Which RAM do you really need? DIMM or SODIMM? DDR3 or DDR4?

Have you decided to expand your PC's RAM because you noticed that it is less responsive? Would you like to do everything independently?
No problem how to choose them.

RAM memory is a volatile memory, unlike mass memories such as pen drives, hard disks, the data is not stored but is recalled at a certain time as you use applications or the operating system itself. The more programs you use, the more RAM you need. The information regarding the calculations that the CPU will have to perform to use the various software is copied ( loaded ) into the RAM (Random Access Memory).

Dimm or SoDIMM?

DIFFERENCES One of the main differences are the dimensions ensions, in fact a Dimm RAM module has a length of 133.35 millimetres. The SODIMM module is half the size – its length is only 67.6 mm, width is 31.75 mm, depth is 3.8 mm.
USE The DIMM module is larger in size and is intended for use in desktop personal computers. The SODIMM, on the other hand, has a more compact size, so it is used in laptops and netbooks

NUMBER OF CONTACTS Early form factors consisted of just 72 contacts or pins, and modern DDR4 of the same type contains up to 288 pins. Form factors typically come in the following types: 168-pin, 184-pin, 200-pin, and 240-pin. SODIMM memories are most often 144 pin or 200 pin, rarely 72 pin and 168 pin are used. DIMM memory has multiple contacts. DDR3 module has 240 pins, DDR4 module has 288 pins. DDR3 SODIMM RAM has 204 pin contacts, while DDR4 has 260 pin contacts.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DDR, DDR2, DDR3 AND DDR4?

The difference between DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and DDR4 memory lies in the operating speed and the voltage with which the memory module must work.

a 200 MHz DDR memory has a clock frequency of 100 MHz, an I/O bus frequency of 100 MHz, a transfer rate of 200 MT/s and a bandwidth of 1.6 gigabytes per second per channel, from referred to as PC-1600, and a voltage of 2.5 volts;
400 MHz DDR2 memory has a clock frequency of 100 MHz, an I/O bus frequency of 200 MHz, a transfer rate of 400 MT/s, a bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s per channel, hence the term PC2-3200, and a voltage of 1.8 V;
800 MHz DDR3 memory has a clock frequency of 100 MHz, an I/O bus frequency of 400 MHz, a transfer rate of 800 MT/s, a bandwidth of 6.4 GB/s per channel, hence the term PC3-6400, and a voltage of 1.5 V;
1600 MHz DDR4 memory has a clock rate of 200 MHz, an I/O bus frequency of 800 MHz, a transfer rate of 1600 MT/s, a bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s per channel, hence the term PC4-12800, and a voltage of 1.2 V.

When choosing a new RAM bank, the first factor to take into consideration is the type. This value is dictated by compatibility with your motherboard. All the new PCs you will come across will have DDR4 RAM, while PCs from a few years ago had DDR3 RAM, below this value it is now rare to still see PCs in the consumer sector.

Tool to find out which type and model of RAM you need to buy to boost your PC

One of the free programs we recommend for checking the type of RAM installed on your Windows computer is CPU-Z which offers users information about all the hardware installed on the PC, including the processor, RAM , video card, motherboard and more. Below you will be able to see the screen dedicated to the type of memory. In our case we have 16Gb DDR3 at 800Mhz frequency.

HOW MUCH RAM DO I NEED? AT WHAT FREQUENCY?

These are probably the most frequent questions we are asked by our customers. How much RAM do you really need? In computing (unfortunately) there is no single answer for everything, and RAM is certainly no exception. If the most obvious answer would be as much as possible, the most correct one is how do you use your PC? If we are talking about a computer intended for the office, therefore video writing, spreadsheets, email and navigation, then 8GB of RAM is an excellent solution for managing the small amount of work. If we use the PC a little more intensely for example in photo editing, or even better if we use various programs at the same time and many tasks at the same time in our browser, 16Gb will be more adequate for our purpose. Finally, if we need a machine for intensive work, such as virtualization, complex operations on large databases or 4K video editing, then we opt for the maximum amount of installable RAM, or at least 32GB.

However, the amount of RAM is not everything, in fact to have a more performing PC we must not neglect the operating frequency of these memories. Being the "tank" in which the information that the CPU will have to process is stored, it is essential that it be capacious, but the speed with which the RAM and CPU communicate this data is also important, to create as much balance as possible between the components and guarantee the best possible performance, and it is precisely for this reason that the higher the RAM frequency, the faster the data exchange will be.