so long as there’s airflow in your case, bare RAM sticks should be fine. With that said, if your case has a window, you may want to pay a few dollars extra for a metal-clad kit for aesthetics alone.

• Memory speeds advertised as part of an XMP profile might not be achievable on AMD-based motherboards. XMP is a sort of automatic memory overclocking setting that was designed for Intel motherboards. Some motherboard makers offer BIOS settings to help you achieve these faster speeds on AMD motherboards. But these settings aren’t present on all boards, and they don’t always work when they are present.

• Want the fastest RAM speed on an Intel platform? Get a K-series CPU. Non-K-series Core i7 and Core i5 processors have the same DDR4-2666 limit as that imposed by Intel’s lesser H370 and B360 chipsets. Core i3 processors have a lower limit of DDR4-2400. While most boards lack XMP, those that have it will more easily configure XMP memory with enhanced timings. 

Best Memory

Best High-Speed 16GB Kit

Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-4400 (2x8GB)

Model: PVS416G440C9K | Capacity: 16 GB (2x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-4400 (XMP) | Timings: 19-19-19-39 (2T) | Voltage: 1.45V | Warranty: Lifetime

For those with a board that can handle its top speed and games or workloads that can take advantage of it, Patriot’s Viper Steel DDR4-4400 16GB kit is an excellent high-performance option that also skips RGB.

Keeping the kit simple has allowed Patriot to equip the Viper Steel with enhanced timings that dramatically boost the performance of certain programs, including some games. Since the market for pure gaming rigs and focused builds designed for singular tasks is still competitive, the Viper Steel DDR4-4400 sits comfortably in this niche.

Read Review: Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-4000

MORE: Best SSDs
MORE: How We Test HDDs And SSDs

Best High-Speed RGB 16GB Kit

Patriot Viper RGB DDR4-3600 (2x8GB)

Model: PVR416G360C6K | Capacity: 16 GB (2x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-3600 (XMP) | Timings: 16-18-18-36 (2T) | Voltage: 1.35V | Warranty: Lifetime

This DDR4-3600 kit is only $10 more than the white-LED version and several dollars cheaper than competing products with similar latency. That makes it a great value at this speed, though slower kits have greater pricing advantages.

The fastest DDR4-3600 kit we’ve tested, Patriot’s Viper RGB DDR4-3600 kit provides great value to buyers who want both go (overclocking capability) and show (RGB LEDs).

Read Review: Patriot Viper RGB DDR4-3600

MORE: Best Graphics Cards
MORE: How to Buy the Right Graphics Card

Best Overclocker Value 16GB Kit

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-3400 (2x8GB)

Model: PV416G340C6K | Capacity: 16 GB (2x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-3400 (XMP) | Timings: 16-18-18-36 (2T) | Voltage: 1.35V | Warranty: Lifetime

It may not have fancy software-controlled RGB lights, and there are faster kits on offer for higher prices, as well as budget-priced kits that cost less. But for many who don’t want or need their memory to glow like a rainbow, Patriot's Viper 4 DDR4-3400 C16 16GB (PV416G340C6K) sits in a sweet spot of price and performance.

This dual-DIMM is excellent DRAM overclocking value, while also providing some stylish red heatsinks to make sure your memory looks good enough to show off in your windowed case.

Read Review: Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-3400

MORE: Best CPUs
MORE: How to Buy the Right CPU

Best 32GB RGB Kit

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3200 (4x8GB)

Model: CMW32GX4M4C3200C | Capacity: 32GB (4x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-3200 (XMP) | Timings: 16-18-18-36 (2T) | Voltage: 1.35V | Warranty: Lifetime

Superb performance and moderate pricing earns the Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3200 our Editor's Choice Award for RGB-equipped memory, though its pastel colors might be off-putting to a few builders.

Corsair’s kit beat our previous favorite, the HyperX Predator RGB, in overall performance at every speed, barring the DDR4-4000 setting that it didn’t reach. Corsair also provides a better-performing XMP value and a lower price than the competition, making the Vengeance RGB Pro the uncompromised winner here, and an excellent addition to your next RGB build.

Read Review: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3200

MORE: Best CPU Cooling
MORE: How To Choose A CPU Cooler

Best Two-DIMM 32GB Kit

Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3200 (2x 16GB)

Model: PVS432G320C6K | Capacity: 32GB (2x16) | Data Rate: DDR4-3400 (XMP) | Timings: 15-15-15-36 | Voltage: 1.35V | Warranty: Lifetime

Even though the Patriot Viper Steel’s performance victories are less than 1% overall, its low price puts it well ahead of even the least-expensive competitor in our basic performance-to-price comparison.  Value seekers within the performance PC market have just found their new champion.

Read Review: Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3200

MORE: Best Motherboards
MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

Best Overclocker Value 32GB Kit

HyperX Predator RGB DDR4-2933 (4x8GB)

Model: HX429C15PB3AK4/32 | Capacity: 32GB (4x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-2933 (XMP) | Timings: 15-17-17-39 (2T) | Voltage: 1.35V | Warranty: Lifetime

Incredible overclocking capability in our testing drives our recommendation of HyperX Gaming’s HX429C15PB3AK4/32 kit to our most-enthusiastic enthusiast readers. But we'd need to see a higher XMP rating to expend our recommendation to those who don’t overclock manually. And it’s possible of course that you won’t see the same level of manual overclocking we achieved on other motherboards or with a kit that isn’t as overclocking-capable.

So those who are looking for guaranteed speeds above this kit’s DDR4-2933 spec should pay more for one that’s rated higher using standard XMP profiles. But even without guaranteed manually tuned speeds, there’s a lot to like about this colorful kit from Kingston.

Read Review: HyperX Predator RGB DDR4-2933

Best 16GB Kit for H370 And B360

Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (2x8GB)

Model: CMK16GX4M2A2666C16 | Capacity: 16GB (2x 8GB) | Data Rate: DDR4-2666 | Timings: C16-18-18-36 | Voltage: 1.20V | Warranty: Lifetime

Corsair's easy workaround for the performance problem that is Intel's DDR4-2666 limit was to use older, low-density chips to populate its 8GB DIMMs with two rank, rather than the single rank of its competitors.  The best part is that they did this without a significant increase in price. We recommend it for anyone whose XMP-compatible platform has a maximum DDR4-2666 data rate, which includes most retail boxed H370 and B360 motherboards.

Read Review: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666

MORE: DDR DRAM FAQs And Troubleshooting Guide 

MORE: All Memory Content