This article is part of Newb Computer Build’s “How to: Build a Gaming PC” guides to choosing your PC hardware for your Gaming PC builds. The type, the capable amount, and the speed of the Memory you put in your PC will all depend on what your motherboard supports. Generally in a Gaming PC Build you will end up having and needing more memory than a standard PC build. This is because computer memory is in huge demand for large software programs like games!

In this article I am going to give a quick overview of what Memory in a desktop computer is, followed by some terms you should be familiar with when searching for desktop Memory, and then conclude with a few steps to follow when purchasing Memory for your your gaming PC build.

What is “Memory or RAM”

In a desktop PC memory aka. RAM – Random Access Memory is the space where the Processor temporarily stores data and programs so that it can be accessed as quickly as possible for continual use. In layman’s terms RAM is usually described as a tool bench where you store your most used tools so that you do not have to keep searching for them when they need to be used. The speed of your RAM will ultimately determine how fast the data on your RAM can be transferred to and from the Processor resulting in more data being transferred in less time.

The system memory modules are stored on a stick called a DIMM (Dual inline memory module) which is the circuit board that can fit into your motherboard. There are also many different sub categories or types of RAM however since we are wanting to build a Gaming PC (and most general desktop PCs) we are concerned with DRAM aka. Dynamic RAM – which means the RAM is continually refreshed 1000s of times a second or else it loses its data.