If you are in the market to purchase new RAM for your company’s computers, you may be focused on the standard features: Speed, Size, and Price. These are very important factors in your purchase decision, but don’t forget to take voltage into consideration.

What Is RAM Voltage?

Voltage refers to the amount of power that RAM draws while in use. Most DDR3 RAM runs at 1.5V, but low voltage RAM can run at just 1.25V. What is the difference between regular voltage RAM and low voltage RAM? Will low voltage RAM result in slower performance? Is it possible to save energy and reduce your company’s carbon footprint by choosing low voltage RAM? What are the costs differences between the two options?

One company, Puget Systems, put low voltage RAM to the test.

Low Voltage RAM Performance

In their testing, Puget Systems ran different models of RAM and found that low voltage RAM performed on par with regular voltage RAM on several different processing benchmark tests. Anyone who is worried that less voltage means slower performance can put those fears to rest.

Energy Usage

The biggest selling point of low voltage RAM is less power draw, but are those claims accurate? Puget Systems put their systems to the test and found that the low voltage RAM did in fact pull less power. Here’s what the company found:

“The 11 and 13 wattage reduction from the Kingston and G. SKILL sticks works out to be about 2-3 Watts per sticks, for a total system power reduction of 3.65% and 4.32% respectively.”

That really adds up if your company uses a lot of RAM.

Cost

We’ve discovered that low voltage RAM performs just as well as regular voltage RAM and draws less power. So, why would anyone choose to purchase standard RAM? The answer shouldn’t be surprising. Price.

Low voltage RAM is about 10% more expensive than standard voltage RAM. As you start assessing different RAM products, you’ll need to decide if the reduced energy usage is worth paying a little more upfront for your RAM.

At Memory America, we offer lots of choice for wholesale RAM purchases, so you can make the best computer memory purchase for the needs of your company. Here is the full article from Puget Systems.