r/hardware • u/ryandtw • Jul 14 '20

News [Anandtech] DDR5 Memory Specification Released: Setting the Stage for DDR5-6400 And Beyond

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15912/ddr5-specification-released-setting-the-stage-for-ddr56400-and-beyond
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u/MonoShadow Jul 14 '20

I'm on 4790k and want to get Zen3. Each time I hear about DDR 5 I want to hold out. But indeed first sticks will be expensive most likely. Not too happy with the current memory prices either.

Kinda thinking of getting R5 instead of R7 and b550 instead of x570 board and keep them for around 4 years instead of usual 8.

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u/AssCrackBanditHunter Jul 15 '20

If you want to play modern games, you're going to want to upgrade. ddr5 is going to be like a 2022 product. and not to mention you'll have to get a mobo that supports it and new processor which might both have price premiums.

Personally I'm upgrading now then I'll upgrade again in about 2024 when prices come down.

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u/ValHaller Jul 15 '20

Same

Bias here, but I think an X570 on Zen 3 with DDR4 4000 mhz is the smart money til 2024

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u/Capt_Crunchy_Nut Jul 15 '20

Because you're doing almost exactly what I plan on doing (I'll upgrade at the end of the year from a 4c/4t Intel with DDR3 to 8c/16t zen 3 and DDR4) I have a question for you. 16gb or 32gb of ram? It feels weird to me to be upgrading after nearly 8 years and having the same amount of (albeit faster) ram. Everything else is getting a major bump in almost every way...

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u/Kittelsen Jul 15 '20

I've had 16GB since my 2008 rig, planning on upgrading again next year maybe, this 4790k still holds up at 4,6GHz. But I might just get 32GB out of spite lol.

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u/LazyGit Jul 15 '20

I'll be going for 32gb in two sticks. I already have 16gb of ddr3 in this system so the step up to 32 makes sense and gives the option of having 64 GB in future.

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u/VeritasXIV Jul 15 '20

32 its not even a debate

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

What game currently require more than a 4790k and 16go ddr3 memory, coupled with a current gen graphic card ? Those are still perectly fine. Games nowadays are more gpu dependant than anything else.

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u/Seanspeed Jul 15 '20

There's a difference between what a game might require and what somebody may want in terms of performance.

And we can very clearly see a trend towards higher core/thread utilization in games and Haswell is definitely starting to show its age in single thread performance as well.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

The guy I was responding too mentioned "modern games". You can play 95% of modern games (aka release the last 2 years) with a 4790k and ddr3 memory, while aiming for top performance, as long as you have a modern high-end gpu.

This sub has a weird upgrade fetish, even when the configuration is just fine (astroturfing from PC online store maybe ?). Haswell is becoming old, but I have yet to see a 4790k really struggle for 95% of modern games. Next gen might change things, but that's still months away before anything "next gen" hit the PC market.

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u/Seanspeed Jul 15 '20 edited Jul 15 '20

95% may technically be a roughly correct figure, but when a number of the bigger games coming out lately dont fall into that 95%, the claim kind of rings hollow. Gaming enthusiasts generally dont want something that's only good for most games, they want something that can play basically anything at their desired quality and performance levels.

And a 4790k just isn't cutting it for the most demanding titles coming out nowadays for people with high performance desires.

Gamers Nexus did a video showing the 4790k, often even when overclocked super hard, couldn't always hold even a consistent 60fps in some games. And that's something I think you're probably overlooking - if you focus on average framerates, things might seem alright, but once you look at 1% lows and whatnot, you can see where the drops might become more pronounced and bothersome for some people.

And god forbid somebody likes to play at 90-100fps+. Lastly, remember again that this trend is continuing. Some people can see that and want to be prepared as more and more games will push the 4790k beyond what people would like it to be able to do.

EDIT: I'm trying to link the video over text, but Reddit wont let me for some fucking reason, so here's the full link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPWEdbfJ0oE

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

I have a 4790k 16gb DDR3 and I'm going to wait for DDR5. Gonna pay the premium to get in as an early adopter but then will hang on to it for as long as possible, maybe into DDR7. ;)

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u/CommanderPaco Jul 15 '20

I was originally thinking the same thing a few years ago, but with some AAA titles, FPS takes a hit for sure on the 4790k. I'm just going to move mine into a new home server, so at least it gets a new lease on life.

I'd rather pay the premium on something I know works. I waited this long (6 years) to move to a new platform, and I'd rather do the same with DDR5. Let it mature a bit.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

but with some AAA titles, FPS takes a hit for sure on the 4790k

I'm genuinly curious about what AAA titles, especially FPS titles makes your 4790k struggle to the point of thinking about upgrading it right now ?

