RAM and its compatibility with the system

  

Well you know that CPU highly affects the performance of a computer. 

But do you know that RAM(Random Access Memory) is also one of the factors that affect overall performance of the processor?

Yes, that's true.

There are different types of RAMs which are used in computers - DDR(First generation DDR), DDR2(Second generation DDR), DDR3(Third generation DDR) and DDR4(Fourth generation DDR).

The higher generation RAM is faster than the lower RAM. The RAMs used at the current time are usually DDR3 or DDR4(almost every laptop comes with DDR4 RAM).

You might wonder - How does RAM speed affect the speed of the computer?

Its simple. We know that processors processes the data at a fast rate and if the data to be worked on transfers through the RAM. And if the RAM is slow processor may have to wait long for the data to be processed and it will remain idle during that time. This way RAM speed may affect CPU utilisation. So, you should not just consider RAM size but its speed as well.

Which RAM is compatible with your laptop/Desktop?

For RAM compatibility you must check what are the type(generation i.e. DDR, DDR2, DDR3 or DDR4) and speed(or frequency in MHz) of RAM that your processor and motherboard support.

 

RAMs of different generations are not exchangeable, for example - you cannot replace DDR2 RAM with DDR3 RAM. 

Although you can use higher frequency RAM of same generation even if your system supports lower frequency RAM (e.g. you can use 2400 MHz RAM in the system which supports 2133MHz) but the system will still run at its highest frequency(2133MHz in the earlier example).

To know the RAM speed and type compatible with your laptop you should check online that what RAM generation and speed does your laptop support and you should buy the highest speed RAM that your laptop supports for best possible performance.

And to know the RAM generation and speed of your Desktop you should check the RAM generation and speed supported by your processor and motherboard as well as the maximum amount of RAM size per slot and number of RAM slots in the motherboard to know the maximum size of RAM size supported.

You know that RAM also comes in different sizes so what size is best for you?

If you want the laptop for programming(web development, android development without emulator, C++, Java, etc), light-gaming(with average settings), video editing, image editing and other general purpose tasks then 4GB is enough for you.

However, if you want a laptop to run heavy applications, games, graphics designing softwares, etc then you should have at least 8GB of RAM. 

You must check the minimum RAM size in system requirements of a particular Application or Game to know the amount of RAM you need. 

It must be noted that a 32-bit Operating System cannot have more than 4GB of RAM. So, you should have 64-bit Operating System to utilize more than 4GB RAM.

Now, that you know everything about RAM you can find the RAM that is best for you.