A while back, we introduced Light Enhancement Kits, or LEKs. These are dummy RAM modules that you can buy to fill in the empty slots on your motherboard. They look identical to the equivalent real RAM, but they have no actual RAM chips inside. They are just empty circuit boards with heat sinks and lighting. They are built purely for people who only need two sticks of RAM, but dislike leaving the remaining two slots empty.
Unfortunately, due to the ever-increasing price of RAM, certain unscrupulous sellers on the internet are passing off LEKs as actual RAM modules to trick consumers. So, here's how to tell the difference.
What to Look For?
The two key indicators that allow you to see if it's real RAM or not are as follows
- Copper contact pins
- Labelling
All real DDR4 and DDR5 RAM have a total of 288 copper contacts along the edge that connect to the motherboard. Due to the LEKs not containing any real RAM chips, they only need to connect to the motherboard for power and lighting control, so they have far fewer pins. This creates many noticeable "gaps" along the bottom edge.
The label on the back of the memory is another easy way to tell if you are looking at a real module of memory or a Light Enhancement Kit.
In this example we are using DOMINATOR TITANIUM. Pay attention to the stuff underlined in red. The label on the top stick lists the capacity, the configuration, the transfer speed, the CAS latency, and even the voltages.
But on the bottom stick, there is none of that, it just says "DOMINATOR TITANIUM Light Enhancement Kit".
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