Rather than storing data permanently like in large capacity hard drives, RAM provides a temporary cache that your system uses to store the data that you are currently using. This makes accessing the most relevant data much faster, because accessing RAM requires much less time than your hard drive. In fact, most systems are configured to use the hard drive as a substitute for RAM when the RAM is being overloaded with data. This can bring your PC to a crawl, however, and is why having enough RAM is crucial.

DDR3 RAM has been the predominant RAM technology for a good few years now, and its cheapness and high performance are the reason. However, with DDR4 nearly here, and well set to become the motherboard standard, the remaining lifespan of DDR3 RAM is ever shortening.

With a total memory of 16GB, the HP 16GB PC3-8500 DDR3-1066 4Rx4 ECC Registered DIMM (HP PN# 595098-001) has the capacity to help run a huge array of applications or a very effective server. It goes above and beyond any gaming or general PC usage requirements, and can push the performance of applications like Photoshop - that can utilize a huge amount of designated memory - to the extreme. This HP DDR3 RAM has a speed of 1066MHz. RAM speed is not a crucial feature, but it does contribute significantly to PC games and certain applications like video-editing software. 1066MHz is an average speed, so should not contribute negatively or positively to either of these to any noticeable extent.