Is Overclocking RAM Worth It? Pros and Cons of Increasing Clock Rate

Overclocking is something that most PC gamers and performance freaks often talk about. Most of the time, people overclock their CPU and GPU. However, you can overclock your RAM as well, which is said to boost performance. But does it really?

Well, in short, RAM overclocking gives a performance boost for sure. However, the exact gain in performance depends on a lot of things, and not all get the same amount of boost. Below we will discuss if overclocking your RAM is worth it so that you know if you should overclock your RAM or not.

Should You Overclock Your RAM?

RAM or random-access memory functions as the workhorse of any PC, delivering necessary data back and forth between system components. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer that overclocking the RAM will obviously give you a performance boost. However, the real question is how much? And is it worth the hassle?

Well, while it’s true that you may gain some performance boost by overclocking your RAM, the underlying complexity of the operation may not be worth it for everybody. Also, there’s always a risk of damaging your RAM in the process.

Below, we have compiled a list of pros and cons of overclocking your RAM, to help you decide for yourself, if should do it or not.

Pros of Overclocking Your RAM

Here are the advantages of overclocking your RAM:

• If done successfully, you will see an immediate boost in system performance. Application load time will be shorter and they will run faster.
• If you need to go back and forth between a lot of apps, you will see a boost in multitasking performance.
• You should also see a boost in gaming performance. It might not be apparent in every game though.

However, it’s not all sunshine and roses, as there are a few cons as well.

Cons of Overclocking Your RAM

Here are the disadvantages of overclocking your RAM:

• If you value system stability, you should keep away from RAM overclocking. It can result in system crashes, random reboots, or, data corruption.
• You also increase the risk of hardware damage. Increased heat as well as pushing it beyond its limit, can damage the RAM.
• Overclocking will also void the warranty of your RAM.
• It is also difficult to overclock the RAM as the overclocking requirement is different for each memory module.

Our Verdict

When you are considering overclocking your RAM, you should understand that not all RAM gets the same performance boost. Overclocking RAM can boost performance in some cases, especially if you have good memory chips and a stable CPU memory controller. It might increase FPS by up to 30% in CPU-limited games, but for most people, the performance gain is little to none.

You need to understand that overclocking the RAM alone won’t do much. The speed of your RAM, the type of memory chip it has, your CPU, GPU, the game you’re playing, and your settings all affect gaming performance. While AMD Ryzen CPUs see a small benefit from faster memory, exceeding the limit, which is easier than it seems, can actually harm performance. For Intel CPUs, the performance gain can only be noticeable in certain games, as they are less sensitive to memory speed.

If your RAM uses poor memory chips or is already maxed out, which is often the case, overclocking or tweaking latency may not provide significant benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers 

Does overclocking RAM damage it?

Overclocking doesn’t necessarily damage the RAM, as long as it’s done in a proper manner. Memory modules don’t produce much heat either. Therefore, there’s less risk of damaging your RAM than CPUs or GPUs, when overclocked.

Does overclocking RAM reduce FPS?

No, overclocking RAM doesn’t reduce FPS. In fact, it can increase your FPS, although it may not be a significant improvement for you to notice.

Can overclocking RAM fry the CPU?

No. It is almost impossible to fry your CPU with RAM overclocking. In fact, if it leads to too much temperature, your system will simply reboot or shut down entirely.

End Notes

In the end, overclocking your RAM is definitely worth it, if you can do it safely while staying within limit. However, do it only if your workload includes a lot of RAM usage and you cannot afford a physical upgrade at the moment. however, don’t expect too much, as the performance gain will not be noticeable for every app or game.