DDR4 to DDR5 Advice

[toyyo]

I have a question I currently have a 14600k on a B660 Tomahawk paired with 3600 cl14 DDR4 ram with a 4070. I was wondering if it would be worth it to go for a z790 mobo with ddr5 7200 cl34 ram for about $300 dollars. I am seeing that TechSpot and Hardware Unboxed are showing up to 30% increases in fps and big increases in 0% lows, but these tests are all done with 4090s. I was just wonder if it would be worth the upgrade.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Will be worth it because you'll be able to under-volt and or overclock as well as the performance boost from memory bandwidth.

 

[GerKNG]

sure but you should do extensive stability testing with anything beyond 7000.

 

[unwind-protect]

Probably not much difference in real-world numbers. Also depends on what resolution you play at.

 

[toyyo]

I am at 1440p I mostly just going by the tests done by techspot and hardware unboxed showing 10-15% boosts in FPS I am assuming since those tests were done at 1080p those boost drop to 5-10% at 1440p

 

[arbiter]

also would be tested with highest end cpu. You would probably see some fps increase in some games but not all games are memory bandwidth dependent. More likely see it in production apps instead of games any increase but unless you need it for work where time is $ i wouldn't bother spending it at this point.

 

[Thimblewad]

It totally depends on what you're doing with your PC. Gaming wise, the performance difference seems to be in the single digits (mostly around 5%). Doesn't seem worth it at all.
Also, since you're playing at 1440p with a 4070, you're probably GPU limited most of the time anyways.

 

[toyyo]

It totally depends on what you're doing with your PC. Gaming wise, the performance difference seems to be in the single digits (mostly around 5%). Doesn't seem worth it at all.
Also, since you're playing at 1440p with a 4070, you're probably GPU limited most of the time anyways.

Thank you, that's what I've figured better to just stay with what I have and do a full rebuild in a few years.

 

[_roman_]

I would not waste money on an outdated platform. Especially with those maybe solved issues. People will claim the issue is fixed. Intel did not gave a good response in a small time frame like business in less tan 7 calender days. Intel does not swap processors for a working one for a time period of 30 years. If you are unhappy you should sell that platform and buy something else, that includes mainboard, processor and dram.

 

[Princess Garnet]

Generally, my mindset is if I'm exchanging two of the three platform parts at the same time, it usually doesn't make sense and you may as well just change the third and make it a whole platform change.

That being said, there are exceptions to that, such as if the platform is newer/performant enough already (most recent or second most recent) and if the cost is low. Both seem to be the case here.

Keep in mind that while DDR5 can help the 12th generation+ CPUs perform better, the big advantage of DDR5 over DDR4 is probably the extra bandwidth, and that's not usually as important to games as low latency is. You'll see some difference in some games, but this advantage will more be in general applications that are bandwidth limited. So if you're merely after better game performance, then skipping the idea entirely might be abetter way to allocate that $300.

 

[nomdeplume]

I have a question I currently have a 14600k on a B660 Tomahawk paired with 3600 cl14 DDR4 ram with a 4070. I was wondering if it would be worth it to go for a z790 mobo with ddr5 7200 cl34 ram for about $300 dollars.

Short answer, No.

MSRP double that $300 just on a mobo is about where it might begin to be worth upgrading beyond a functioning board. Z790 mobo were especially stripped of performance/price equation. Save your money and put off the next build until your B660 is truly falling behind. Or at stupid pricing for a GPU.

DDR5 is still slow and dull. Let the masters of finance and marketing spin their wheels with zero concern how exciting the smoke and loud noises are trying to be.
Same with the other "5" standards with zero reasons to be on a board in physical existence or anywhere inside planned upcoming releases.

 

[ir_cow]

DDR5 is still slow and dull. Let the masters of finance and marketing spin their wheels with zero concern how exciting the smoke and loud noises are trying to be.
Same with the other "5" standards with zero reasons to be on a board in physical existence or anywhere inside planned upcoming releases.

This is incorrect.

However, you will need a powerful GPU benefit from DDR5.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I have a question I currently have a 14600k on a B660 Tomahawk paired with 3600 cl14 DDR4 ram with a 4070. I was wondering if it would be worth it to go for a z790 mobo with ddr5 7200 cl34 ram for about $300 dollars. I am seeing that TechSpot and Hardware Unboxed are showing up to 30% increases in fps and big increases in 0% lows, but these tests are all done with 4090s. I was just wonder if it would be worth the upgrade.

No. The performance differences would not be worth the $300 you mentioned. The benchmarks you mention do not tell the whole story. For your setup, you'd be better off going with a CPU upgrade to even out the lows.

Side note, Techspot and HWU are close partners and the info found at either one is the same data.

 

[nomdeplume]

This is incorrect.

However, you will need a powerful GPU benefit from DDR5.

For our purposes a low end Z790 should not be stated as having good memory OC. Meaning both chipset and board will hold it back from what is still climbing towards fast.

Will grant that entire post was playing fast and loose hopefully without offending OP. A search here will prove how many tried and were felled attempting bigger numbers instead of better latency from attainable speeds.

 

[lexluthermiester]

For our purposes a low end Z790 should not be stated as having good memory OC. Meaning both chipset and board will hold it back from what is still climbing towards fast.

Will grant that entire post was playing fast and loose hopefully without offending OP. A search here will prove how many tried and were felled attempting bigger numbers instead of better latency from attainable speeds.

What IRCow is trying to get at(correct me if I'm wrong) is that the differences in RAM performance in the case of the OP can not be realized unless using a top end GPU with a matching top end CPU. The OP's DDR4 3600 CL14 is very speedy and arguably on par with DDR5 7200 at CL36. Sure, the DDR5 is twice as fast, but it's also more than double the timings. The OP's 14600k and 4070 are the limitations for getting the most out a DDR5 upgrade.

The best idea the OP could have is to save up for a whole platform upgrade. In a year or so. The only upgrade they could do right know that makes any sense is a CPU upgrade to a 14700k for the extra speed/cores which would even out some of those 1% lows. GPU prices right now are redonkulas and make no sense at all.

 

[ir_cow]

@lexluthermiester kinda what I meant.

DDR5 latency is often higher vs DDR4 of equal class of its own.

But DDR4 lags behind in the 1% lows in many games. But not as much in the avg frame rate.

However to utilize DDR5 effectively, you need a powerful GPU...and play at a lower resolution. Otherwise the different is negligible for the avg. Still can impact the 1% lows though. Really good DDR4 is beaten by JEDEC DDR5-4800 at 43FPS . Mind you that is dual-rank 3600 MT/s CL14. Can't really get much better for a retail kit that isn't $250+

 

[nomdeplume]

I should've just dropped a like or moved on instead of commenting back. Probably for the best this all came out in the clear for OP to decide upon.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I should've just dropped a like or moved on instead of commenting back. Probably for the best this all came out in the clear for OP to decide upon.

I'm sorry. Wasn't trying to oppose you specifically. Only to clarify the practical application of the upgrade suggested by the OP. For their situation, it just doesn't make sense.