DDR4 VERSUS DDR5: IS IT TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR RAM? Why should you upgrade to DDR5?
Your computer's RAM (Random Access Memory) modules are critical to PC performance. If your RAM is too slow or not enough, you won't be able to run the programs you need. For the past decade, most PCs have been powered by DDR4 RAM, which can reach speeds of 5000MHz or higher and support up to 128GB of memory with the right motherboard. DDR5 RAM was released in 2021, but it has improved in the last six months thanks to new 12th-generation chips.
Compared to DDR4, DDR5 RAM has a higher base speed, supports higher capacity DIMMs (also called RAM), and consumes less power with the same performance data as DDR4. However, DDR4 still offers some key advantages, such as lower latency overall and better stability. Most new PCs still ship with DDR4 memory, but is it worth the extra money to get something with DDR5 memory?
clock rate and data rate
Currently, the default clock speed (or how often RAM modules can access its memory) for DDR4 is 2133 MHz, while the default speed for DDR5 is 4800 MHz. To make RAM run faster than At these speeds, you may need to enable the XMP profile in your PC's BIOS if it's not already enabled, but DDR4 can't reach the high speeds that DDR5 can either way.
Another major improvement that DDR5 has over DDR4 is the data transfer rate. For 12th generation Intel processors, DDR4 will run at speeds up to 3,200 mega transfers per second (MT/s) and DDR5 at up to 4,800 MT/s. This means that DDR5 transfers data at up to 38.4 gigabytes per second (GB/s), while DDR4 tops out at 25.6 GB/s, 50% faster than DDR4's maximum data rate.
Storage capacity
While DDR4 tops out at 64GB per module (RAM memory), DDR5 can top out at 256GB per module. In general, most processors can support up to 128 GB of DDR4 memory split between two to four DIMMs. DDR5 is still in its infancy, so future consumer CPUs are expected to support a maximum capacity of 256GB or more for DDR5. At the time of writing, 12th Generation Intel Core processors and AMD Mobile Processors 6000 series are the only mainstream CPUs currently available that support DDR5 memory, and they support up to 128 GB of DDR5 memory in total. However, AMD plans to release a new line of DDR5-compatible desktop processors later this year.
latency
The big advantage of DDR4 over DDR5 is the lower latency. Basically, RAM acts as temporary storage for your computer's CPU, giving you quick access to the tasks you perform on a regular basis. (Opening a dozen Google Chrome tabs at once is a good example of this.) The lower the latency, the faster the CPU can access the instructions it temporarily stores in RAM to perform tasks.
Overall latency is determined by the speed of a DIMM and its CAS (column address signal) latency. For example, if you have a DDR4-3200 CL20 module, that CL20 number is your CAS latency rating. (Lower numbers are better.) Most DDR5 modules have a CL40 CAS latency which negates the high clock speeds of DDR5; It is faster to complete tasks, but it takes longer for RAM to register than is needed to complete a task. Therefore, DDR4-3200 CL20 RAM has faster performance than the DDR5-4800 CL40 module.
(G. Skill, for example, only announced the first DDR5 kit to achieve sub-30 CAS latency just two months ago, but it will be a while before DDR5 kits can bring CAS latency down to par, which can compete with DDR4 kits.)
performance
The best specs are great and all, but it doesn't matter if DDR5 modules can't outperform the best DDR4 modules. Due to DDR5's high latencies, its performance is not significantly better than DDR4 modules. When we ran DDR4 and DDR5 kits in our reference desktops, the performance differences were small. For some workloads, such as rendering scenes with Cinebench and Blender or encoding video files with Handbrake, DDR5 achieved modest advantages over DDR4. For example, the same scene rendered in Blender was a minute or two faster on the DDR5-equipped system, and the same video file encoded in Handbrake was just as fast on the DDR5-equipped system.
However, there was little to no performance difference on other workloads like gaming. Our AMD Radeon-based graphics benchmark systems showed the same frame rate performance in our benchmark games on both Ryzen 9-5950X/DDR4 RAM and Intel Core i9-12900K/DDR5 RAM desktops. Meanwhile, our Nvidia-based graphics benchmark systems actually showed worse performance on our desktop with Intel Core i9-12900K/DDR5 RAM than on our desktop with Intel Core i9-11900K/DDR4 RAM, and some games ran up to to 20 fps slower the computer equipped with DDR5. System.
Our benchmarks and tests on pre-built desktops and laptops reflect the same results. When we compare DDR5 equipped PCs to similar DDR4 equipped PCs, there is little to no improvement in gaming performance.
Over time, we expect this comparison to hold true; Gaming and productivity tasks are rarely hampered by RAM performance or latency - RAM capacity and bandwidth are far more important for these things. Similarly, more specialized tasks like file compression or multitasking video and photo editing can be sped up with more powerful RAM, but you'll see better gains if you upgrade your storage drive, CPU, or GPU.
compatibility
Currently, DDR5 modules are only compatible with 12th Gen Intel processors and AMD 6000 series mobile processors.
Most processors and motherboards made in the last decade support DDR4 RAM, including Intel's 12th generation processors. When Intel's 13th Gen desktop processors launch later this year, they will support DDR4 and DDR5 memory. There is no indication that Intel's 14th or 15th generation processors will support DDR4, but these chips are expected to be released in late 2023 or later.
AMD's upcoming 7000-series processors, due to launch later in 2022, will only support DDR5 memory.
Price
DDR4 RAM has been around for a decade, so expect to pay two to three times its current cost if you want a DDR5 kit. For example, this DDR4-3600 CL18 G.Skill Trident 32GB Kit (2 x 16GB) costs $133, while this DDR5-6000 CL 36 G.Skill Trident 32GB Kit (2 x 16GB) costs $340, so more than two and a half the price for a DDR5 kit from the same product line.
DDR5-compatible motherboards are also more expensive than DDR4-only motherboards. For example, this Asus ROG Strix Z690 motherboard costs over $100 more than its Z590 counterpart. The early adoption tax is real, and even if you wait six months to a year, prices for both DDR5 kits and DDR5-compatible parts will almost certainly drop. On the other hand, DDR4 kits and compatible parts are also getting cheaper as DDR5 slowly becomes more mainstream, which makes it even more attractively priced.
Should I upgrade to DDR5?
Given how long DDR3 stayed relevant while DDR4 was mainstream, it will be at least two to three years before you need to upgrade to DDR5 from a compatibility and support perspective. Undoubtedly, DDR5 is an improvement over DDR4 when it comes to bandwidth and storage capacity, but its modest performance outperforms DDR4 for most non-professional tasks, and its high latencies spoil the deal. .
Add in the exorbitant price difference and there's little point in choosing a DDR5 kit for a PC unless you plan to use it for certain demanding tasks like massive file compression or photo and video editing. Even if you want to future-proof your PC as much as possible, it's best to let the technology development for a few years before committing to a DDR5 kit.
In the meantime, take advantage of the great DDR4 kits on the market today and don't let FOMO get you down.