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 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.

Best DDR5 RAM For Intel CPUs

Best DDR5 RAM 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 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. However, the good samples with a powerful IMC generally support DDR5-6400 to DDR5-6600 memory.

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 structure, 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 3.0 technology. Like XMP 3.0, AMD EXPO allows one-click overclocking to the predefined data rates.

Intel Desktop Processors

Intel's 13th Generation Raptor Lake processors arrive with native support for DDR5-5600 right out of the gate. It's a significant uplift over last generation's Alder Lake chips that do DDR4-4800 natively. However, unlike AMD, Intel preserves support for DDR4 memory, more specifically, DDR4-3200 memory kits. 

Raptor Lake continues to use a 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, while Gear 2 runs the memory controller at half speed (0.5:1). Gear 1 officially supports DDR4-3200, while good samples can go higher. Meanwhile, DDR5 will always run in Gear 2.

DDR5 memory support on Raptor Lake depends on the number of populated memory slots. On a dual-slot motherboard, Raptor Lake supports DDR5-5600 regardless of the configuration. However, DDR5-5200 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 DDR5-4800 and DDR5-4400, respectively.

Test Systems

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Our Intel DDR5 testbed comprises the Core i9-13900K (Raptor Lake) and MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X (7D28vAA firmware). Meanwhile, the AMD DDR5 system has a Ryzen 7 7700X (Raphael) and MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi (7D70v176 firmware). The MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming X Trio is our graphics card for tackling more gaming workloads. The Corsair RM1000x Shift powers our DDR5 test platforms.

Our previous Intel DDR4 system utilized the Core i9-10900K (Comet Lake) and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex (0901 firmware). The AMD counterpart featured the Ryzen 9 5900X (Vermeer) processor and Asus' ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (3501 firmware). The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio faithfully lent us its power during our DDR4 testing. The Corsair RM650X was the chosen unit 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 programs on the 500GB SSD 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 DRAM pricing had plummeted 20% in the first quarter of this year. It'll continue with a downward market trend by another 10% to 15% in the second quarter. It's important to highlight that DDR5 pricing is decreasing more rapidly than DDR4 pricing.

The news is music to consumers' ears since the latest 13th Generation Raptor Lake and AMD Ryzen 7000 (Zen 4) processors leverage DDR5 memory. DigiTimes Asia projected that DDR5 pricing would continue to plunge to a point where it could potentially hit the "sweet spot" this year. AMD also believes that by the middle of this year, DDR5 pricing will get within a hairline of DDR4 pricing, causing a potential crossover.

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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