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Intel 13th Gen is only mere days away from release, yet with that hype comes a bundle of still-unanswered questions. One of these concerns is compatibility, specifically in regards to if Intel 13th Gen is DDR4 compliant. According to Intel’s release statement: yes, 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs will support DDR4 up to 3200.
The fact that Intel has decided to keep supporting DDR4 is proof enough of how the chipmaker is approaching modern PC building. Intel is intending both directly (with price reductions) and indirectly (with old tech support) to reduce the leap in price points now underpinning computer technology over the last several years.
Having a system that only supports DDR5 means a greater cost of entry. The user will have to buy a new motherboard and change most of the rig’s components. Although DDR5 will eventually overcome DDR4, it’s still a bit too early to ban the tech from the market.
Is DDR4 still good in 2022?
RAM technology isn’t accustomed to major upgrades. It tends to be gradual architectural improvements that leave room for future upgrades. That’s one of the main reasons why DDR4 has been around since 2014 and will continue to be around for quite some time.
According to PowerGPU’s Twitter account “On avg DDR5 is still 4% faster and in some cases up to 23% faster,” but the truth is that DDR tech on the whole still has a lot of room to improve. For now, DDR4 is still adequate for most PC-based tasks, including gaming, 3D rendering, and any other assorted high-end workload. This will, however, end soon. If you’re looking to future-proof your PC, you should upgrade to DDR5.
Will DDR4 become obsolete?
DDR5 outperforms current DDR4 technology, there’s no doubt about that. Thus, DDR4 is already technically obsolete. However, there is still a great deal of time left before DDR4 disappears entirely.
At this point, it seems to be a battle of will. Intel has decided to continue supporting DDR4 with its new 13th Gen processors, while AMD has ditched it with the Ryzen 7000 series. So DDR4’s survival will depend upon which brand outperforms and wins the current CPU battle. If AMD gets its way, DDR4 will meet its end sooner rather than later, which isn’t really a bad thing, since it will board the greatest speed, efficiency, and performance jump in years, despite the major entry costs for newer rigs.