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Many gamers will be familiar with random access memory, or RAM, but what exactly is DDRAM? Simply put, DDRAM, sometimes termed DDR-SDRAM, stands for Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM.
Essentially, this means the interface uses double pumping to increase the transfer rate. It does so by transferring data on both the falling and rising edges of the clock signal. At certain frequencies, this achieves almost twice the bandwidth compared to SDR SDRAM (which stands for the same thing, minus the Double Data).
The synchronous part refers to the fact the operation of the interface is coordinated, or synchronized, with the external clock signal. These days, we’re on the fifth version of DDR-SDRAM, known as DDR5.
DDR5: Overview
As you can probably guess, DDR5 was preceded by DDR through DDR4. Generally, these newer versions have brought improvements in the transfer speed, power consumption, error checking, and memory capacity.
In this vein, DDR5 has around 4x the memory capacity of DDR4, further increases in bandwidth as well as upgraded error checking, which is now controlled by the RAM module instead of the CPU. Offloading this task should bring increases in processing power.
Gamers will naturally wonder whether upgrading to DDR5 is worth it, especially since compatibility is a big issue. DDR4 modules aren’t compatible with a DDR5 motherboard and DDR5 memory modules aren’t compatible with a DDR4 motherboard, so depending on the user’s situation, upgrading to DDR5 may require a complete overhaul of the system.
With that said, we’re going to take a deeper look at the differences between DDR5 and older versions of RAM, and whether there’s a case to be made for upgrading when it comes to gaming.
DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5: Side-by-Side Comparison
| DDR3 | DDR4 | DDR5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date released | 2007 | 2014 | 2021 |
| Voltage | 1.5V | 1.2V | 1.1V |
| Clock frequency | 800 – 1600 MHz | 1600 – 3200 MHz | 3200 – 8400 MHz |
| Chip capacity | 8GB SDP, up to 16GB per DIMM | 16GB SDP, up to 64GB per DIMM | 64GB SDP, up to 256GB per DIMM |
| Power management | Motherboard | Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) | PMIC |
| Peak transfer rate | 14,928 MB/s | 25,600 MB/s | 56,000 MB/s |
New Structure and Circuit Means Vastly Increased Bandwidth
We can see from the comparison table that there are numerous benefits with DDR5 compared to older versions. While the base theoretical bandwidth for DDR5 is the same as the peak bandwidth for DDR4, the peak bandwidth of DDR5 shows a massive improvement of around 162%.
- Welcome to the Cutting-Edge of Performance: Push the limits of your system like never before with DDR5 memory, unlocking even faster frequencies, greater capacities, and better performance than...
- Do it All, and Do it Faster: As modern CPUs feature more and more cores, the unprecedented speed of DDR5 ensures your high-end CPU gets data quickly, enabling faster processing, rendering, and...
- Onboard Voltage Regulation: Makes for easier, more finely-tuned, and more stable overclocking through CORSAIR iCUE software than previous generation motherboard control.
- Custom Intel XMP 3.0 Profiles: Customize and save your own XMP profiles via iCUE to tailor performance by app or task for greater efficiency.
- Powerful CORSAIR iCUE Software: Enables real-time frequency readings, onboard voltage regulation, and custom XMP profiles.
The DFE (Decision Feedback Equalization) circuit of DDR5 is largely responsible for the increase in bandwidth per pin, but changes to the structure are a significant factor as well. DDR5 has a 32-bank structure over 8 bank groups, as opposed to DDR4’s 16-bank structure over 4 bank groups.
In addition to this, DDR5 enables each memory bank to refresh independently, whereas DDR4 requires all banks to refresh simultaneously, which means the CPU is delayed for a split second. While this may seem like a negligible difference, as workloads, the number of CPU cores, and memory capacities increase, the difference becomes more and more significant.
Superior Power Management Brings Many Benefits
As well as the obvious bonus of extended battery life in portable computers, the reduction in memory voltage to 1.1V is also great news for professional workflows and enterprise servers that pretty much run 24/7. DDR5 doesn’t stop there, though, when it comes to power management.
The voltage is actually managed through the Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) rather than from the motherboard. Also, cooling is controlled through a temperature sensor, meaning increased performance.
This means the cost of motherboards will likely decrease, but the price of RAM modules will increase. This could be a benefit or a drawback, depending on which components you’re looking to upgrade.
