The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is nearly here, ready to shred through some gaming workloads with 104MB of 3D V-Cache, a staggering amount for a midrange CPU. With 8 cores and 16 threads, this powerful CPU can boost up to 5.2GHz, but that's not all it can do. This is the first X3D chip to have an unlocked multiplier, so you can squeeze out any headroom that your cooling solution allows, for better FPS in your favorite games. With all of that power to play with, you'll want to match it with some DDR5 RAM that's up to the task. The sweet spot here is still 6,000MT/s with a CL value of 30, which gives plenty of speed while ensuring low latency and easy compatibility with your choice of motherboard.

• Editor's choice

  Silicon Power Zenith RGB DDR5

  Silicon Power's Zenith RGB DDR5 has it all: style, clean white heatspreaders with RGB lighting, 6.000MT/s speeds, and a low CL30 timing for low latency gaming goodness with your Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It's great to see that more kits are coming in white, with understated designs that will match more motherboards.

  $93 at Amazon $105 at Newegg
• Premium pick

  G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal DDR5-7200

  Brand

  G.Skill

  Size

  32 GB, 48 GB

  Technology

  DDR5

  Speed

  7200 MT/s

  Compatible Devices

  Intel, AMD

  RGB

  Yes

  G.Skill's Trident Z5 Royal is one of the most striking DDR5 designs around, with blade-style heatspreaders surrounding a crystal diffuser for sparkling RGB bling. But don't let that stylish exterior lull you into complacency because this 2x24GB kit has a 7,200MT/s speed and CL34 latency for plenty of powerful playtime.

  $150 at Amazon
• Best value

  Crucial Pro DDR5

  Crucial is one of the few RAM manufacturers that uses its own memory modules, and the Crucial Pro DDR5 is a good value in a minimalist, origami-inspired design. It's available in up to 6,000MT/s speeds, with a mid-tier CL36 timing that is going to be right at home paired with your X3D processor.

  $128 at Amazon $120 at Newegg
• Runner-up

  Oloy DDR5 Black Hairline Blade

  The Oloy Black Hairline Blade DDR5 RGB might not be the first name you think of for fast memory, but this relative newcomer is coming in hot. It has 6,000MT/s speeds and CL30 timings to feed your CPU with data as quickly as it needs. Check the other capacities and speeds on the page, as prices change rapidly and you might get a better deal.

  $113 at Amazon
• Best RGB styling

  TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5

  TeamGroup make some of the best RAM around, and the T-Force Delta is right up there with the best gaming kits for use with your X3D processor, You can get a kit ranging from 5,6000MT/s all the way to 8,200MT/s, so if you want to try and push the boundaries of what the Ryzen 7 9800X3D could do, here's where to start.

  $103 at Amazon $120 at Newegg
• Best to fill all four slots

  Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB DDR5 64GB (4x16GB) 6400 CL32

  Corsair's Dominator Titanium is some of the prettiest RAM around, with racing stripes of RGB goodness and tall heatspreaders to show them off. That height can be a problem for some coolers, but what won't be a problem is the performance of this 4x16GB kit of 6,400MT/s CL32 memory that will fill all four slots with style.

  $359 at Amazon $350 at Corsair
• Best for gaming

  Kingston Fury Renegade RGB 32GB DDR5-6400

  Kingston is a force to be reckoned with in the memory market, and these Fury Renegade DDR5-6400 sticks are a great specimen of what they can create. With fast speeds, good looks, and CL32 timings for low latency data transfer, they're great for the gaming workloads you'll be planning with your new CPU.

  $188 at Amazon $160 at Newegg
• Low-latency for cheap

  Lexar ARES RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000 CL30

  Lexar is another trusted name in the memory space, and these Ares RGB DDR5 DIMMs are fast and furious with value. With 6,000MT/s of speed and CL30 timings, they'll bring out the best in your processor, whatever the workload. They might not be the best around, but they're solid value and sometimes that's all that matters.

  $130 at Amazon
• Affordable no-frills

  TEAMGROUP Elite DDR5

  Brand

  TEAMGROUP

  Size

  16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB

  Technology

  DDR5

  Speed

  ~6,000 MT/s

  RGB

  No

  Sometimes, all you need is a no-frills set of DDR5 to get you gaming, and this TeamGroup Elite DDR5 kit is perfect for that job. It's got 5,600MT/s of speed which is what AMD says the Ryzen 7 9800X3D supports, and a relatively high CL46 timing, but that won't matter too much as the 3D V-Cache does most of the work.

  $39 at Amazon $60 at Newegg

What you should know before choosing RAM for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D looks like it will surpass the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which was already our favorite CPU for gaming use. It needs DDR5 RAM, and the maximum speed officially supported by AMD is 5,600MT/s. This is on the slower side for DDR5, but the good news is that also means it's more affordable, and you can usually go a little higher in speeds as the chipset of your motherboard also plays a part in the final supported RAM speed. It's possibly best to stick to RAM that supports AMD EXPO for timings, but you can also get a faster kit that has XMP timings, and run them at a slower speed. Depending on whether you want to use two or four modules, here are the officially supported speeds by AMD:

• Two single-rank modules: 5,600MT/s
• Two dual-rank modules: 5,600MT/s
• Four single-rank modules: 3,600MT/s
• Four dual-rank modules: 3,600MT/s

While these are the officially supported speeds for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the choice of motherboard also matters. While X870E and X870 chipset-equipped motherboards will likely give you the best chance at hitting high speeds for your RAM, the X670E and B650 motherboards we recommend for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D will also serve you well with the newer chip. With both having the same 120W TDP, the VRMs on any of our previous choices are just as capable for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and you should be able to hit good RAM speeds with any of the kits mentioned here.