DDR5 VS DDR4 which is worth it?
Posted by Mister_Nebowski@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 28 comments
I want to know your opinion if it is a big difference for a gaming PC. I'm planning to build a new PC that will last at least 5 years, I want to have 120 fps in 2K. I'm asking because of the price, DDR4 is cheaper but is there any reason to invest into it? What's your expertise?
WizardMoose@reddit
Really depends on the prices you can get them for.
Have a Microcenter nearby and doing a new build? DDR5 for sure. The savings on their combo deals make up for the price difference, and then some.
Aside from finding a good deal elsewhere, I'd recommend a solid AM4 build with DDR4. Issue is finding x3d AM4 CPU's.
AngeloPappas@reddit
If you're building brand new today go with DDR5.
craftsman_70@reddit
But that begs the question if the OP can wait a year. DRAM prices always spike when the current tech gets popular and crashes when more production comes online.
AngeloPappas@reddit
I'm not saying they should wait a year. The best answer to the "when should I build my new pc?" is when you have the money and are ready. If you keep putting it off "until prices stabilize, or until the next gen drops" you will never build it.
craftsman_70@reddit
With PC builds and most technologies, the most popular and misplaced idea is to "future proof" the purchase by buying the latest stuff at the peak of the market when the prices are the highest.
The best future proof is having the money in your pocket to do what you want when you want. Buying at the peak guarantees that will never happen as you paid the top price for a small performance increase
space_nei@reddit
OP should wait for DDR6
AngeloPappas@reddit
I'm thinking DDR7 just to be safe.
Calm-Bid-8256@reddit
You are really optimistic if you think RAM prices will be back to normal in 1 year.
craftsman_70@reddit
No one knows....
Just before every memory price crash, every one says that this time is different and predicted higher prices and greater demand.
Is this time any different? Maybe...maybe not.
Normal-Item-402@reddit
I went from ddr3 to ddr5 and that was a near revelation in itself 😂.
noladixiebeer@reddit
From a benchmark standpoint, DDR5 is much faster. But in gaming, how much is the difference in 1440p and 4k? Isn't the bottleneck mostly at GPU?
number8888@reddit
It’s entirely dependent on the CPU and motherboard. It’s not really a choice which ram you can use.
If building new you should get something that requires DDR5 like the AM5 CPUs.
VoraciousGorak@reddit
Price. That's it. DDR5-based platforms are just plain faster, due to faster RAM (obviously) and usually newer tech. LGA1700 is the only platform that can use both DDR4 and DDR5, but is significantly quicker on DDR5 in a lot of situations.
S4luk4s@reddit
It's not about ddr4 or ddr5 performance when someone asks which he should go for. It's about the cpus that can be run alongside the ram. Building a whole new pc with ddr4 should only be done if there is absolutely no way you can afford a single 16gb stick ddr5 and a cheap am5 cpu like the 7500f. If you can afford this, you should do it and upgrade with another stick / better cpu in the future, instead of investing the money in a dead platform that already starts to show its age in many cpu heavy games.
Hypoglybetic@reddit
Note that you'd have to swap motherboards. Â I'm sure there is a motherboard with both ddr4 and 5 ots, but I also assume it has a lot of compromises. Â Upgrading your MB and RAM is costly. Might be worth just getting a standard ddr4 system and upgrading the entire thing in the future. Â For me, I built on 1700 because of ECC support for my home server. Â I hope to upgrade the RAM when prices come down in the "future".Â
Mr_Joanito@reddit
This, i had 32gb DDR4, so i just replaced my GPU and CPU (kinda the limit of my motherboard), so i can keep all the rest.
