The Advantages and Disadvantages of DDR4 Memory Technology
DDR4 memory technology has gained popularity in recent years due to its fast speeds, power efficiency, and requirements for modern CPUs that utilize it. However, with the advent of DDR4, many potential customers are wondering why they would still want DDR3. The answer lies in cost, as DDR4 is more expensive than DDR3 for a given capacity.
One of the key advantages of DDR4 over DDR3 is its increased speed and efficiency. DDR4 has four memory chips per module, whereas DDR3 has two. This allows for faster data transfer rates and improved power efficiency. However, this increased capability comes at a cost, as DDR4 modules are typically more expensive than their DDR3 counterparts.
To compare the performance of DDR3 and DDR4, we conducted an apples-to-apples comparison using various components such as CPUs, motherboards, and memory modules. We chose two Intel Core i7 processors with the same Haswell microarchitecture: the Core i7 4790K and the Core i7 5820K. To reduce variables and make the comparison fair, we disabled two of the cores on the 5820K and clocked them both at 4.4 gigahertz without turbo boost.
Next, we selected two Gigabyte gaming motherboards: the Z97X Gaming 5 and the X99 Gaming 5. Both motherboards have a similar feature set, including SATA Express, 10Gigabit M.2 drive support, amplified onboard audio, Qualcomm Killer networking, and a sexy matte black and red color scheme. The X99 version has some additional features, such as a more advanced sound processor, 3-way SLI support, and LED lighting accents.
For the memory modules, we chose a 16GB dual-channel kit of XPG V1 memory for DDR3, representing the highest JEDEC speed of 2133 megahertz with enhanced timings. We also selected a 16GB quad-channel kit of ADATA's new DDR4 XPG Z1 series, featuring an updated aggressive-looking heat spreader and anodized red finish. Despite being brand new, both memory modules performed flawlessly in our tests.
To test the performance of DDR3 and DDR4 memory technology, we conducted various benchmarking exercises, including games. We ran the canned benchmark in Tomb Raider at high settings using DDR3 1333 megahertz, which is nearly the launch speed of DDR3 in dual-channel configuration. However, even with this low-speed setting, game performance was not limited by the memory subsystem.
In conclusion, while DDR4 may offer some advantages over DDR3, such as increased speed and efficiency, the cost difference makes it less appealing to consumers who don't need the latest and greatest technology. For those who are looking for a reliable and efficient memory solution without breaking the bank, DDR3 still has plenty of life left in it. Furthermore, the performance improvements expected from Intel's upcoming Broadwell desktop processors will be largely due to architectural advancements rather than the use of DDR4.
In our tests, we found that while DDR4 offered some performance advantages over DDR3, they were not significant enough to warrant the increased cost. In fact, we couldn't create a situation where game performance was limited by the memory subsystem on a Haswell-based CPU with only 4 cores. This suggests that for consumers who don't need the latest and greatest technology, DDR3 may be sufficient.
Overall, our tests suggest that DDR4 is not yet the superior choice it's made out to be. While it offers some advantages over DDR3, the cost difference makes it less appealing to consumers on a budget. However, for those who want the latest and greatest technology, DDR4 is certainly worth considering.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enDDR4memory it's fast its power efficient. It's arequirement if you want to pick up a fancy new CPU that needs it and you can learn all about it here, so with DDR4available why would you want DDR3 anymore on top of all the other stuff that I just said DDR4 has four in it?that's like one more thanDDR3, the answer is cost at the time of making this videoDDR4 is more expensive for a given capacity than DDR3 so for that reason many potential customerswill want to see itjustify its higher cost so welcome to our apples-to-applescomparison ofDDR3 and DDR4.Coolermaster V-Series Semi modular power supplies feature 80 plus gold efficiency and their gold Guarantee five-year warranty click now to learn more .So let's introduce our test platform, shall we?There are no CPUs on the market that support both DDR3 and DDR4, at least consumer ones.So we have to be pretty careful to reduce variables and make this comparison as fair as possible.It starts with the processor, so we chose two CPUs based on the sameHaswell microarchitecturefrom intel the core I7 4790k and the core I7 5820k.Then we proceeded to disable two of the cores on the 5820k and clock them both at straight4.4 gigahertz with no turbo boost so neither of them would have any raw clock speed advantage. One thingwe couldn't do anything about is the difference in cache size,but this is as close as we could get to a level playing field for the CPU next up is motherboards.We've got two gigabyte gaming 5 Motherboards the Z97Xgaming 5 and the X99 gaming 5. We were looking for featureequivalent boards to use