RAM Benchmark Hierarchy: DDR5, DDR4 for AMD, Intel CPUs

Our RAM benchmark hierarchy will help you find the fastest DDR5 and DDR4 memory kit for your system. Consumers often overlook RAM (Random Access Memory). However, memory is one of the most critical pieces of hardware in any system. The right or wrong memory kit significantly impacts your system's overall performance in gaming, productivity, and (if you don't have enough of it) general sluggishness. Of course, you can always reference our Best RAM list to find the best deals on memory.

Companies regularly release new memory kits with different speeds, timings, capacities, and ranks, making sifting through seemingly endless models surprisingly time-consuming. Our RAM benchmark hierarchy aims to provide a simple database that ranks the best memory kits based on pure performance.

We use a geometric mean of our memory benchmarking results to keep the ranking objective and discard the intangibles, like aesthetics and overclocking headroom. We've got those details in the individual RAM reviews. Furthermore, we suspect many of you would value performance over anything else. However, the geometric means don't always tell the whole story: If you're looking for performance in a specific workload or gaming, we recommend looking at the full review of the memory kit you have in mind.

The score results originate from the geometric mean from our RAM benchmark suite, which consists of scripted and real-world tests. They include Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Lightroom, Cinebench 2024, Corona 12 benchmark, Blender 4.0 benchmark, V-Ray 6 benchmark, 7-Zip compression and decompression, HandBrake x264 and x265 conversion, LuxMark v4, Windows AI inference, and Y-Cruncher.

For simplicity, we've separated the memory kits into different categories according to their densities. Then, we ranked the memory kits for each capacity from best to worst for both Intel and AMD systems.

The score on our hierarchy may differ slightly from the geometric mean in the individual review. The discrepancy is because we strive to provide results on the most recent and relevant Intel and AMD platforms. Keeping the metrics in the table as up-to-date as possible involves retesting every memory kit. We rest when there's been a substantial change in either of our test systems, such as a new processor, motherboard, or graphics card (or even new firmware revisions), to name a few.

Memory pricing is very volatile. We've restrained ourselves from providing a price-to-performance value since it only captures the pricing for one static moment, and memory pricing fluctuates far too much. So, while you can see up-to-date pricing in each table below, the performance measurements don't consider the price tag.

If you're undecided between two particular kits, it's easy to evaluate the options by dividing the real-time pricing by the geometric mean. Naturally, you'll want the lowest value possible, as a lower number represents more bang for your buck.

Update 25/11: We're updating the memory kits with the latest Intel and AMD platforms (Z890 and X870). The current rankings are still valid if you compare memory kits within the same capacity.

Best DDR5 RAM For Intel CPUs

Best 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 96GB (2x48GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 192GB (4x48GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best DDR5 RAM For AMD CPUs

Best 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 96GB (2x48GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 192GB (4x48GB) DDR5 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best DDR4 RAM For Intel CPUs

Best 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for Intel CPUs

Best DDR4 RAM For AMD CPUs

Best 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

Best 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 Memory Kits for AMD CPUs

CPUs and Supported Memory Frequency

Once upon a time, the memory controller resided on the motherboard. As processors and motherboards evolved, chipmakers eventually moved the memory controller onto the chips. Therefore, Intel and AMD specify the official supported memory frequency on each generation of their processors. Unless you have an excellent sample, drifting far away from the supported frequency will require manual tweaking to get the memory to play nice with your processor. For the best plug-n-play experience, you should pick up a memory kit that doesn't surpass the supported frequency.

There are two essential things to consider if you want to run memory faster than the official specification for your processor. For starters, the quality of your processor's IMC (integrated memory controller) determines if it can handle high-speed memory. Unfortunately, since no two processors are equal, and you can't judge a chip's IMC until you test it, you're at the mercy of the silicon lottery.

Secondly, you need to ensure that the motherboard supports the frequency of the memory kit that you have in mind. Again, a quick trip to your motherboard's user manual or product page should give you the necessary information. Furthermore, the motherboard's memory QVL (Qualified Vendors List) is very helpful as it'll tell you whether a specific memory kit has been tested and validated on the motherboard. But remember that your chip's IMC still plays a more prominent role.

