Fitting your PC with the best RAM is just as vital as getting the best processor and the best graphics card. An excellent memory for your PC will considerably improve its gaming and video editing performance as well as minimize sluggishness when it’s tackling the most demanding tasks.
With increasing demands from memory hungry operating systems like Windows 10 or macOS Mojave and software like photo and video editing applications as well as best PC games, it’s more crucial than ever to have the best RAM under the hood. A fast RAM with a solid performance will give you a much smoother computing experience overall, even if all you do is open 20 or so tabs at once when browsing the Internet in your spare time.
Whether you’re building your next PC or upgrading your current one, it’s time for you to pay more attention to the size, speed, capacity and overall quality of your RAM. Let us help you find one with our picks for the best RAM. Because even the best computer won’t cut it without one.
Best RAM at a glance
- Corsair Vengeance LED – best RAM
- G.Skill Trident Z RGB – best DDR4 RAM
- Kingston HyperX Predator – best DDR3 RAM
- Kingston HyperX Fury – best Budget RAM
- Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB – best High-end RAM
- HyperX Fury RGB 3733MHz – best high frequency RAM
- G.Skill Trident Z RGB DC – best double capacity memory
- Adata Spectrix D80 – best gaming RAM
- G.Skill TridentZ Royal – best RGB RAM
- Corsair Vengeance LPX – best Low-Profile RAM
- G.Skill Mac RAM – best Mac RAM
- Crucial Ballistix Sport – best Laptop RAM
1. Corsair Vengeance LED
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) | Speed: 3200MHz
Great overclocking performance
Vibrant LED
Pricey
Need BIOS update to run at 3200MHz
Corsair is one of the most trusted names when it comes to the best RAM on the market. Its Vengeance series, especially, has something for everyone with its LED DDR4 offerings. On top of giving PC builders that extra touch of vibrant lighting, this RAM has robust heat spreaders that maximise cooling for higher overclocking and maximum performance. Corsair’s Vengeance LED DDR4 series also features CL16 latency and whopping 3,466 MHz speeds, so it’s just as fast and responsive as it is aesthetic.
2. G.Skill Trident Z RGB
Best DDR4 RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB (2x8GB) | Speed: 3200MHz
Excellent RGB lighting
Easy to overclock
Feels a bit flimsy
Might be a bit too flashy for some
At this point, everyone kind of knows about G. Skill and its Trident Z RGB series of RAM. This is some of the best RAM not just because it’s fast, but the top of every DIMM features a full-spectrum rainbow wave light bar that you can use to match your RGB lighting across your entire system. Trident Z RGB DDR4 RAM features CAS latencies between 14 and 19 which is awesome enough, but with speeds up to 4,266, it’s almost perfect. No matter your aesthetic, it’s hard to argue with the G. Skill TridentZ RGB as the best RGB RAM.
3. Kingston HyperX Predator
Best DDR3 RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 8GB, 16GB | Speed: up to 4600MHz
Great price
Excellent overclocking potential
RGB doesn’t always work
Pricier than others
Kingston’s high-performance HyperX has some of the best DDR3 RAM on the market and the Predator models is particularly tuned for speed and extreme-performance that’s further expandable with XMP profiles. The Predator DDR3 series achieves CL9 to CL11 latencies and speeds between 1866MHz to 2666MHz.
4. Kingston HyperX Fury
Best budget RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB | Speed: up to 3733MHz
Affordable at lower speeds
Strong performance
A bit slow
3733MHz speed is pricey
This Kingston HyperX Fury is auto overclocked memory that won’t empty your wallet. This smart DDR3 or DDR4 RAM auto-detects system components to overclock to the highest speeds possible, optimizing performance for all of Intel’s latest chipsets. It comes with latencies between CL14 and CL16, and has speeds between 2,133 and 2,666MHz. While it’s inexpensive, it really can have a huge impact on the performance of your rig.
5. Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB
Best high-end RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB (2 x 8GB) | Speed: 3000MHz
Great performance
Looks great
Not compatible with Ryzen
Not high quality enough for the price
If you want the best of the best, and you don’t care about pricing, Corsair’s Dominator Platinum memory has always been at the top of the list. However, in 2019, it’s been refreshed to include Corsair’s new Capellix RGB LEDs, leading to a much richer and more colorful design. It’s the same high-end RAM we know and love, with speeds up to 3,600 MHz, but the better RGB make the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB the best RAM around in 2020.
