Choosing memory for your new graphic design PC is one of the easiest elements to select.  

The absolute minimum you should be looking at is 16GB.  16GB will allow your computer to have enough memory for the system as well as the software that you will be running.  

16GB will allow you to work on small to moderately large files. However, if you work with large files or do lots of other things on the machine at a time ( like having 25,000 Chrome tabs open as well as Outlook, and Netflix running) we recommend at least 32GB of memory. 

If you really like to multitask when using your PC – like doing some design work (Illustrator or Photoshop), video editing (I.e. Premiere) and you don’t want to spend time waiting – we recommend that you move up to 64GB of ram.  

What type of memory should you choose for a graphic design machine? 

Now that you know how to choose how much memory you need – you need to choose the type of memory. This is highly dependent on the other hardware you choose for your system.  

Most PC’s these days will use DDR4 memory – this is a type of memory.   

There is also DDR3 that is still somewhat widely used.  

Whereas DDR2 and DDR1 are pretty much non-existent these days and only found in very old computers.  

There is also memory speed to take into account. Most of the time it won’t matter too much how fast the memory is. For example DDR4 starts at 2133MHz and can go up to 4000MHz+ but this will not make a huge impact on the performance of your system.  

If your system is running out of memory then faster memory will not help remedy the issue, only more memory will help. Learn more about how to tell if your computer needs more memory with this article here. 

What brand of memory is best? 

Next is brand! The brand of memory is really personal preference or just buy whatever you like the look of. 

Most memory manufacturers are very reputable these days but if you want the best then go with something like Corsair, G.Skill, or Kingston