Which is better: larger ram capacity or faster ram frequency?

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The computer relies on physical storage memory, which is called random access memory or RAM, and it relies on virtual memory. System memory or RAM does not work in the same way as mechanical hard disk drives and solutions that hold content when your computer is shut down. When a program is started, the central processor gives a command to retrieve instructions from the hard disk. Once these instructions are retrieved, the system will need a workspace to process this data and allow the user to interact with it, this space is RAM or as we call it RAM.

 

Which is better larger ram capacity or faster ram frequency

The operating system is concerned with storing all program instructions in RAM, but you may be wondering, why isn't this workspace on disk storage instead of RAM, the answer is simply that RAM runs at twice the speed of fixed storage solutions when it comes to the central processor's request for data from in order to analyze and process it. So this in turn poses a very important question, do I need to increase the capacity of the RAM, or do I need the memory with higher frequencies?

 

What is RAM

 

First of all, the more RAM you have, the better chance you have of making the larger workspace available to you while dealing with multiple programs at the same time. But if you are facing a noticeable slowdown in performance as a result of the apparent deficit in the RAM capacity, your only option is to increase the memory capacity or rely on some alternative methods as a temporary solution such as using a flash drive and converting it to a virtual RAM memory.

 

What is RAM

But one way or another you will eventually need to buy an additional RAM chip sooner to be able to interact better with the system because the central processor has the ability to access RAM faster than external storage drives. This brings us back to our starting point to remember that RAM has two main characteristics that affect system performance: capacity and speed.

 

RAM capacity: The more gigabytes of RAM, the more programs and applications you can run simultaneously. For example, 2 to 4 GB was recommended with XP and Vista and this was the same time laptops were shipped with that capacity. This capacity did not allow us to deal with many applications simultaneously, and it was always better to run one application at a time.

 

Today, some budget laptops are still shipped with a capacity of 4 to 6 GB, which is sufficient for browsing the Internet, responding to electronic mail, and productivity programs such as writing and blogging programs. As for the RAM capacity from 6 to 8 GB, it is suitable for the category of casual gamers and some methods of multimedia program work, and it also allows running a number of different programs simultaneously. Anything more than 8GB is for seasoned gamers, creators, and professional software users to edit photos, videos, etc.

 

RAM Speed: Speed ​​expresses the amount of time the RAM takes to receive instructions from the central processor and then write or read data. In general, the higher the speeds of the RAM memory, the more this helps to perform the processing process in fewer periods of time. Frequency speed plays a critical role in sending information to other hardware components, meaning a faster central processor will have a better chance of dealing with higher-frequency RAM. This helps to raise the overall performance and make the computer more efficient.

 

The frequency of the RAM is measured in megahertz, which means millions of cycles per second, which is the same as the number of clock cycles of a central processor. But speed is not everything in RAM, CPU frequency (IMC) and motherboard bus speed play the most important role in determining the real working speed of RAM.

 

Why do we need RAM in the first place?

 

Considering that you have narrowed down the source of your computer's slowdown to RAM, now which of the two would be better, increasing the capacity of the RAM or buying RAM with higher frequencies? To answer this question, you need to think about RAM as a short-term memory that the central processor uses as a workspace that allows it to store instructions and processed data until it needs it again, then it will be able to access it quickly and a short period of time and repeat if necessary.

 

Why do we need RAM in the first place

This memory allows the entire operating system to speed up the process of responding to commands immediately instead of waiting for several seconds. You might think that several seconds is a short period of time, but in reality seconds in a computer operating system means very slow execution of tasks and a noticeable delay in the overall performance output - which I mean, this computer is old and you'll feel like it's from the Middle Ages although the rest of the hardware specs can be pretty good.

 

So we always need an instantaneous response time which is in nanoseconds rather than several seconds or even one second. But if you feel that your computer is struggling hard while opening and running programs, or delays in loading the main interface of programs and applications, or responding in executing the commands you ask from these programs during your work, then these are all indications of a shortage in RAM capacity, not speed.

 

This slowdown, delay, and poor performance result from the CPU having to empty the tasks and processes it handled to the storage disk memory instead of the RAM because there is no free space on it. The storage space on the hard disk may be very large, and you can also have super-fast SSD storage solutions, but no matter how fast they are, they are very slow compared to the speed of RAM, and the physical distance between the integrated central processor bus and the storage disks is far Very much compared to the distance between it and the RAM memory.

 

The difference between capacity and speed

 

RAM capacity can be measured in MB, GB, or TB. The larger the RAM capacity, the less likely the processor will need the hard drive while storing temporary files. But once you have enough RAM to meet all your business requirements and needs, then you have reached the point that any additional increase in capacity will not benefit you and is not important to improving or enhancing the performance of your computer. Only in this case can the speed of the higher frequencies be taken advantage of - even if they are of the same amplitude.

 

There are two criteria that determine the speed of RAM: Frequencies, which mean the bandwidth of the amount of data that can be sent and received with the central processor per second, and its speed is specified in megahertz, and the higher it is in the megahertz frequency, the more it has the ability It increases the amount of data being transferred. While the other factor is the effect of timings on how quickly the RAM responds to the request submitted by the central processor, and these timings are measured in milliseconds, ms, and the lower the timing values, the faster the RAM is in response time to execute commands and tasks.

 

So when you have enough RAM for your usage requirements, start thinking about RAM with faster frequencies and lower timings because it will play on increasing the amount of data that can be stored or transferred in faster periods of time, and this is the same reason why users resort to overclocking or activating Setting an XMP profile for RAM. Eventually (theoretically) you will get faster frequencies and lower timings for higher efficiency and faster performance for the entire computer system.

 

Is the amplitude or frequency of the ram enough for you?

 

The 8 to 16 GB RAM is supposed to be enough to handle professional business software and video and audio editing in the best possible way, this capacity will allow you not to think about upgrading or increasing for several years to come. If you are a gamer, it is necessary to have 16 GB of RAM, however, there are many games that are not looking to use more than 8 GB nowadays.

 

Is the amplitude or frequency of the ram enough for you

Nowadays we can consider that 32 GB of RAM is not necessary - if you are not thinking of building a server or workstation for example - 32 GB is an excessively large capacity, especially since there is a good chance that you might consider Change the platform completely in the coming years, then we may be starting to deal with the next generation DDR5 memory. Before we talk about the necessary frequency, remember that the motherboard determines the speed of the supported memory frequency, and the memory bus built into the CPU block determines what the frequency and bandwidth of the RAM are working with.

 

Here we will ask if the RAM controller built into the CPU core works at a maximum of 2133MHz, why is there 2666MHz, 3600MHz, or higher RAM? The answer to this question lies in overclocking or activating the XMP profile mode. As the CPU overclocks, the bandwidth of the data that the integrated memory controller can send and receive will increase.

 

But remember, although the speed of higher frequencies increases the amount of data that can be transferred, there are many theories and reviews that confirm that the increase in performance is not noticeable in practice, meaning that there is no need to buy RAM with higher frequencies than the bandwidth supported by Pre-memory microcontroller built into the central processor. If the processor supports memory with a frequency of 2133MHz, there is no need to buy RAM higher than this frequency because the performance difference on the ground does not require the difference in the financial cost that will fall on you, and also if the frequency of the memory controller supports 2933MHz, there is no need for 4200MHz memory.

 

As for professionals and hobbyists who break speed barriers and own motherboards that support high frequencies, this may be their chance to achieve records in benchmark and review software only, but real businesses do not really benefit greatly from these frequencies. 

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