Changes to Chip Capacity and Speed
It’s fairly obvious that DDR5 brings much higher RAM capacity and efficiency since its die density is up to 4x that of DDR4, which can make a substantial difference to performance with certain applications. As well as the increased capacity, DDR5 also brings improvements in efficiency. This is due to a two-channel DIMM architecture and having double the burst length of DDR4 (up from 8 to 16).
DDR Through the Generations
Developed by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), the first prototype for DDR RAM was released in 1997 by Samsung, with the first commercial 64GB DDR-SDRAM chip being released a year later. JEDEC completed specifications for DDR1, or DDR RAM as it was known then, in June 2000. In August of the same year, the first PC motherboard using DDR-SDRAM was released.
- 4GB DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400 PC2-6400 DDR2 800 (200 PIN) SODIMM notebook memory
- 100% Laptop - need to each socket can handle 4GB SODIMM modules.
- New 4GB PC2-6400 PC2-6400 DDR2 800 Mhz. channel is supported.
- with laptops support DDR2 200PIN 4GB memory in each slot
- The actual project manufacturer or batch number may be different
Three years after the arrival of DDR RAM, we would see DDR2 become available, which could effectively double the bus speed of DDR1 by transferring four words of data per memory cell cycle. This increased the rate of data transfer without actually speeding up the memory cells.
In 2007, DDR3 was released and brought further improvements to bus speed and performance. Data transfer was increased to 8x the speed of the memory cells, while power consumption was reduced by a huge 40%, meaning the same performance could be reached with a lower power draw and lower heat production.
- Hand-sorted memory chips ensure high performance with generous overclocking headroom
- SPD Speed-2,133 MHz
- Vengeance LPX is optimized for wide compatibility with the latest Intel and AMD DDR4 motherboards
- A low-profile height of just 34mm ensures that vengeance LPX even fits in most small-form-factor builds
- A high-performance PCB guarantees strong signal quality and stability for superior Overclocking ability
- A solid aluminum heat spreader efficiently dissipates heat from each module so that they consistently run at high clock speeds
DDR4 was publicly released in 2014, again bringing a reduction in power consumption that led to a 20% improvement in efficiency. DDR4 also has no theoretical limit on memory size, so it’s a popular choice for laptops, PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
It’s also worth noting that, while DDR3 was backward compatible with the older RAM generations, DDR4 stopped this trend, being incompatible with both DDR3 and DDR5 motherboards.
- Intel Core i9-12900K
- 12th Gen Alder Lake
- 16-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1700
DDR5 hit the market in 2021, with the first CPUs supporting DDR5 being Intel’s 12th-Gen ‘Alder Lake’ Core processors. As well as reducing power consumption, DDR5 has a doubled transfer rate. So, along with the previously mentioned changes to the die density and architecture, vast improvements are seen over DDR4.
Does DDR5 Make a Difference for Gaming? What’s the Best Choice?
It’d be very tempting to say you should always go with the most expensive components available. But, in reality, we all have individual needs and budgets. With that in mind, it helps to assess the real-world differences we see with DDR5 when it comes to gaming.
While better power management, capacity, efficiency, and data transfer speeds all sound like spectacular upgrades, most consider the standard RAM size required for gaming these days to be 16GB. DDR5 does have the potential for 4x the memory of DDR4 with its 64GB per chip, and potentially 8 of these could be stacked for a total of 512GB RAM.
Obviously, this is massively higher than what you really need. An upgrade from 16GB to 32GB may make a difference in performance for some games, but this can also be achieved relatively easily by combining 4 chips of DDR4 instead of shelling out your hard-earned cash for a DDR5 module.
RAM sizes above this tend to make a negligible difference for gaming and are only really desirable if you’re into high-spec video editing and virtual simulation software. If we’re considering 4K resolution, as many gamers are nowadays, the case for not upgrading to DDR5 becomes even stronger.
This is because, above 1080p resolution, gaming performance tends to be limited by the GPU and not by the CPU. Therefore, noticeable differences in performance are rarely seen at this resolution.
In the future, as CPU, GPU, and motherboard technology advances, the potential of DDR5 may truly be seen, as the bottlenecks on performance shift back towards the CPU. But until then, you’re likely better off upgrading your motherboard, GPU or simply increasing the amount of RAM with some more DDR4 sticks, especially if your RAM’s sitting below 32GB.
