Adding extra memory is the best way to improve the performance of your desktop or laptop computer. This buyer's guide covers the most important criteria you should keep in mind when upgrading your RAM.
Upgrading RAM is not a simple decision as it depends on a number of upgrade limit factors. By following this guide, you will be able to check each factor correctly, narrowing down your choices significantly.
If you're not sure what RAM is, check out this article.
Before upgrading, familiarize yourself with your computer's existing RAM and the maximum RAM limits it can support. This procedure has been covered extensively in this article for macOS, Windows, and Linux computers. The article also helps you determine your CPU clock speeds and whether the laptop has DDR3 or DDR4 RAM, as both values govern your purchasing decision.
Each computer chipset has limitations in terms of the RAM it can support. The final amount of RAM you can upgrade depends on the following factors.
First, find out if your motherboard has two, three, or four memory slots. (Again, this topic was covered in the previous article.) To reduce stress on the computer, it's always best to divide your RAM between the multiple slots. The processor must be able to access all available slots at the same time. So, for a two-slot motherboard, 2×8 GB RAM is always superior to 1×16 GB RAM.
One thing, however, is not a hard and fast rule. Don't be too upset if your RAM clock speed doesn't match your CPU clock speed. It won't affect your computer's performance much.
Your processor specs hold the key to how much RAM is too much for your computer. For Intel, you can find the maximum amount of RAM your CPU will support at this link. An example is shown here.
The processor, Intel Core i5-10400T, can support two slots (memory channels) for a "theoretical" combined maximum memory size of 128GB. In practice, however, you'll be hard-pressed to find a single 64GB stick of Double the DDR4 RAM that's both affordable and compatible with your laptop or PC model.
Typically, buying a pair of single-piece 64GB DDR4s can cost you $1024 (512×$2). Instead of going for such an expensive 64GB single stick, you can upgrade to a new laptop running Core i7 or even Core i9.
Also, you don't want to underutilize your RAM, so even 64GB isn't a good choice. So this 32GB of DDR4, 2666MHz (2×16GB) RAM is the maximum RAM upgrade for your Core i5 with two slots, costing less than $160. In this particular example, the maximum scalable RAM is a quarter of the theoretical limit. So, in this example, anything over 32GB is way too much!
The analytical process for determining the optimal RAM values for a given Intel chipset is discussed here. You can also do due diligence for AMD Ryzen processors at this link.
The section above provides a quantitative overview of the maximum possible RAM upgrades for a given chipset. However, even then, you don't want to stretch it to the max. That's why we've boiled down our recommendations with a more realistic and optimal RAM upgrade value.
As of 2020, 16GB or even 8GB of RAM is sufficient for browsing, software development, Full HD video entertainment, and most business activities. If you're playing heavy games, you'll likely need more GPU memory than physical RAM, and a maximum RAM of 16GB can easily support most games. This is the ideal RAM that we recommend upgrading if your device does not already support it.
The good thing about RAM is that it's usually inexpensive and will get cheaper over time. There's no point in upgrading your RAM right now to crazy limits like 64 or 128 GB and underutilizing it. Even if you need to upgrade to 32GB of RAM (from 16GB) in the future, you can be sure that it will be much cheaper than the price you are paying now.
SummaryKnow your existing RAM and maximum capacityFactors that govern RAM upgrade limits1. Number of memory slots2. Operating system3. Clock speed How much RAM is "too much?" » How much RAM should I get in 2020?
