Best Budget RAM 2021

RAM is the main memory of your computer and is required for it to operate. While Windows 10 requires an absolute bare minimum of 2GB of RAM, you won’t really have a good experience even with 4GB. Realistically, the minimum RAM you should choose, even on a budget is 8GB. 6GB of RAM could work, but you’ll struggle to find any desktop RAM at that capacity.

It’s important to know what kind of RAM you need. Currently, DDR4 RAM is the standard, however, if you have an older CPU, you may actually need DDR3 RAM instead, as much as they look similar, they are not inter-compatible. Some Intel CPUs, specifically the non-K or -X models also come with a RAM speed limit that prevents overclocking. Even if you find a good deal on faster RAM it won’t benefit you with those CPUs. You should make sure to research what RAM speeds and types your CPU and motherboard can take.

Finally, don’t mix and match RAM even if it’s from the same brand. If you’ve already got a functioning computer you may be looking to simply add some more RAM to it or to cannibalise it to increase the RAM capacity in a new computer. It’s highly recommended that you don’t do this. At best if you mix and match RAM, your faster RAM will be hamstrung down to the slower RAM performance. In the worst-case scenario, your computer might crash occasionally, or simply not even boot. It’s best to only use a single kit at once. You can even face issues if you buy the same model a year or two apart, as the internal components can sometimes change without the product number changing. If you want to get two kits because there’s no single kit of the exact RAM you want, it’s best to buy them both at the same time.

To help you find some good quality budget options, we’ve drawn up our list of the best budget RAM in 2021.

Tip: One tip for bargain RAM hunters on Amazon is to check the prices of all of the variants on offer. Occasionally, you can find some great deals on slightly faster or higher capacity options that can even be the cheapest option available. It can be a little time-consuming, but you can discover some great deals, save a decent amount of money and end up with more, or faster RAM, or even both if you’re lucky.

Note: Please note all entries on this list are DDR4, as DDR3 is realistically legacy hardware. DDR3 kits are also much more similar in terms of performance to each other making it even harder to find distinguishing features between models.

The HyperX Predator DDR4 RAM range features the currently joint-fastest RAM available, clocked at 5333MHz. This does come at an eyewatering price premium, however, of $1245 for a pair of 8GB sticks. Thankfully for those looking for budget RAM, the other end of the product stack is reasonably priced. As of the time of writing the 3200MHz version is actually the cheapest, even over the 2400MHz option at just $57.53.

The black metal heat sink provides some extra cooling capacity, without interfering with other RAM sticks or with your CPU cooler. It doesn’t come with RGB, but an RGB version is available for slightly more under the Fury product name. At this capacity, it only comes in a single stick, which isn’t ideal, especially for AMD Ryzen CPUs that get a noticeable performance boost from dual-channel RAM.

The Patriot Viper 4 series is an 8GB dual-channel DDR4 kit. The market for 2x4GB RAM kits is relatively small as 4GB capacities aren’t particularly common anymore, this makes this a great option for people that want the benefits of dual-channel but only want an 8GB kit.

This brand also offers incredibly well-priced dual-channel 16GB kits too, they are more expensive than the 8GB kit, which is reasonable, but notably, less than twice the price, so an even better deal if your budget can stretch to them. The red heat sink is low profile but may clash with the colour scheme of some builds.

The Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 kit is another rare dual-channel 8GB kit, even more unusually, it’s possible to buy a single 4GB stick, although we recommend against this as Windows will really struggle with that little RAM.

The Corsair brand and especially the Vengeance LPX line are incredibly well respected and will be very reliable. If your computer supports RAM overclocking, you may even be able to get some extra performance out of them if you’re willing to manually configure the settings rather than relying on the XMP timing profile.

The Crucial Ballistix single channel 8GB RAM stick is available in a range of speeds with the 3600MHz version being just $2 more than the 3200MHz model. The dual 4GB kit is currently unavailable and is not offered at all in the RGB version.

At 3600MHz the CAS Latency (CL) of 16 nanoseconds is pretty great but unlikely to create a noticeable performance increase. Three different heat sink colours are available as are RGB versions, although those cost a little more.

The G.Skill Trident Z features a striking bladed heatsink and a large RGB bar. The 3200MHz CL16 2x8GB kit is available for just under $110, this is a bit expensive but no 8GB versions are available. Still, for 16GB this is well priced and comes with great styling.

One thing to be aware of is that the blades of the heat sink can actually be quite sharp, so be careful when putting them in or taking them out of your computer. Some AMD systems, especially first-generation Ryzen systems may need a BIOS update to support the advertised RAM speeds.

Those were our recommendations for the best budget RAM in 2021. Have you recently bought a budget RAM kit? What model did you go for and what made you choose it?