Our general catalog will help you select and compare RAM according to a variety of parameters. And you can learn more about the evolution of RAM types in the material “From DDR to DDR5: What is the difference between generations of RAM and VRAM?”

What affects the cost of RAM sticks?

Here are the main, not the most obvious points that often distinguish cheap RAM from expensive (or vice versa):

  • memory type and module printed circuit board;
  • presence or absence of cooling;
  • support for overclocking profiles;
  • memory rank;
  • additional options such as backlighting or error correction;
  • brand.

We will review each point separately. And once again we draw your attention that here we will not dwell in detail on the basic technical parameters that necessarily affect the price tag of RAM, namely:

  • memory capacity;
  • DDR generation;
  • clock frequency;
  • voltage;
  • timings.

Main components of RAM stick

RAM is technically a chip (chipset) and the printed circuit board to which they are soldered. The cost of the module directly depends on these two components.

First of all, let's deal with the chips. They differ in quality from one manufacturer to another. In addition, one company may have both more and less successful chips. Here we can compare it to the products of a confectionery: even if the recipe and raw materials are the same, the taste of baked goods often differs. That's why RAM manufacturers are necessarily engaged in testing and module selection. As a result, different versions (revisions) are offered to customers.

Memory chips are more or less successful, and manufacturers charge different prices for them.

There are three undoubted leaders among RAM chip manufacturers — Samsung, Micron and Hynix. They are listed in order of decreasing status among computer lovers. As a rule, their memory modules hold a certain level of quality and do not fall below it. Therefore, even the information about the manufacturer will be enough for an undemanding buyer, and a relatively inexpensive Hynix stick is already a worthy choice. But if overclocking and manual setting are of interest, it is necessary to understand the origin of the chip in more detail.

The most successful Samsung chips, known as B-die, are highly sought after despite being discontinued, offering excellent performance and overclocking capabilities. However, they come with a higher price tag compared to competitors. Micron's E-die revision, found in products like the Crucial Ballistix series, represents their top-performing chips, balancing performance and cost. Hynix prioritizes CJR and DJR chips for quality within their branded line, positioning them as slightly less expensive than competitors' top solutions while maintaining high standards.

But even after figuring out all the revisions of memory chips (which is not so easy), it is often much more difficult to find out what components are installed in a particular module. If Samsung sells the chip under its own brand, it also marks revisions, i.e. B-die has B in the code, and C-die has C, respectively. But these products are sold by other brands, which usually do not mention revisions (and the chip manufacturer) in the name. That's why some other factors have to be relied on, such as factory overclocking support (we'll talk more about it later), official data from the brand, user experience and, of course, the price tag. Expensive chips, as a rule, use better revisions of memory chips that provide better performance properties.

The printed circuit board also affects the cost of RAM. Most often, one of two revisions is found — A0 or A2. The first one usually appears in more affordable sticks, and the second one in more expensive ones. You can distinguish which version you're looking at visually or by using special software such as Thaiphoon Burner or DRAM Calculator for Ryzen. The chips on board A0 are equidistant from each other, and on A2 they are located in two groups of 4 components.

Modules on a printed circuit board of revision A1 are less commonly found on sale. They are usually supplemented with ECC support and cannot be overclocked. Externally, the sticks are between A0 and A2.

Visual differences in revisions of RAM printed circuit boards are clearly visible.

Presence or absence of RAM cooling

The most affordable RAM is notable for its lack of a cooling system. Most often, its role is played by the heatsink. Modules that are more expensive already have such a structural element. It reduces operating temperatures, which should extend the life of the RAM. The heatsink increases the sizes of the stick (which is important for laptops), but at the same time slightly increases resistance to mechanical damage during installation (protects chipsets from accidental impacts).

Note that there is usually no high heat generation from RAM modules. Their temperature ranges from 35 to 45 degrees Celsius under standard loads. But heating is possible in overclocking modes: in this case a heatsink is definitely not superfluous. Also, some expensive modules are supplemented with thermal sensors that monitor temperature changes. This kind of extra payment is justified primarily for those who will manually overclock the RAM and want to be aware of the changes that occur.

Heatsinks are usually sufficient to effectively cool the sticks.
RAM with cooling

Overclocking profile support

Inexpensive RAM modules do not support XMP and this differs from their expensive counterparts. What kind of technology is this anyway? XMP profiles are factory presets for frequencies, timings, voltage and other variables that simplify the procedure for overclocking RAM. They are selected in advance by the manufacturer for a specific chip, which makes the process of increasing frequencies more predictable, eliminating the risks of overheating and other failures.

