DDR4 has been on the market since 2014 and a lot has changed in terms of processing power since then. CPU core counts have increased on mainstream platforms, with Quad-core processors being surpassed by six-cores chips (on what would now be considered a mid-range builds), while many recommended configurations seeing anywhere between eight to 16 cores for hybrid gaming/content creation machines. At the same time, the high-end desktop/workstation market is seeing configurations with processors packing up to 64 cores.
What does this mean?
These high core counts mean that PC users are doing more things simultaneously with their PCs. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for someone to play a game at the highest settings on one display, run streaming software with multiple graphic overlays and effects on a separate display, all while interacting with their audience from a single machine.
These cores and threads need to be fed information as fast as possible, and DDR4 has kept up for the most part. But this train is about to make its last stop as we hit not just speed and density limits but overall bandwidth ceilings as the number of cores packed into a single system continues to increase. This is where DDR5 memory comes in, with its unprecedented speed and bandwidth to tackle anything the CPU cores can throw at it.
But is it worth the upgrade?
The short answer is yes. DDR5 is objectively a level above DDR4 on every technical specification, and DDR5 is undoubtedly going to be the memory standard moving forward for all PC platforms, there is just no way around it. It's faster, offers higher capacities, and will be the memory standard for years to come.
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