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What Is RAM
RAM. Random Access Memory. It is exactly what it implies. This is where data is temporarily stored to for easy and fast access. As RAM is solid state, it's access times are considerably lower than the Hard Disk Drive, which is what makes having plenty of RAM useful.
"The More RAM You Have, The Quicker Your Computer Is"
I wanted to deal with this very early on in this guide, because it's a common misconception. It is entirely true that having a low amount of RAM may hold your system back. But the opposite does not apply.
Your RAM usage is dependant on the applications you run and the games you play at a given time. Obviously the more things you run, the more that's stored in RAM for easy access. When you run out of RAM, your Hard Disk Drive will start to play a role and act like RAM. This is Virtual Memory. Going back to what I said about the HDD, it's access times are a lot higher than RAM and as a result things take longer to load. In order to avoid this happening for the most trivial of tasks, you buy enough memory. The keyword here is enough. Not excess amounts, enough, Having some free RAM usage is great but when you always have over 50% free memory even during heavy system loads, you know you've splashed out too much on RAM.
So basically my point is. You will use up as much RAM as an application needs. Having way more than what your apps need does not make the computer faster.
Types Of RAM
The main standard of RAM at the moment is 240pin DDR2 Memory. DDR3 has been launched but is not mainstream yet and hence, ridiculously expensive.
There are two things out there to look for. Memory Speed, and Memory Timings.
Memory Speeds
When you look at RAM this is the DDR2-xxxx or PC2-xxxx rating. Let me explain what these are.
The DDR2-xxx rating shows you the effective frequency of the memory. So if you're looking at DDR2-800 RAM, the frequency of the RAM is 800MHz. If you're new to the whole PC Hardware scene, you'll want to focus more on this because the other one may confuse.
The PC2-xxxx rating is related to the above. General rule of thumb is that it's the DDR2 Frequency Multiplied By 8. So DDR2-800 is PC2-6400.
Memory Timings
Memory timings are effectively how efficiently your RAM will do the task. For Intel based systems, it really doesn't make a big difference but generally if looking at DDR2 memory, 4-4-4-12 latencies are what you're after. AMD systems do however react to memory timings and again, 4-4-4-12 is a decent sweetspot.
Choosing the Right RAM
The important part is picking RAM of the correct frequency. This is more of an issue with Intel Core 2 based rigs rather than the AMD AM2's. You see, memory frequencies are linked to your CPU's Front Side Bus speed. This is how you work out what the minimum speed of RAM you need is.
(Rated FSB/4)*2
So. Lets say I have an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz 1333FSB CPU.
1333/4 = 333.33MHz
333.33MHz *2 = 666.67MHz ~667MHz.
Therefore you need DDR2-667 RAM for a 1333FSB CPU.
If you didn't quite get that, here's a list for you
FSB / Minimum RAM Speed
800 / DDR2-400
1066 / DDR2-533
1333 / DDR2-667
1600 / DDR2-800
Whether you do or do not overclock, I would personally suggest DDR2-800 RAM simply because it's dirt cheap, quick and you'll be fine up to a hypothetical 1600FSB CPU.
Recommended Brands
Crucial – Particularly the Ballistix Range
OCZ
Corsair
GeIL
Kingston
G.Skill
Patriot
Mushkin
Generally you can't go wrong with any of these brands above.
Edited by Mul., 31 December 2007 - 04:16 AM.