for both chips and both of these have a very similar loadout with Sata Express,10 gigabit M.2 drive support, amplified onboard audio qualcomm killer networking,similar CPU power designs with gigabyte's all digital implementation and of course asexy matte black and red color scheme that I find myself caring about probably far too much.The X99 version does have some extras to go along with its higher price: a more advanced sound processor, 3 and 4 way SLIsupport and some led lighting accents including on the heatsink and the i/o shield to make it easier to plug things in in the dark.But enough about that, you guys want to know about the memory we're using, right?Representing DDR3 at up to the highest JEDEC speed 2133 megahertz with enhanced timings,we've got a 16 gig dual channel kit of XPG V1 memory resplendent in an anodizedred finish and representing DDR4 at up to the highest JEDEC DDR4 speed2400 Megahertz, although higher speeds will be coming, a 16 gig quad channel kit of ADATA' snew DDR4 XPG Z1 series with an updated aggressive looking heat spreader also featuring ananodized red finish.So huge thanks to ADATA for providing us with these modules for testing. Even the brand new DDR4 modulesoperated flawlessly throughout the benchmarking process and for that matter so did the motherboards, I'm really impressed especially with theX99 Gaming 5 this one has made a lot of progress.Gigabyte's drop'in Bios updates like that and the stability of it is much much improved over X99 at launch.So yeah, everything just kind of went smoothly for a change. Anyway speaking of the benchmarking processI guess that's what's next, so I'm gonna show you three different scenarios here. First isDDR3 dual channel. Next is DDR4 Dual channel.So we have a very direct apples to apples comparisonbetween the two memory technologies at a variety of speeds and timings andfinally to show a very best case scenario for Modern DDR4I threw in a set of results with the RAMoverclocked to 3 gigahertz in quad-Channel mode, the configuration that most folks running, DDR4capable processors will be running until broadwell comes to the mainstream desktop in dual channel only sometime next year.Now synthetic benchmarks are where DDR4 should be able to really flex its muscles. These AIDA64benches are designed to show us the upper most limits of thetheoretical performance of the memory subsystem of a PC in our apples-to-apples testDDR4 delivers better performance in read's than DDR3 but actually worse write andlatency results making this a bit of a wash.But in its full quad channel configuration our high speed DDR4 is untouchable here. Next up is real-worldnon-gaming results. Multi-threaded rendering and our 7-zip compression and decompressionbenchmarks are a good way to show off the performance of modern CPUs with lots of processing cores andhigh-speed memory is needed to keep all of those cores fed, so something to note hereIs that while the performance scaling with better memory might not look very impressive the LGA 2011-3socket is likely to be with us for a few years and has CPUs available for it already with up to18 cores, so while the extra bandwidth even in quad-channelisn't needed for this artificial quad-core that we created here,there are ways to kit out a board like this so that it's much more likely that that extra memory bandwidth would be used.Which leads to our final set of benchmarks. Games.I only ended up running a couple of games the cannedbenchmark in Tomb Raider at these settings and my custom run at the end of Bioshock Infinite at these settings because the results heredon't leave much for me to interpret. Even going all the way down to DDR3 1333Megahertz, so nearly the launch speed of DDR3 in Dual-channelI couldn't create a situation where game performance was limited in any meaningful way by theMemory Subsystem on it a Haswell based CPU with only 4 CoresSo in conclusion,while it might be worthwhile from a platform point of view to invest in DDR4 for your six core or eight coreprocessor since you don't really have a choice if you want the latestCPUs. If you're a normal consumer who doesn't really need the extra cores it looks like LGA 1150 with its ancientDDR3 memory still has a lot of life left in it and given howunconstrained our haswell CPUs are even by very low speed DDR3I think it's safe to say that the performance improvementsWe can expect to see from Intel's upcoming broadwell desktop processors will be thanks to architectural improvementsnot the use of DDR4Guys like this video if you liked it dislike it if you disliked it leave a comment letting me know what you thought. Were youexpecting DDR4 in an apples-to-apples comparison to run away with it or were you expecting exactly the results you saw today.Check out the link in the video description if you want to support us. It says support us.You click that link you can buy a cool t-shirt like this oneYou can give us a monthly contribution or you can change your Amazon bookmark to one with our affiliate codeSo we get a small kickback whenever you buy toothbrushes, or whatever it is you buy on Amazon.Thanks for watching again guys and as always, don't forget to subscribe for more videos just like this one.\n"