Next PC, in like 4-5 years, will be a big change.
throwawayyy42069x@reddit
If I were building a pc today, I'd still go with ddr4 if I had less than 2k€ to spend. Much better performace/€ on ddr4 rn (at least where I'm at)
Formal-Lunch6559@reddit
Just use DDR four and go with a good aim for base system get DDR for a 9060 XT 16 GB of the 9070 xt and a 5800xt or 5800 x3d if u can find it I have the both gpus will give good 1440p performance the 9070 will obviously deliver the higher performance if u can find the xt or even the latter cpu it will give great 1440 p play n performance n even fairly decent 4k frame rates also I have seen people under the 9070 and get either on Paul with 5080 performance just right below it within like 1 to 2% or even sometimes a little bit above the 5080 this also depends on what your budget is if you happen to be able to do a budget of 1500 or somewhere around it I have no doubt that you can get a very good quality PC for the price with the particular component I listened above and also get a decent B550 motherboard I would say the aces strict because it’s like $110 if you have to live near Micro Center. If not, it’s still a very decent motherboard.
Formal-Lunch6559@reddit
Technically, you could even get a build with these three main parts I mentioned for even less if you are actually willing to look do research for a few weeks and do some deal hunting. You could probably get this same bill for like shoot maybe even 1300 so I’ve seen people somehow get entire bills with specs better than this for like 1000 bucks just because somebody didn’t want it or they didn’t actually look at their computer and they did some deal hunting g If you don’t want to do the deal hunting then that’s perfectly fine I understand, especially since the deal hunting may or may not involve used parts but a computer with a 5800 XT or 5800 X 3-D a 9070 or 9070 XT or 9060 XT because the cheapest 9070 XT I’ve seen recently is about 700 or 600 or even some Best Buy’s have 5070 TI for for 700 you can definitely do 1500 or less for a good quality gaming PC
Formal-Lunch6559@reddit
Also, the reason I mentioned those particular CPU’s is because they can hang with the modern graphics cars with absolutely no issue. I paired a 5800xt with a 5080 started testing games turned on resident evil two remake max settings Ray tracing everything maxed out it ran flawlessly perfect
Formal-Lunch6559@reddit
But like I said if you do under vote, you’re 9070 or your 9060 XT for the ladder card you can get close to 5080 performance with the 9070 XT or sometimes even right at that level and if you vote your 9060 XT you can’t get about 5070 TI performance as possible I haven’t tested that car or seen anybody test that card with under voting 9060 XT but I do know you can get close to 5080 performance with the 9070 XT if you under vote it plus it is half the price of the 5080 at least the version I have I have the Astro with a 5800 XT and that one’s games beautifully so even yes still again PCI 1500 that can run 1440 P is possible
Withinmyrange@reddit
It’s not about the ram. Literally does not matter
The main choice is the cpu socket, which for most people is am5 vs am4. Am4 has great longevity but there’s no new gen coming for it, latest gen was Ryzen 5000. Am5 has two gens on it atm, which have the faster CPU’s, with one more gen upcoming.
Getting 120hz in 2k is dependant on your cpu and gpu, not sure why you are framing it in a ddr4 vs ddr5 way. Think you are confused on what each part of a pc does
Ornery_Platypus9863@reddit
DDR4 is perfectly serviceable, but slower.
AdAmbitious1065@reddit
120 fps in 1440p? Go DDR5.
Lord_Goose@reddit
This is actually a really easy question.
So vast majority/all motherboards can only support one generation of ram (e.g. ddr5 or ddr4) which means to get a motherboard with ddr4 you will have to go a generation back.
But it does not stop there. Going a generation back means you face a hard cutoff for processors past a certain age. You could try to get the fastest processor that a ddr4 motherboard could support....but, those processors generally are discontinued, there is a good amount of demand for them, so you end up paying about the same amount for an older processor that a newer/faster one would cost.
You said 5 years, 2k, 120 fps. Going this ddr4 route in hopes to save a few bucks is not worth it Not to mention ddr5 is significantly faster.
loinclothsucculent@reddit
Sure the RAM is cheaper, and the only CPUs you should be looking to run are X3D chips, preferably 5700X3D/5800X3D. Without knowing the rest of your build, who knows.
n7_trekkie@reddit
https://www.techspot.com/review/3059-ddr5-vs-ddr4-gaming/
aragorn18@reddit
It's not about the RAM, it's about the CPU that goes along with it. The fastest CPUs that support DDR4 are the Intel 14th generation. Those are already two generations behind the current chips. AMD's AM5 CPUs (especially the X3D chips) are the kings of gaming and they only support DDR5.