As DDR5 continues to push its way into the mainstream, PNY has re-established itself as a top contender in the memory market here.

PNY's XLR8 gaming brand has become synonymous with quality, and that's exactly what I've found with its MAKO DDR5 RAM modules. Pricey compared to other DDR5 top-performers Sabrent's Rocket DDR5 sticks come in 16 or 32GB, and come in smaller form factors so you can use them in a gaming laptop as well. At the same time, it's slight form factor makes it feel a tad fragile, so definitely handle it with care. It has an ingenious cooling solution in the form of a copper heat spreader that keeps circuitry efficient. What we have here, then, is a DDR5 module that's priced along with the cheaper DDR5 kits on the market, but can absolutely perform with the top dogs thanks to its XMP capabilities.Īs you'll see from the images, Sabrent's bit of rocket science is extremely thin, too. For our review, we pushed it into the 5000MHz range, but we wouldn't be surprised at all if it could keep up with the Corsair Dominator Platinum's speeds. It comes in either 16 or 32GB sticks and although it's quoted at 4800MHz out of the box, Sabrent has designed it to withstand up to four times the module capacity. Sabrent's Rocket DDR5 punches three weight classes above what its minimalist design would suggest. The prices of DDR4 came down dramatically in 2022, while DDR5 will still set you back a fair bit thanks to its futureproofing. Even if the frequencies match, you could be losing out on features between brands without knowing it. Mixing and matching models may technically still function, but you're going to be limited to the lowest speed of the two. Our best advice whether you go for an AMD or Intel build in 2022 is to keep the RAM sticks consistent. Just keep in mind that to get the quoted speed of the best RAM for gaming, you'll need to head into your bios or have a play around with XMP profiles. For DDR5, We'd say to aim for 4800MHz and above, although at that point it really depends on your coffers, and what your CPU can handle. In terms of speed, we'd say the sweet spot to aim for is around the 3000MHz mark for DDR4. Whether you go for two 8GB sticks or one 16GB stick, you won't want less than that. But how much RAM do you actually need? And what speed is best for you and your rig? Well, if you're trying to build one of the best gaming PCs possible, you'll want no less than 16GB - and ideally in dual channel form as this is more efficient.

Video card memory for gaming