DDR5 vs DDR4: What are the differences? New Improvements

With the latest adaptation progress of big computer part manufacturers to DDR5 RAMs, there are more attention to the brand new Ram technology. However, many users still stay in between DDR5 vs DDR4.  An essential complement to the processor, the RAM is a component on which we dwell less. It’s a shame because choosing your RAM correctly is essential to get maximum performance from the rest of your machine, especially for gaming.

It is also an area where marketing reigns supreme, between names that are not always clear depending on the brand, cardboard titanium heatsinks and other RGB lighting to make a tuning fan green with envy. Corsair, G.Skill and Crucial are the three brands that reign supreme in the RAM bar market.

We are going to explain to you here how to choose the right RAM modules, whether you have an Intel or AMD processor. Please note that the prices of the products we recommend here are subject to very frequent variations. We advise you to monitor the price of the RAM you are interested in for a while before starting.

Moreover, if the product of the brand you covet is no longer available, you can replace it with its equivalent from a competitor without any problem, if the general specifications (speed and timings) are identical.

DDR5: FAST, BUT EXPENSIVE

Officially launched in 2020, DDR5 only hit shelves in late 2021 to accompany the release of the twelfth generation of Intel processors, Alder Lake.

It was so far only compatible with this platform, but good news, AMD has finally accepted it for its Zen 4 architecture which arrives with its new Ryzen 7000 series processors. These new CPUs should also only be compatible with DDR5.

Be careful, they are also switching to socket AM5 which will require changing the motherboard.

Regarding DDR5, among the main changes compared to DDR4, there is a doubled bandwidth, but also a maximum capacity revised upwards.

It is thus possible to use chips with a maximum of 64 GB compared to 16 for DDR4. On paper, this translates to a theoretical capacity of 2 TB per strip. In practice, however, we should be entitled to modules with a maximum of 128 GB.

If the operating voltage hardly changes, going from 1.2 to 1.1 V, DDR5 is however experiencing a major evolution since the voltage regulation is now done on the modules and no longer on the motherboard.

In theory, DDR5 is therefore superior in all respects to its ancestor, but in practice things are a little different. Indeed, DDR4 is much more mature in its production process, which results in much higher frequencies, but also lower prices.

In practice, the difference in performance between an Alder Lake platform in DD4 and DDR5 is currently small, of the order of less than 5% in the vast majority of cases.

Add to that a price multiplied by two for equal capacity and DDR5 does not have much interest for the moment.

A situation that is not new, we experienced a similar scenario when switching from DDR3 to DDR4.

The evolution should be similar, namely a DDR5 which will become more and more attractive as the prices go down and the frequencies become higher.

We note that the prices have been falling for several months, our Corsair reference kit having gone from 345 to 210 euros between February and October. The prices are clearly becoming much more advantageous and make it possible to envisage a migration.

If you want to invest in DDR5, don’t go with the back of the spoon and go with a minimum 32 GB kit, with a frequency of at least 4800 MHz, if not 5200 MHz. Speaking of 5200MHz Rams, We have also listed the best DDR5 5200Mhz Rams.

DDR4 vs DDR5?

DDR5 is definitely the future of RAM on our PCs. That’s a fact. It brings in particular the integration of ECC technology, hitherto reserved for server memories, to add stability to the power gain of the new technology.

But here it is: we are here at the bleeding edge. And the current market production difficulties mean that DDR5 RAM is incredibly expensive and produced in small quantities. Only those with an unlimited budget should really care about these for now.

As for DDR4, it is a technology now mastered from start to finish and mass produced. You can find excellent bars at unbeatable prices and with very high performance for really little nowadays.

What also add a little for the swag and the RGB. Also, the reason is that it is still better to favor DDR4 nowadays. But if you want to go to the other side… Of course, DDR5 is what you need.

WHAT IS THE CAS OF A RAM MEMORY?

CAS can be thought of as the general latency of your RAM memory. It describes the number of cycles required for it to respond to an instruction. Also, the lower this number, the faster the memory.