If you're unsure of the memory frequency your processor supports, we've provided the different standards for the last few generations of AMD and Intel processors.

AMD Desktop Processors

AMD has officially announced the Ryzen 9000 (Granite Ridge) processors powered by the chipmaker's latest Zen 5 execution cores. Similar to the company's previous Ryzen 7000 (Raphael) lineup, the latest Ryzen 9000 processors only support DDR5 memory. Native memory support on Zen 5 has improved, embracing DDR5-5600 right out-of-the-box, a 4% improvement over Zen 4. The maximum memory supported on Ryzen 9000 processors is 128GB.

Zen 5 natively supports DDR5-5600 in a 1 DPC configuration regardless of whether the memory modules have a single- or dual-ranked design. However, in a 2-DPC structure, the official data rate drops to DDR5-3600.

AMD introduced EXPO (EXtended Profiles for Overclocking) profiles with Zen 4. AMD EXPO is equivalent to Intel's XMP 3.0 technology, allowing one-click overclocking to the predefined data rates. AMD didn't make any changes to EXPO; therefore, EXPO-certified memory kits that work on Zen 4 will also work flawlessly on Zen 5.

Intel Desktop Processors

Intel's Core Ultra 200S (Arrow Lake) processors natively support DDR5-6400 with the latest CUDIMMs. With regular UDIMMs, the native support remains at DDR5-5600, just like the 13th Generation Raptor Lake and 14th Generation Raptor Lake Refresh processors. However, you cannot combine CUDIMMs and UDIMMs on the same motherboard. One crucial change with Arrow Lake is that Intel has officially axed support for DDR4.

In a 1 DPC configuration, Arrow Lake supports DDR5-5600 with single- and dual-rank memory modules. Meanwhile, in a 2 DPC configuration, DDR5-4800 is the official supported data rate with single-rank memory modules. Support further drops down to DDR5-4400 with dual-rank memory modules.

Arrow Lake maintains the gear ratio system, which Intel introduced with Rocket Lake. Gear 1 has the processor's memory controller and memory speed in a 1:1 balance. At the same time, Gear 2 runs the memory controller at half speed (0.5:1). Gear 4 is helpful with memory kits that exceed DDR5-9600 at the expense of an even higher performance penalty than Gear 2.

Test Systems

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Our Intel DDR5 testbed comprises the Core i9-13900K (Raptor Lake) and MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X. We use the alternate MSI MEG Z690 Unify to test memory kits with four memory modules. Meanwhile, the AMD DDR5 system has a Ryzen 7 7700X (Raphael) and MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi. We use the MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming X Trio for our gaming benchmarks. A Corsair RM1000x Shift power supply supplies our DDR5 test platforms with clean power and easy cable management.

Our previous Intel DDR4 system utilized the Core i9-10900K (Comet Lake) and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex. The AMD counterpart employed the Ryzen 9 5900X (Vermeer) processor and Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero. For several years, the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio faithfully lent us its graphical prowess. Meanwhile, the Corsair RM650X was chosen to fuel our DDR4 systems.

Regardless of the testbed, Crucial's MX500 SSD has always been our choice for storage. We kept our Windows installation and benchmark software on the 500GB drive while reserving the 2TB drive for the more storage-hungry games. The Streacom BC1 open-air test bench has been remarkable, offering a comfy home for all our hardware.

RAM Pricing Trends

The latest TrendForce report revealed that DDR5 prices are projected to rise between 3% and 8% in the year's fourth quarter. Meanwhile, DDR4 prices may increase by up to 5%. For instance, two 8GB DDR4 chips cost 10% more in November than in August. TrendForce attributed the price hikes to manufacturers who reportedly prefer to raise prices rather than reduce them. The only good news is that manufacturers have a healthy stock, so a shortage isn't imminent. Some vendors, such as Samsung, have cut production by as much as 30% to move older inventory first.

DDR4 shoppers should be careful, as there are reports of vendors desoldering DDR4 chips from server memory and recycling them into consumer memory kits. The reused chips are flooding the memory market and will influence the spot market pricing.

Whether you're shopping for a memory kit on our list of Best RAM or one that's not, you may find savings by checking out the latest Newegg promo codes, Best Buy promo codes, and Micro Center coupon codes.

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