The XLR8 Gaming DDR5 MAKO 32GB kit from PNY provides two quad-channel 16GB low-profile desktop RAM chips. They operate at a frequency of 6000MHz and a CAS latency of 38, use 1.3V and have XMP 3.0 support. They are compatible with DDR5 motherboards supporting 4800MHz-6000MHz RAM channels, and PNY offers a lifetime warranty.

This is fast RAM, make no mistake. DDR4 RAM mostly ships at 3000MHz or thereabouts - left way behind in the dust with the insanely fast 6000MHz speed of this XLR8 kit. That’s on top of the faster transmission speeds and higher bandwidth over DDR4 in general, providing improved readability, optimised efficiency, high computing performance, and extreme responsiveness. This is the RAM your system will thank you for, allowing it to truly flex its muscles and providing long-lasting gameplay.

iTWire tested PNY's kit on an ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 motherboard with an Intel i7 12700K processor. You can check compatibility with your motherboard here.

Installation is simple, but as always, when working inside your computer be sure to turn the power off and be sure to discharge yourself of any static electricity. Eject your current RAM, and insert the PNY XLR8 Gaming DDR5 RAM by lining it up carefully then pressing down evenly until the clips give a confident, confirming click. Put the case back together, plug it back into power, and then boot up. You can see the amount of RAM in the Windows task manager.

Now, having lots of RAM - a cavernous amount of RAM like 32GB - means your computer operates better and faster. It can execute more intensive apps and games, and it can run more simultaneous apps and games with far less - or even no - swapping out RAM to disk.

And having fast RAM means your games are smooth. All components of your computer play their part - the processor, the drive speed, the video card - but ultimately RAM is what feeds your processor and makes things happen.

iTWire can report on the numbers - we could give benchmark after benchmark but we already know the bigger the number the better it is. In reality, quality gaming RAM is something you must experience. That’s the message iTWire received from professional eSports teams when discussing high-speed RAM in the past. And sure enough, iTWire’s tests were all silky smooth, with responsive gameplay, databases, and virtual machines. Whether we were organising a memory-optimised analytics cube in SQL Server or smashing gun-toting zombies in Tiny Tina’s Wonderland the RAM gave and gave and gave. It was resilient, reliable, and rapid.

This iTWire writer remembers when RAM was $70 a megabyte and filled up a desktop PC with a then-whopping 4MB for $280. Today, you can buy the PNY XLR8 gaming MAKO DDR5 6000MHz 32GB kit for $349 (or $399 for the next model up, the 6200MHz kit) and what you buy is staggeringly fast performant, stable, reliable RAM. However, you also buy a massively future-proof upgrade; this is RAM that will last your computer for years to come and stand up to the next generation of blisteringly-demanding games.

Really, for $349 it's pretty much a no-brainer that this is one upgrade that brings huge value with a massive performance gain.