Sure DDR5 Is Great, But Do You Need To Pay The Toll?
One nice thing about the current generation of Intel motherboards is the ability to choose between DDR4 and DDR5 when you are purchasing one. All Raptor Lake processors are happy with either memory technology, just make sure you know which memory standard your new motherboard supports. This is a great way to save some money on a new build without sacrificing much performance; indeed in most cases you won’t notice any difference.
The MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk is one such DDR4 motherboard, costing around $300 but letting you save money by grabbing some low latency DDR4 DIMMs. It sports an amazing backplate with DisplayPort, HDMI, four Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, two Type-C of which one is USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps and even a Clear CMOS button, just to name a few.
The Guru of 3D tested the MAG Z790 Tomahawk with DDR4-3600 against a DDR5-6000 system, both using the Core i9-13900K. The gaming results show that even at higher resolutions there is barely any difference in the performance results. The DDR5 system is a hair faster, but that difference pales in comparison to the difference in price for memory.
