I don't need 64 GB of RAM but I am tempted when prices are as low as they are right now for genuinely speedy sticks
It wasn't that long ago that you'd consider 32 GB for $150/£150 to be a good deal.
RAM manufacturers try their best to keep prices high for their latest memory chips, but alas, price trends have worked in our favour in recent years, despite AI's best efforts to bolster demand and raise prices in recent months. The introduction of DDR5 saw prices increase for the latest memory, and this initial memory had awfully high latencies, and yet we're now able to snap up cheaper, lower latency memory for very little—even high capacities like these 64 GB kits below.
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Quick list
- US: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 Series DDR5 | 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) | $147
- UK: Patriot Viper Venom DDR5 | 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) | £150
G.Skill Ripjaws S5 Series DDR5
G.Skill Ripjaws S5 | 64 GB | 6000 MT/s | CL36 | Low profile | XMP 3.0 | $149.99 $146.99 at Newegg ($3 off with code JSET3Z263)
This is one of the more affordable and well-rounded RAM kits I can find on the market today. It's not quite as low latency as we'd like for a pure gaming machine, but if you need the capacity, you can get plenty here for not a lot of cash. Plus this is very low profile memory at just 33 mm tall, so it'll work even in confined Mini-ITX builds.View Deal
Here's a set of Ripjaws memory from G.Skill that'll do nicely for an upgrade. It's 64 GB, across two 32 GB DIMMs, which means it should be stable in most systems without issue. However, it is really cut out for AMD Ryzen systems on account of its rated 6,000 MT/s speed. And all that for $147 with promo code JSET3Z263.
This is a CL36 kit, which is a little on the high side compared to some, and as my colleague Nick points out, latency matters more than even speed past a certain point, in order to reach maximum processor performance. However, I'd be willing to give up a little latency (36 isn't too bad compared to some older kits) to nab 64 GB if (and only if) I have a need for more memory capacity.
As it stands, 64 GB is a 'nice to have' on my list, as 32 GB works just fine in games. 64 GB helps with programs that demand lots of memory usage, such as video editing, or just using programs with memory leaks, of which there are unfortunately many. I do dabble with video editing, Blender, and I use Chrome a lot with a disastrous number of tabs, so it would be a good upgrade for me.
Patriot Viper Venom DDR5
Patriot Viper Venom | DDR5 | 64 GB (2x 32 GB) | 6400 MT/s | CL32 | £150 at Amazon
High capacity, high speed, and low enough latency to work for me. This is the kit to go for right now if you want value for money and 64 GB of memory, though they're not the best looking.View Deal
On the UK side, it's a little different. These Patriot DIMMs aren't much to look at—they're giving DDR3 for style—but they are capacious, speedy, and have a decent CAS latency. They're rated to 6,400 MT/s, which means they could work well on an Intel system, and the CAS latency is 32, which is pretty darn good for this much memory. Just £150 for that, too.
Perusing the pricing history for this kit, it's not at a historic low, as that happened in May this year, at £145. Though they are at a low ebb for price compared to last year, when you'd have had to spend over £180 to grab 'em. Also they weirdly spiked to £215 in April, but let's just ignore that weird blip—an eager seller, perhaps.