6. HyperX Fury RGB 3733MHz
Best high frequency RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB (2x8GB) | Speed: 3733MHz
Great RGB
Fast
Choppy RGB lighting
Gigabyte and MSI RGB support doesn’t always work
The HyperX Fury RGB 3733MHz is not just pretty with its RGB design. With speeds of up to 3,733MHz and CL15–19 latencies, it’s just as fast as it is stunning, making it well-deserving of the best high frequency RAM accolade. What’s more is that it’s fitted with predefined Intel Extreme Memory Profiles for maximum performance as well as yperX’s patent-pending infrared sync technology. For an even more immersive gaming experience, you can daisy chain this RAM to sync with multiple other RGB devices. This is some of the best RAM to invest in right now.
7. G.Skill Trident Z RGB DC
Best double capacity memory
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 64GB (2x32GB) | Speed: 3200MHz
Twice the number of memory chips
Great build quality
Only compatible with select Z390 motherboards
RGB can be a hit or miss
Sometimes, especially when you’re looking for the best gaming components, ‘go big or go home’ is the best advice. And, when you want more RAM than you’ll know what to do with, you’re going to want to go with the G.Skill Trident Z RGB DC memory. The DC stands for double capacity, as in, 32GB per stick. Now, this is definitely not the fastest memory in the world, right now it’s only available in up to 3,200 MHz, but if you need a lot of RAM without taking up too many DIMM slots (like if you have a big CPU cooler or a Mini-ITX board), you can’t go wrong with the G.Skill TridentZ RGB DC.
8. Adata Spectrix D80
Best gaming RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB (2x8GB), 32 (2x16GB) | Speed: up to 4,133MHz
Great looks
Performs very well in four-DIMM configurations
Expensive
Mediocre two-DIMM performance
If you’re building an all-out gaming rig, you’ll want the flashiest hardware on offer – who doesn’t want a gaming rig that lights up the entire room? If this sounds appealing, the Adata Spectrix D80 is the RAM to go for. Not only is it available in frequencies up to 5,000MHz, but it’s also liquid cooled, meaning you don’t have to worry about it overheating. The Adata Spectrix D80 is going to be the best RAM for gaming in an RGB-lit cavern.
9. G.Skill TridentZ Royal
Best RGB RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 32GB (4x8GB) | Speed: 3600MHz
Great looking
Compatible with most boards
A bit expensive
Not premium enough for the price
Finding RAM that fits in perfectly with your light up gaming rig is easy with G.Skill. In fact, its TridentZ Royal memory gets our vote as the best RGB RAM on the market right now, thanks to its unique crown jewel design. That means that it’s fitted with a crystalline light bar that basically scatters the eight customizable RGB colors for lighting that dazzles and sparkles. The RAM itself is polished with aluminum heatspreaders of gold or silver colors to keep the whole thing cool. Of course, it’s not all looks – the G.Skill TridentZ Royal also delivers great reliability and performance.
10. Corsair Vengeance LPX
Best low-profile RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 16GB (2 x 8GB) | Speed: 3200MHz
Great performance
Two cooling fans
Limited overclockability
High percentage of defective units
Corsair’s Vengeance LPX RAM is made for users who want the maximum performance with minimum footprint. This low-profile RAM is essential for PC builds with massive CPU coolers. Despite being so low-profile, they still feature an eight-layer heat spreader to cool while overclocking. While its thin design doesn’t allow for LEDs, but you can get it in three colors: black, red or blue.
11. G.Skill Mac RAM
Best Mac RAM
Type: DDR3 | Capacity: 4GB (2x2GB) | Speed: up to 1066MHz
Affordable alternative
Best value
May not be compatible with much older Macs
Slow for power users
G.Skill isn’t just dedicated to laptop and desktop RAM, but it also has memory upgrades for Macs. You see, Apple charges inordinate amounts for RAM upgrades, so going with a third party kit can save a ton of money. Well, as long as your Mac is old enough to still have upgradeable RAM. These SO-DIMM kits have a CAS latency between 9 and 11 and feature speeds between 1,333MHz and 1,600MHz. The best bang for your buck seems to be the G.Skill DDR3-1,333 for Mac.
12. Crucial Ballistix Sport
Best laptop RAM
Type: DDR4 | Capacity: 32GB (2x16GB) | Speed: up to 3200 MHz
Low profile
Great value for gaming
Doesn’t alway work with AMD Ryzen
Nothing extraordinary
Crucial is by far the best RAM for laptop systems. This manufacturer has designed its Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMMs for efficient battery life while still delivering fast speeds for multi-tasking. It’s ideal for anyone wanting to speed up the best laptops, and this memory likely offers higher memory speed than anything coming stock in your laptop. Just make sure your laptop actually lets you upgrade the RAM – repairability is falling out of fashion these days.