How Do I Find Compatible RAM for a Motherboard

With so much of our gaming, entertainment and work-life depending on computers, it has become quite essential to upgrade PCs regularly.

However, buying an entirely new computer may be wasteful when your old one is fully up and running. Especially since you can usually upgrade the RAM for a performance boost big enough to handle heavy workloads.

When upgrading an older system, RAM and storage are the two most obvious parts you can replace. Since RAM usually provides a more noticeable performance boost, let’s focus on finding the right RAM for your motherboard.

Laptop (SODIMM) and Desktop (DIMM) RAM

When looking for compatible RAM for your computer, one of the first things to consider is whether it’s a laptop or desktop computer. Both types have the same essential parts: a CPU, GPU, and RAM. But you should keep in mind that these parts will have different form factors depending on the device.

Laptops will have mobile versions of full-size computer parts of desktops. These mobile versions are smaller and use less power. They offer longer battery life and better portability at the cost of performance.

Laptop-compatible RAM is known as SODIMM (Small Outline Dual Input Memory Module). A SODIMM will have a significantly lower pin count than a regular DIMM (Dual Input Memory Module). So if you are planning to replace your laptop’s RAM, you should buy SODIMM RAM as regular desktop RAM will not fit in your machine’s RAM slot. By just looking at the size or component, you will easily be able to identify laptop RAM and desktop RAM. This is what a SODIMM RAM looks like.

ddr generation

After considering what form factor of RAM to get, you’ll need to consider what generation of RAM your motherboard’s RAM slot will accept. DDR is the most common type of RAM used today and is a standard that RAM and motherboard manufacturers must adhere to. Over time, there have been more advanced generations of DDR, the latest being DDR5.

Computers today use DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5 generations, with DDR4 being the most common and DDR5 being the future. These different RAM generations are not backward compatible, so make sure you buy the type your motherboard can support.

Fortunately, Windows gives you an easy way to find out which DDR generation your computer is currently using. Power on your machine and hold down Ctrl + Shift + Esc . Once your Windows Task Manager pops up, click on the Performance tab and select Memory to find out the DDR generation of your computer. You can use a similar process to locate this information on Linux and macOS systems.

ram speed

Another thing to consider when buying RAM for your computer is speed. RAM speed is an important measure of how fast your memory will perform during tasks. RAM speed is a frequency usually measured in megahertz (MHz). As a rule of thumb, the higher the frequency, the faster the RAM, meaning better performance.

The most common RAM speeds today range from 2400 MHz to 4400 MHz. But just because you have the budget for a 4400MHz RAM stick, doesn’t mean your motherboard will support it.

If you know which DDR generation your motherboard supports, you can refer to the table below to find out what RAM frequencies it can accept.

ram capacity

At this point, you already have an idea of ​​what type of RAM is compatible with your motherboard. But before going to your nearest store and buying RAM, you can also consider how much RAM you would need for your daily usage. After all, some tasks require little RAM, and other tasks may require significantly more.

If you’re a writer, student, teacher, or someone who uses the computer to consume media, 4GB-8GB of RAM may be sufficient. However, you should still aim more to future-proof your device. Software inevitably becomes more complex and benefits from more RAM in the future.

If you’re a gamer, 8GB of RAM is usually sufficient for most eSports games and older triple-A titles. But if you like to play modern games, then 16 GB RAM is considered the best for triple-A gaming.

Many consider 16GB of RAM to be a base or budget option for editors, engineers, and designers. It gives enough performance for a comfortable working experience. Generally, the more RAM you can afford for video editing and CAD, the better. Some can even go as far as 64GB of RAM for serious 4K resolution video editing and complex CAD design.