Prime Day picks: cheapest DDR4 and DDR5 memory kits for gaming PCs

PC memory is essential and 8 GB won't cut it for modern, graphics-heavy games. Aim for 16 GB, and 32 GB if you run lots of apps while gaming. I've been scouring Prime Day sales to find the cheapest DDR4 and DDR5 kits worth buying. DDR4 remains the sensible choice only for very budget builds that use an AMD Ryzen 5000-series CPU and an AM4 motherboard.

If you already have that platform, upgrading from 16 GB to 32 GB can make sense; you could sell your old kit to recoup costs or keep it as a spare. DDR5 is mandatory for systems with AMD Ryzen 7000-, 8000-, or 9000-series processors or an Intel Core Ultra chip because those CPUs lack DDR4 support.

A 16 GB DDR5-6000 kit can cost almost twice as much as a 16 GB DDR4-3200 set, but the cheapest DDR5 options are perfectly serviceable. They aren’t the flashiest, and some elements can be a bit flimsy — for example, the Patriot set’s heatsinks — though that doesn’t affect cooling.

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