DDR3 RAM may have been phased out by its bigger brother, but we still have the best DDR3 RAM for gaming for those who are still running a machine that uses DDR3 technology in 2022.
Finding The Best DDR3 RAM For Gaming
When searching for the best RAM for gaming, we decided to work at three popular budget levels and gradually escalate in RAM capacity, RAM frequency, and price.
There are two likely scenarios where you’re shopping for DDR3 RAM: you’re either upgrading a system that was built before DDR4 became the standard, or you’re building a budget build that uses some older hardware.
As a gamer, you may be concerned that not having DDR4 RAM may hurt your gaming performance. We’ll dive into that and other RAM-related questions later, but worry not: DDR3 will serve you fine.
For now, take a look at our roundup of the best DDR3 RAM for gaming. We’ve rounded up the best of the best as far as gaming is concerned, and we think any of these RAM kits should serve you well.
How We Picked the Best DDR3 RAM For Gaming
We’ve made a collection of the best value DDR3 RAM offerings. These are all DIMM modules that are compatible with the PC3 12800 specification, and can massively improve your system performance when in ram limited scenarios.
We’ve picked out RAM modules of the DDR 3 memory type for this page, not the more prevalent DDR 4 modules found in more recent hardware changes, that are from reputable manufacturers, and offer reliable performance.
How we tested the Best DDR3 RAM For Gaming
We’ve compared the performance of different DDR3 RAM modules, and selected the options that represent the best value to be featured in this lineup. These are our recommended options for upgrading your system RAM, or for equipping a new build with DDR3 RAM.
Best DDR3 RAM For Gaming in 2022
Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3
Corsair’s excellent Pro Series offers some of the best RAM performance in this category, with very high speeds and low latency over the Corsair Vengeance LPX series.
With a robust anodized aluminum heat spreader, this ram will be able to maintain optimal thermal performance even under load, and it looks fairly stylish as a nice bonus. This is particularly useful for anyone who intends to overclock their RAM and needs to think about power consumption rather than a low voltage.
Corsair has a reputation for building some of the best and most reliable computer kit, and they offer a lifetime warranty on all their RAM modules. Coming with low CAS latency, this is pretty much identical in many ways to the DDR4 ram version.
Patriot Signature 8GB DDR3
This is a budget stick of RAM, and it’s priced accordingly. It’s not especially fast, with the highest latency in our lineup. It’s going to be adequate for gaming, but might be somewhat of a bottleneck for games with high RAM demands. Certainly, this would not be a good choice of RAM module if you’re interested in overclocking.
If you’re looking to equip your system with 8GB or 16GB of RAM on a strict budget, this is a decent option, but it won’t be able to match the performance of more premium RAM offerings such as the Corsair Vengeance LPX.
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Kingston HyperX Fury
Kingston FURY™ Beast DDR3 automatically overclocks to frequencies up to 1866MT/s1*, dishing out an instant, hassle-free, reliable boost of power tuned for your Intel® or AMD system. Beast’s asymmetric, edgy design stands out from the blocky, squared crowd and is crafted with quality aluminum. Rocking a black PCB, diamond-cut finish with colored heat spreaders in blue, black and red makes the FURY Beast DDR3 amp up even the most audacious builds.
G.Skill Ares
Eliminate the memory bottleneck with the G.SKILL Ares series DDR3 RAM. Optimized for speed, low latency, and high stability, it is the perfect solution to build a responsive system. At only 3.2cm tall, the Ares Series memory kit can fit into systems with a large CPU cooler or a small form factor.
G.SKILL ARES is the best choice for optimum adaptability/fitment for your system. At only 3.2cm tall, the low profile heat spreader design of G.SKILL ARES is the ideal memory for systems with massive CPU coolers or for small-form-factor PCs, where every millimeter counts.
Like all G.SKILL memory products, each ARES memory kit is put through extensive reliability and compatibility tests with a wide range of Intel and AMD platforms. The stress tests ensure ARES memory kits deliver outstanding performance and durability, while maintaining overclocking headroom.
All G.SKILL DDR3 memory come with the latest Intel XMP standard developed for Intel platform. It provides PC enthusiasts an entirely trouble free overclocking experience to boost their Intel systems for extreme levels of performance, while retaining system stability.
Is DDR3 RAM good for gaming?
Over time, there is the potential that 16 GB of RAM may not be enough, especially if games begin to increase in their demand on the PC. Given this, over time DDR3 may not be the best option, but this is not guaranteed to happen.
If you are running large software or multiple different programs alongside gaming, you may benefit from a higher amount of GB. However, for gaming purposes DDR3 is still a great option.
The Corsair Vengeance Pro Series is our top pick for the best DDR3 RAM.
The difference between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM for the average gamer isn’t just found in performance. The upgrade from DDR3 to DDR4 is more beneficial for removing the needless stress and worry that comes with gaming on older hardware.
Is DDR3 RAM Still Good in 2021? DDR3 RAM is still great in this day and age. The real-world performative differences between DDR3 and 4 just aren’t all that significant for gamers, but if you’re a content creator, we do suggest that you make the upgrade.
In our overall performance measurement, DDR5-4800 C40 was 19% and 14% faster than DDR4-2133 C15 and DDR4-3200 C22, respectively. However, the performance delta decreased when we compared it to performance DDR4. DDR5-4800 C40 was only 9% faster than DDR4-3200 C15.
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