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Best RAM For Ryzen – 5 Best Options For 2022

Going all in with Ryzen in 2021? We’ve selected five top picks for your RAM needs!
Last Updated on March 14, 2022
best ram for ryzen

In this article, we’ll find the best RAM for Ryzen. Specifically, we’ll be going over our five top picks, each best for a different budget and tier of Ryzen processor. The best DDR4 RAM for Ryzen will depend on exactly what Ryzen processor you’re pairing it with, but in general you want to get the fastest dual-channel RAM that you possibly can for ideal performance with your Ryzen processor.

If any of the jargon confuses you, or you aren’t even sure why Ryzen RAM gets its own article, read on. We’ll explain everything you need to know, and hopefully help you choose the right RAM kit for you.

If you’ve picked up a new Ryzen 5000 series CPU and are looking for the absolute best RAM for that specific series, head here where we have all the top picks for you.

Products at a Glance

Our Recommended

Best RAM For Ryzen – 5 Best Options For 2022

1
PROS
  • The best speed
  • Great reputation with Ryzen CPUs
  • Great RGB effects
CONS
  • High price
  • Low availability
2
PROS
  • Superb speed
  • Well-suited for Ryzen 7 and Threadripper builds
  • Low CAS latency
CONS
3
PROS
  • Lowest price
  • Decent bump over basic DDR4 speeds
  • Ideal for budget Ryzen systems
  • Decent OC success rate
CONS
  • May not be fast enough for APUs
4
PROS
  • Superb speed
  • Great RGB effects
  • Great reputation with Ryzen CPUs
CONS
  • High Price
5
PROS
  • Will certainly stand out in your build
  • Great CAS latency for speed
  • Great reputation for Ryzen CPUs
CONS
  • Expensive
  • Probably looks ridiculous

What should I be looking for?

In this section, we’ll answer common questions and fill you in on what you need to know, just in case you’re confused.

To make a few basic things clear about the spec listings, though:

  • Capacity – More is better, but 8GB is perfect for common use and modern gaming scenarios. Larger capacities are best for Ryzen’s APUs or more intensive tasks, like video editing.
  • Standard – The current generation of RAM being used, which will always be DDR4 when using Ryzen since DDR3 had largely been phased out by the time it released. (Until DDR5 and compatible motherboards launch.)
  • Speed – Higher is better, especially for Ryzen. We’ll explain both of those points below.
  • CAS Latency – Lower is better, but this inevitably raises with speed.

What makes RAM any different for Ryzen?

Ryzen CPUs have some design quirks that set them apart from Intel CPUs. It’s been demonstrated through several tests at different times that higher RAM speed gives Ryzen CPUs a more noticeable bump in performance than Intel CPUs. This makes RAM an especially important purchase for a Ryzen build, doubly so if it’s a Ryzen APU build.

Why do Ryzen APUs need fast, dual-channel RAM

Ryzen APUs like the Ryzen 5 2400G contain both Ryzen CPU cores and Vega GPU cores. The CPU and integrated GPU have to share resources, though, and that includes the RAM installed in your system.

Discrete GPUs have the advantage of dedicated VRAM, usually at the GDDR5 grade or better. Not only is this memory faster, but it’s tailored specifically for use with graphics processors, whereas non-G DDR memory is not.

To get the optimal performance with a Ryzen APU, you need at least a dual-channel configuration (so it runs at full DDR4 speed instead of half speed) and 3200 MHz of speed.

Is Ryzen RAM compatibility any different?

Not… really, but some people have favorites. Since Ryzen CPUs seem to be more RAM-dependent than Intel CPUs, they benefit across-the-board from higher speeds and lower latency. This makes them particularly sensitive to low-speed, high-latency RAM kits in a way that Intel usually isn’t.

One of the ways enthusiasts like to choose Ryzen RAM is through selecting kits that use Samsung B-Dies, since those are of a consistently high quality. Of course, getting RAM that fits this criterion can be tricky since it’s unpredictable as to whether or not Samsung B-Dies were used– and you can only test it once you receive it (that’s why the Trident Z is so noteworthy).

Of course, this isn’t actually necessary for getting good RAM with Ryzen, but it does make G.Skill and Corsair great brands to buy from in this category.

Why does RAM speed matter in general?

By and large, RAM speed doesn’t do very much to improve average FPS. The actual benefits, even with Intel CPUs, are found to be in FPS minimums and lows, which increase with higher RAM speeds. Any game will experience occasional FPS drops, sometimes minor, sometimes severe. With a faster RAM speed, these drops can be better alleviated to the point where they are less noticeable or not noticeable at all.

Since Ryzen is more susceptible to slower RAM, these points matter even more for AMD users.

Can Ryzen even push RAM to these higher speeds?

At 4000 MHz and above, probably not. Around the 3600 MHz range, reaching that speed is pretty much guaranteed, as long as the kit in question is able to reach it.

There’s still a benefit to buying faster RAM in this case, though, since it increases the chance of you getting high-quality dies that won’t cause issues with Ryzen. (ie, Corsair and G.Skill using a lot of Samsung B-Dies.) We believe we’ve done our due diligence in researching our picks for this purpose, but feel free to leave a comment below if you feel like we’ve made a mistake.

Our Verdict

As we have mentioned the Tridentz are the best Ryzen-optimized ram and come complete with the RGB blind you might be looking for. It is an expensive kit, but in terms of speed and reputation, there is no way we could recommend anything else, as long as it is in your budget. However, to be fair, any of the Ram here will make a difference to your system. They are all great components that bring various things to the AMD party.