

Both use operating systems installed on a Samsung 850 Evo SSD, and both use an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 graphics card. One uses Intel's Z79 chipset with a Core i7-4770K processor, while the other is an X99 PC with a Core i7-5820K chip. But we're not so sure, so we've set up some test rigs to try and find out just how much memory you really need.īoth of the test rigs we've set up use MSI motherboards. Manufacturers claim that the increased speeds and better features provided by pricier memory will make a dramatic difference to performance.

It's a similar story with DDR4, which dual- and quad-channel kits also vary by huge amounts when it comes to price.īut these will always be more expensive than their DDR3 equivalents. The cheapest 16GB DDR3 kits made from two 8GB sticks currently cost about £65 ($90, AU$130), but the most expensive can cost more than £200 ($279, AU$400). The variety of different specifications means that prices vary wildly. It's possible to run memory in single-channel mode, but there'll be a performance decrease if you run a single stick of memory rather than two or four. No matter which memory you buy, you'll have to deal with channels.ĭual-and quad-channel setups are the most popular and improve performance by allowing motherboards to use multiple channels to send and receive data simultaneously, therefore improving bandwidth. This indicates latency, and lower is better.

Nevertheless, if you'd like to keep an eye out, look for CAS ratings.

That's a tiny margin, and DDR4 negates this disadvantage with its generally higher clock speeds. Newer DDR4 2,133MHz memory has a latency rating of CL15, which means it'll take 14.06ns to perform a read, while DDR3 1,600MHz memory reads at 13.75ns. DDR4, however, does have a downside – increased latency (the time it might take to perform a task).
