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  1. #1

    Should I upgrade to DDR5 now?

    I upgraded my rig ~4months ago with i7 11700k + DDR4 ram only to find out DDR5 has arrived..

    Should I upgrade my mobo, CPU and RAM now when I can still get some cash or will 2022 games work with DDR4? I'm afraid DDR4 will be obsolete in late 2022 and no one will gonna buy my old parts by then.

  2. #2
    No, you shouldnt. People are still using DDR3 today. You´ll be fine

  3. #3
    Please wait Temp name's Avatar
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    People are still buying DDR3 platforms nowadays, you'll be fine.

    There is currently appreciable difference between DDR4 and DDR5 atm

  4. #4
    Yeah I think you're right. I just checked and there arent even any DDR5 ram sticks in stock anywhere or it was very limited lol

  5. #5
    you most likely won't see any difference.

  6. #6
    Banned Lilithvia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Exkrementor View Post
    No, you shouldnt. People are still using DDR3 today. You´ll be fine
    this guy is right. I was using DDR2 until a couple years ago and it surprisingly worked well

  7. #7
    No there is no reason to upgrade to DDR5 right now and likely won't be a reason for a few years.

    Also the cost alone doesn't justify it.
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  8. #8
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    The main advantage in DDR5 is having a future upgrade path. DDR4 is end-of-life and the spec is maxxed out, which is also why it is cheap. So whatever latest ram you put in a new build with DDR4 will be the fastest it will ever have in it. DDR4 and the early DDR5 available now are comparable in speeds today. But the difference is that that the DDR5 spec goes all the way to PC8400, when the gap is likely to widen quite a bit. DDR5 is just ramping up while the door is closed on DDR4 getting any faster.

    So it's really comparing the future cost of a mb+ram with a DDR4 build to go to DDR5 later vs. the higher cost of DDR5 upfront but having the ability to directly upgrade to faster and likely cheaper DDR5 ram down the road. You have to be quick when it comes up but DDR5 is available. Not saying either option is right or wrong, there are good arguments for either build. But there are reasons to go with DDR5 despite the new tech cost premium and current similar performance numbers. That's always the debate with tech purchases, buy at the end-of-life when tech is "capped out" but at it's cheapest, or get in early and pay a premium but have an upgrade path as the tech matures.

  9. #9
    Warchief Crillam's Avatar
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    Just like when DDR4 came there was no advantage in games for a about 2 years, so I think you're fine. Aswell as bots are buying up everythig atm anyway

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Crillam View Post
    Just like when DDR4 came there was no advantage in games for a about 2 years, so I think you're fine. Aswell as bots are buying up everythig atm anyway
    Lol no, the advantage was instant and insane for the almost non-existant price change, going from DDR3 1600 to DDR4 3200 was a massive upgrade without counting the small % increase from the CPU. If you wanna talk prices, i bought my 16GB 3.200Mhz kit for 79e when the DDR3 1600,16GB kit was around 70e also.

    The difference is that the DDR4 instantly came out with higher frequencies despite its default 2400 with up to 3600 the first month, while DDR5 released with its default 4800 and a few 5200 kits overpriced as hell and there arent any higher frequencies kits anywere yet.

    But some overclock testings people did with DDR5 6000 has a 10% advantage over the DDR5 4800 in some games which already has a ~5% advantage over DDR4, so it matches the difference between DDR3-->To DDR4 change % wise, but the kits arent out and they dont cose 10$ more, they cost 250$ more for not even the good ones, which makes no fucking sense to buy them.

    If a DDR4 kit at 3200-3600 that costs 90$ gives you 200 FPS when paired with a 12900K and a DDR5 4800 kit gives you 210 FPS for 300$ what are you gonna buy?

    If things were similar with DDR3 to DDR4 we would have DDR5 6000 kits for 120$ which would be okay for the 230 FPS you would get averagely, cause that ~15-20% increase they would provide in -some game engines-.
    Last edited by potis; 2021-12-31 at 11:44 AM.

  11. #11
    Please wait Temp name's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by potis View Post
    Lol no, the advantage was instant and insane for the almost non-existant price change, going from DDR3 1600 to DDR4 3200 was a massive upgrade without counting the small % increase from the CPU. If you wanna talk prices, i bought my 16GB 3.200Mhz kit for 79e when the DDR3 1600,16GB kit was around 70e also.
    It was only a big step up in synthetic loads though.. In which we also see a good step up for DDR5 over DDR4 at the moment. In real-world loads it was basically a wash.
    Source: https://youtu.be/utWnjA4NzSA?t=305
    The stuff before then in the video is synthetic loads

  12. #12
    The Unstoppable Force Gaidax's Avatar
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    Currently the little, if at all, actual advantage is small and not worth the hassle.

