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

Consumers often overlook RAM (Random Access Memory), but our RAM benchmark hierarchy will help you find the fastest DDR5 and DDR4 memory kit for your system. Memory is one of the most critical hardware of any system. The right or the 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 consisting of scripted and real-world tests. Our tests include Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Lightroom, Cinebench R23, Corona benchmark, 7-Zip compression and decompression, Handbrake x264 and x265 conversion, LuxMark, 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 would only capture 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.

Best DDR5 RAM

Best DDR4 RAM For Intel Systems

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

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

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

Best DDR4 RAM For AMD Systems

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

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

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

Processors 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 its Ryzen 7000 (Raphael) processors, wielding Zen 4 cores and RDNA 2 integrated graphics. More importantly, Zen 4 embraces DDR5 memory and the speedy PCIe 5.0 standard. Unfortunately, Zen 4 lacks DDR4 support.

Contrary to Zen 2 and Zen 3 processors, it's not essential to maintain the Infinity Fabric Clock (FCLK), unified memory controller clock (UCLK), and memory clock (MEMCLK) in a 1:1:1 ratio on Zen 4. According to AMD, the optimal configuration is to leave the FCLK on auto and overclock the DDR5 and memory controller in a 1:1 ratio. Therefore, the best settings are Auto:1:1. AMD believes that DDR5-6000 is the sweet spot for Zen 4 based on cost, stability, performance, availability, and ease.

Zen 4 natively supports DDR5-5200 in a 1 DPC configuration regardless if the memory modules have a single-or dual-ranked design. However, in a 2 DPC configuration, the official data rate drops to DDR5-3600.

Along with Zen 4, AMD has introduced EXPO (EXtended Profiles for Overclocking) profiles, equivalent to Intel's XMP technology. Similar to XMP, AMD EXPO allows one-click overclocking to the predefined data rates.

Intel Desktop Processors

Intel has launched the company's brand-new 12th Generation Alder Lake processors. These are the first consumer chips to support DDR5 memory and the PCIe 5.0 interface. However, Alder Lake is also compatible with DDR4 memory, and it'll depend on the motherboard manufacturer to pick the best format for their products.

Intel reworked how the memory works on Rocket Lake. The chipmaker introduced gear ratios with the memory controller and frequency, similar to how AMD's FCLK works. For example, gear 1 finds both running in a 1:1 balance, while Gear 2 runs the memory controller at half speed (0.5:1). Alder Lake retains this same mechanic.

Alder Lake arrives with native compatibility with DDR4-3200 and DDR5-4800. Intel 600-series motherboards will either come with DDR4 or DDR5 slots but not both due to the radical change in DDR5's voltage regulation. Alder Lake processors run DDR5 in Gear 2 mode and DDR4-3200 in Gear 1 mode by default. Nonetheless, some rare Alder Lake samples can effectively run up to DDR4-4000 in Gear 1, equivalent to the best Zen 3 chips.

DDR5 memory support on Alder Lake depends on the number of populated memory slots. On a dual-slot motherboard, Alder Lake supports DDR5-4800 regardless of the configuration. However, DDR5-4400 is the maximum data rate when you fill two slots on standard motherboards with four memory slots. Populating the four slots with single-rank or dual-rank memory reduces support to DDR5-4000 and DDR5-3600, respectively.

Intel's 13th Generation Raptor Lake processors will support DDR5-5600 right out of the gate while retaining support for DDR4-3200.

Test Systems

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Our DDR5 testbed revolves around the Core i9-12900K (Alder Lake) and MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X (7D32vH0 firmware). The Intel system consists of the Core i9-10900K (Comet Lake) and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex (0901 firmware). Meanwhile, the AMD system leverages AMD's Ryzen 9 5900X (Vermeer) processor and Asus' ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (3501 firmware). Finally, regardless of the testbed, the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio is our graphics card of choice for tackling the more intensive graphical workloads.

Our Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating system resides on Crucial's MX500 500GB SSD, while our games are on the 2TB unit. The Corsair RM650X 650W provides the necessary power for our test platforms; meanwhile, the Streacom BC1 is the perfect open-air testbench to house all of our hardware.

RAM Pricing Trends

The latest TrendForce report estimates that DRAM pricing will decrease to 18% in Q3 and potentially another 8% in Q4. Companies have reported that the demand for DRAM has dropped throughout the last few months. Oversupply has caused vendors to reevaluate their pricing. Some manufacturers, such as Micron, have cut back on DRAM production.

According to DRAMeXchange, the pricing gap between DDR5 and DDR4 will significantly narrow in the coming months. The news is music to consumers' ears since AMD and Intel are preparing to launch Zen 4 and Raptor Lake very soon. DigiTimes Asia projected that DDR5 pricing will continue to plunge in 2023, where it could potentially hit the "sweet spot" in 2023. AMD believes that by the middle of 2023, DDR5 pricing will close to DDR4 pricing, causing a potential crossover.

Whether you're shopping for a memory kit that's on our list of Best RAM or one that's not on the list, 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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