DDR3 to DDR4 Upgrade Worthwhile?

_SBradley_

_SBradley_

_SBradley_

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Hi guys,

I've been out of the loop for quite a while (basically since I upgraded to the i7-860 and MSI P55-GD65 back in 2009). But I'm planning on upgrading next month, probably to the i7-6700 (or the K, depending what the release schedule looks like), and motherboard TBD.

I have 16 GiB Kingston DDR3 1600 MHz (9-9-9-24) in my PC at the moment. Question: Do you think there would be any major benefit in replacing this with DDR4, or should I carry this over to the new system? The main use case is for photographic post processing (no gaming).

Thanks,
Simon
 
Hey Simon,

It depends on which motherboard you're going with, and keep in mind that most DDR3 for Skylake motherboards is DDR3L which operates on a lower voltage than regular DDR3.

The high end Z170 only supports DDR4 it seems, and some of the lower end ones DDR3L.

Also, Z170 and Skylake K models will be released first (5 August), and the rest in the coming months, so look at your schedule as to when you want to upgrade.

Additionally, the K part comes with higher clocks out of the box.
 
Go X99 5820k then plus low end mb and 2400 ddr4. Your apps much faster on high core HT cpu offered by X99
 
Thanks for the replies. This article confirms that DDR3 is not likely to be supported by Z170. So I guess I'll be upgrading RAM as well. :)

I'll look into the X99 option, as well. Thanks!
 
_SBradley_ said:
Thanks for the replies. This article confirms that DDR3 is not likely to be supported by Z170. So I guess I'll be upgrading RAM as well. :)

I'll look into the X99 option, as well. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hear a board coming from bio star I believe that allows both DDR4 & DDR3L ( obviously not together mind ) low end/mid end segment

Mr 8pack is spot on though , x99 is the way forward
 
Simon Belmont said:
Asus said yesterday. Can't find the link atm, but Asus has said all ddr3 ram will work just fine on all Asus Z170 boards.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean ddr3 (not ddr3l) will work on all their ddr3 skylake boards as opposed to all of their boards across the range....
As that would be somewhat unlikely as ddr4 and ddr3 are mechanically incompatible before we even get into voltages, controllers etc. A motherboard may have either ddr4 slots ddr3 slots or maybe even a combination of the two but a ddr4 slot is not compatible with a ddr3 ram module and vice versa


Edit there was this...

http://www.techpowerup.com/mobile/2...between-ddr3-and-ddr4-for-the-mainstream.html

But I involves a new 'universal' socket to make the switch from ddr3 to ddr4 and would not be relevant if you did not buy the right motherboard and memory modules
 
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Skylake like RAMS speed and bandwidth why would anyone buy Skylake with rag tag RAM.

Just get DDR4 with i5 Skylake for low-mid gaming. Mid to high is i7 5820K X99 with DDR4.
 
8 Pack said:
Skylake like RAMS speed and bandwidth why would anyone buy Skylake with rag tag RAM.
Click to expand...

What would you say is the "sweet spot" for DDR4 with Skylake? I've seen 2800-3000MHz quoted by some. Or put another way - around what speed would stability possibly be compromised? Even a rough estimate would be helpful.

Also, with Skylake the memory controller has moved from CPU back to motherboard (or at least some of that has, as I understand it). Would you recommend slightly slower DDR4 for budget Skylake motherboards or are they all up for the task of running very fast DDR4?
 
8 Pack said:
Skylake like RAMS speed and bandwidth why would anyone buy Skylake with rag tag RAM.

Just get DDR4 with i5 Skylake for low-mid gaming. Mid to high is i7 5820K X99 with DDR4.
Click to expand...

Im just about to buy i7 skylake with ddr4 6700k cpu, thought that would be ok for mid to high gaming, would it not ? as all benches i have seen, 6700k beats the 5820k at gaming, or have i got my buy wrong, cheers
 
For gaming with 970 at 1080p for me Skylake was about 1 FPS faster in non threaded games. Threaded Games 5820K is faster and pretty much everything else threaded 5820K is faster.

Skylake 3000-3200 are working well and I agree yes this does seem the sweetspot for performance.
 
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