    The poster who talked about long term had the correct idea. DDR4 is capped, DDR5 is going to get refined and at some point there will be actual tangible advantages, just not yet really.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Temp name View Post
    It was only a big step up in synthetic loads though.. In which we also see a good step up for DDR5 over DDR4 at the moment. In real-world loads it was basically a wash.
    Source: https://youtu.be/utWnjA4NzSA?t=305
    The stuff before then in the video is synthetic loads
    Then i remember the next step cause the 6000 series definitely had the advantage so it could be that 6 months after, yet the point i was trying to make is that hopefully the next batch of CPUs/MOBOs, will introduce the proper kits (6000 and up) and hopefully the actual increase that comes with that, the same thing that happened with 6000 series.

    I clearly remember the recommendation for 3.2Ghz started in 2015 because the jump from 2400-->3200 was literally 10% and in many cases for the same price, which only got stronger when proper Ryzen CPUs started using it also etc etc.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by potis View Post
    Lol no, the advantage was instant and insane for the almost non-existant price change, going from DDR3 1600 to DDR4 3200 was a massive upgrade without counting the small % increase from the CPU. If you wanna talk prices, i bought my 16GB 3.200Mhz kit for 79e when the DDR3 1600,16GB kit was around 70e also.

    The difference is that the DDR4 instantly came out with higher frequencies despite its default 2400 with up to 3600 the first month, while DDR5 released with its default 4800 and a few 5200 kits overpriced as hell and there arent any higher frequencies kits anywere yet.

    But some overclock testings people did with DDR5 6000 has a 10% advantage over the DDR5 4800 in some games which already has a ~5% advantage over DDR4, so it matches the difference between DDR3-->To DDR4 change % wise, but the kits arent out and they dont cose 10$ more, they cost 250$ more for not even the good ones, which makes no fucking sense to buy them.

    If a DDR4 kit at 3200-3600 that costs 90$ gives you 200 FPS when paired with a 12900K and a DDR5 4800 kit gives you 210 FPS for 300$ what are you gonna buy?

    If things were similar with DDR3 to DDR4 we would have DDR5 6000 kits for 120$ which would be okay for the 230 FPS you would get averagely, cause that ~15-20% increase they would provide in -some game engines-.
    I have to ask, I can't seem to recall DDR4 ram reaching speeds of 3200 around its launch around 2014.

    It got there for sure of course, but 2133, 2400 and 2666 were normal high end back then (yes 2133 was base).

    Assuming my memory is correct, the 2133 and 2400 speeds weren't a big step up and once really high speeds were released, they too were super expensive.

    Getting 3600mhz DDR4 RAM at reasonable price at 16/32 GB kits only happened recently.

  15. #15
    dunno but I'm not buying anything for a few years atleast.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Thoriangun View Post
    I have to ask, I can't seem to recall DDR4 ram reaching speeds of 3200 around its launch around 2014.

    It got there for sure of course, but 2133, 2400 and 2666 were normal high end back then (yes 2133 was base).

    Assuming my memory is correct, the 2133 and 2400 speeds weren't a big step up and once really high speeds were released, they too were super expensive.

    Getting 3600mhz DDR4 RAM at reasonable price at 16/32 GB kits only happened recently.
    My memory betrayed me is all, i remembered Q3 2015 when i did forced upgrade (dead mobo) and DDR4 had already reached 3200 which was ~10 months in or so after release but my comparison was mostly price wise in comparison, but the % increase in performance was definitely there with the 6000 series, otherwise i wouldnt have gone for it, and because i did have friends buying 2400 RAM, i tested it myself, average 12% gain in minimum FPS in WoW in between the 2 RAM kits.

    Right now the 32GB DDR5 6000 CL36 kit costs 460e, which is retarded is my point for the price gain, while back then in my country at least the difference between kits was 10$.

  17. #17
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    No. In tests it's showing to be slower than newer DDR4 simply because it's Gen 1 and manufacturers aren't able to unlock its full potential yet. Not to mention the severe price gouging.
    Save your money.

  18. #18
    I did the same with DDR3->4 transition, got a good priced DDR3 system and let the new standard mature.
    I went with Z490/DDR4 and I wont even look for upgrades till at least meteor lake (2023) hits the market with hopefully matured DDR5 and the first new chip manufacturing tech since a decade.

    Neither are the DDR5 memory controllers any good in the first generation (wait till ZEN4/5 to see how big of a shitshow AMD usually does in the first 2-3 years) nor are even DIMMs available that would be worth spending money for.
    -

  19. #19
    Unless you have lots of money and Want to burn to get few Fps extra for your personal satisfaction .

    Fastest GPU will give you maximum benefits though .

  20. #20
    Absolutely not - just like when DDR4 was introduced you will have to pay a big premium for faster RAM and as I understand it it's not even in stock anyway.

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