For a stick without XMP support, the operating parameters comply with the Jedec specification. This is a generally accepted standard for all RAM manufacturers, ensuring stability and compatibility with any PC hardware. So, if the maximum frequency according to Jedec is 3200 MHz, then XMP profiles allow you to increase it to 5000+ MHz and get a serious performance increase. However, the PC motherboard should also be ready for such overclocking according to factory presets.

XMP RAM

In addition to XMP technology created by Intel, there is also a related EXPO development from AMD. It is designed to overclock DDR5 generation sticks together with Ryzen 7000. These profiles also include a set of ready-made factory parameters, and the performance increase can reach 11%. Today there are RAM modules on sale that have support for both of these overclocking technologies.

By the way, cheaper sticks without XMP or EXPO are not an indication of no overclocking at all. Enthusiasts will have to set combinations of frequencies, voltages and timings manually, which is longer and more complicated. Besides, the overclocking potential is usually significantly lower, as more affordable modules are usually based on chips of less fast revisions.

XMP profiles simplify overclocking, making it predictable and stable.

Memory rank

The cost of a RAM module is affected by its rank — the number of chipsets that transmit 64 bits of data in total. One such set forms a complete logical module, but there can be several of them on the stick, including for memory capacity increase (relevant when the number of slots is limited).

The RAM rank for a basic PC is not important. One logical module is usually enough. But for servers or powerful computing systems, multi-rank options are used. And dual-rank memory is more expensive than single-rank memory, and the difference in price tags can even be twofold.

With some convention, this is what single-rank and dual-rank memory looks like.
Dual-rank RAM

Additional options: backlight, buffering, EEC

In addition to the features listed above, the following equipment and options increase the cost of RAM:

  • backlight This is an aesthetic element that does not affect performance, but makes the price tag higher. Conventionally, we can distinguish 3 types of gradations: without LEDs at all, with static and customizable backlighting (synchronizable). It is clear that this option is relevant only if you have a PC case with a transparent wall or viewing window. You also need to keep in mind that an expensive RAM module with a spectacular design does not automatically mean using a top-of-the-line chip;
  • buffering. This option indicates the presence of a storage in front of the memory controller. This reduces the load on the latter and increases the overall reliability. Buffered memory is more often needed for server systems, costs significantly more, but operates slower. For home or office PCs, it is better to consider more affordable sticks without buffering;
  • Error Checking and Correction (ECC) support. This is an error correction function that reduces the risk of data loss and generally makes the RAM more stable and reliable. Accordingly, the price tag increases. For massive tasks, ECC is not required — first of all, it is relevant for server systems, which is why this option is often combined with buffering.
Backlit RAM can look really nice.

RAM brand

Having analyzed the offers on the RAM market, it is easy to find out, for example, that Kingston Fury modules are usually more expensive than Transcend, if we compare sticks of the same capacity, generation, frequency, etc. Can it be said that some brands have a higher markup than others? No. In most cases, the difference in cost is due to the use of memory chips from different manufacturers and revisions. As it was mentioned earlier, Crucial usually uses successful variations of Micron memory within Ballistix series. Quite expensive B-die chip from Samsung is widely represented at G.Skill brand. And balanced revisions of Hynix CJR and DJR are offered by Kingston, HyperX and other brands.

Accordingly, those brands that seem to be more budget-friendly often use less cool chips, including those with less overclocking potential. Therefore, the most demanding users should pay increased attention to studying the origin of the memory in question.

Summarize: to pay extra or not?

With approximately similar technical parameters, expensive RAM modules are distinguished from cheap ones by higher quality (successful) memory chips and a printed circuit board, the presence of a cooling system (heatsinks), support for XMP profiles, the presence of backlighting and other features, such as a high rank, error correction, and buffering. Moreover, the last three points are relevant only for server systems.

Differences in module components can really affect the performance, overall reliability and overclocking potential of RAM. Accordingly, for demanding users, the extra cost is worth it. It should also be taken into account that there are just beautiful sticks on sale with customizable backlighting and/or original design of heatsinks. In this case, the difference in price does not give an increase in speed and quality, but such a RAM module will find its buyer. In general, everything is very individual and depends primarily on your needs.