DDR4 or DDR5 Mobo's?

[darrenkarp]

Hi All,

Thinking of buying an MSI Z790 mobo but unsure whether to go for a DDR4 or DDR5 version. Would my DDR4 memory be compatible in a DDR5 mobo?

Cheers
Daz

 

[pastymuncher]

If building a new pc then DDR5 all the way and AMD would be my choice for the ability to drop a new cpu in the board a couple of years down the line. DDR4 will not work in a DDR5 motherboard.

 

[darrenkarp]

Thanks. Is DDR5 that much better than my DDR4?

 

[Tetras]

Thanks. Is DDR5 that much better than my DDR4?

What's your budget and usage of the PC, including resolution/refresh if gaming?

 

[darrenkarp]

budget for new mobo and cpu would be £600. Gaming (Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous). GPU is RTX 2070 with no plans of changing. Hope that helps. Resolution of 1920 x 1200. Not 4K.

 

[Tetras]

budget for new mobo and cpu would be £600

Excluding cooler and memory? The reason I asked is that it's kind of important to the decision to know the whole budget and what you can fit in it.

 

[darrenkarp]

I already have a Corsair Hydro water cooler and memory. It's 32GB (CMK32GX4M2D3200C16).

 

[Tetras]

I already have a Corsair Hydro water cooler and memory. It's 32GB (CMK32GX4M2D3200C16).

Oh, an easy decision then (if you're going Z790)

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-13700KF (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6B7-IN) = £374.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WIFI D4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6JN-AS) = £229.99

Total: £612.97 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

Otherwise, I'd have suggested:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BD-IN) = £359.98
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 DS3H DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BX-GI) = £144.98
• 1 x Lexar Hades 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (SKU: MY-018-LE) = £80.00

Total: £592.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

With this cooler.

FYI: it makes more of a difference at 1080p than 4K, but with decent DDR4 the difference is generally pretty small, so unless you're a competitive gamer I wouldn't worry.

 

[darrenkarp]

Thanks mate. I'll not be buying Asus again due to their absolutely crap customer service so will go with MSI.

 

[Tetras]

Thanks mate. I'll not be buying Asus again due to their absolutely crap customer service so will go with MSI.

I don't think OCUK stock MSI's Z790-P, so it wasn't possible to get in budget with the Z790-A, that's the reason why I chose it

 

[darrenkarp]

ah. understood.