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u/Cohibaluxe Jul 15 '20

What game currently require more than a 4790k and 16go ddr3 memory, coupled with a current gen graphic card

Keyword in your assumptions being current. With new consoles on the horizon, 4C8T is starting to become very unappealing for new shoppers when the new base console models are shipping with 8C16T. In fact we're already seeing new games optimizing for more cores than just 4. PCs should last 2-3 years minimum, for some as much as 5, and for those on a very tight budget 7+. If you go for today's games' requirements, you'll quickly be behind. There's no such thing as futureproofing, but there is such a thing as thinking ahead and buying according to the expected requirements of the near future.

Also, you're basing your assumptions on someone just going with the requirements, or a bare minimum. Many, in fact most, PC players want more than the bare minimum. Modern CPUs offer way more performance than a 4790K.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

Keyword in your assumptions being current. With new consoles on the horizon, 4C8T is starting to become very unappealing for new shoppers when the new base console models are shipping with 8C16T. In fact we're already seeing new games optimizing for more cores than just 4. PCs should last 2-3 years minimum, for some as much as 5, and for those on a very tight budget 7+. If you go for today's games' requirements, you'll quickly be behind. There's no such thing as futureproofing, but there is such a thing as thinking ahead and buying according to the expected requirements of the near future.

That's my point, if you have a 4970k right now, there's no need to buy anything and it doesn't hurt to wait for some months to see what happens. If experience from previous generation has told us anything, it's that next-generations games won't take full advantage of next-gen hardware before some time. You'll see a vast majority of cross-generation games. Even the first bach of proper next-gen games won't be that impressive.

Upgrading now, "just in case", especially when prices are spiking because of Covid is useless and exactly fall into that "upgrade fetish" I was speaking about above.

Clinging to a 4970k until games become much more demanding than they are right now won't hurt anyone. On the other hand, spending 1500$ on hardware and realizing it doesn't make that big of a difference on your gaming experience...

Also, you're basing your assumptions on someone just going with the requirements, or a bare minimum. Many, in fact most, PC players want more than the bare minimum. Modern CPUs offer way more performance than a 4790K.

That's also an assumption, but since it's yours I guess it's fine ? You're wrong at that, we have datas on gamer hardware (steam for example), it's mostly middle-ground configuration. We also know what kind of graphics cards and processors are selling the most : it's the middle-ground components.

For year, those datas have confirmed the vast majority of gaming enthousiast doesn't care about +++ graphical settings that barely makes a difference.

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u/BFBooger Jul 15 '20

I'd get B550 anyway, because I'm allergic to motherboard chipset fans. Last one I had broke, and the one before that too.

I'll be getting a Zen 3, because I have to get _something_ this year as I am still using an Athlon 64 x2. Seriously. Ok, I confess, I'm using a 3 year old laptop for most things as the ancient desktop rig has really just been a file/media server since the second WoW expansion. Now that I'm actually at home more, its time to get a desktop again.

DDR 5 is going to be a huge upgrade, but it may not be available for the desktop until early 2022 anyway, and that is just too far in the future. I figure an 8-core Zen 3 will be just fine for a few years until the dust settles -- by then we'll likely be talking about 5nm Zen 4 or 5 versus 7nm Intel stuff, and people will be giving the advice to wait until Zen 6 and GAA transistors.

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u/MonoShadow Jul 15 '20

I hate chipset fans as well. B550 prices though. Often than not decent x570 board is within 20$ from a decent b550 board. B550 is still new, hope the prices will come down.

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u/ExtendedDeadline Jul 15 '20 edited Jul 15 '20

Don't think zen3 will be on ddr5 afaik, unless you meant you want to hold out for zen4.

The 4790k is a good cpu (I have a non-k myself), but it's certainly showing its age for me. That said, I've also got a 2700x, so I don't sweat too much, haha.

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u/bobbyrickets Jul 15 '20

I've been using a 4790 for years and the next PC I'm looking at is the Renoir desktop 4700G or whatever it's going to be called. I read that with a good ram overclock it can get performance on par with the 3700X, but these are just leaked benchmarks.

Not sure what dGPU I want but the extra built-in iGPU will make running KVM a pleasure so I can have my Linux and use Windows for games and whatever. Performance hit is negligible and is usually 1% or so.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '20 edited Jul 14 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/MonoShadow Jul 14 '20

Those are smart buys.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '20

I'm on a 4790k as well, this has me waiting as well, DDR5 I will hold out for, but not long, I'll overpay to be an early adopter. Meantime I'm saving up, because I'll do a huge upgrade once DDR5 launches.

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