Summary of "The Solution to the RAM Crisis is… DDR4???"

Summary — DDR4 vs DDR5 gaming comparison

This summary covers an informal real-world gaming comparison between three near-identical gaming PCs to evaluate DDR4 versus DDR5 performance, plus price‑to‑performance and practical buying guidance.

What was tested

Three systems built to be as comparable as possible, differing mainly by CPU/platform and RAM:
- Intel build: Core i7-12700K with 2×8 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 (RAM kit ≈ $125). The Intel rig was about $260 cheaper than the DDR5 build.
- AMD AM5 build: Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 2×8 GB DDR5-6000 CL32 (RAM kit ≈ $225 — roughly a $100 premium vs the DDR4 kit). Dual-channel DDR5 was chosen intentionally.
- AM4 comparison: Ryzen 7 5800X (on AM4) with DDR4 — the cheapest overall quoted build at about $1,500.
Shared components and parity choices:
- 1 TB Gen4 NVMe drive, 750 W PSU, Thermalright Peerless Assassin coolers (one per system), and an ASRock GPU (subtitle text may have minor model errors).
Testing approach:
- Informal gaming benchmark session across roughly 10 games (titles cited in the video: Dota 2, Resident Evil 4, Doom, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Metal Gear Solid Delta, Arc Raiders, Oblivion remaster, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Silent Hill, Civilization — some names may be misrecognized by subtitles).

Key technical details

RAM configurations:
- DDR4 kit: 2×8 GB DDR4-3200 CL16.
- DDR5 kit: 2×8 GB DDR5-6000 CL32.
Dual-channel DDR5 was deliberately used to avoid single-channel performance penalties (a Hardware Unboxed video on single vs dual-channel DDR5 is cited as further reading).
Price differences and tradeoffs:
- Dual-channel DDR5 kits currently carry a notable premium vs DDR4 kits.
- Single 16 GB DDR5 sticks can be cheaper up-front but may reduce 1% low performance in some games.
Non-gaming tasks:
- Some CPU/architecture advantages were observed on the 7800X3D DDR5 system for non-FPS tasks — for example, shader compilation and setup completed significantly faster on that platform, showing benefits beyond raw FPS numbers.

Results and analysis

Average FPS (geometric mean across the tested games):
- The 7800X3D DDR5 and the DDR4 systems were described as “neck-and-neck.” The 7800X3D led on average but only by about 9%.
1% lows:
- The 7800X3D DDR5 system generally had better 1% low performance, but the two DDR4 systems (i7-12700K and Ryzen 7 5800X) were often within ~1 FPS of each other.
Game-by-game behavior:
- Many titles produced near-identical results (Oblivion remaster, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill were called out as effectively tied).
- At higher resolutions (1440p and above), most tests became GPU-bound, which reduces the impact of CPU and RAM differences on average FPS.
Cost-to-performance:
- Intel DDR4 build saved roughly 15% versus the DDR5 build.
- AM4 DDR4 build saved roughly 20% overall.
- Conclusion: DDR4 is still a strong value for gaming today, particularly at 1440p and higher where GPU bottlenecks dominate.

Practical guidance and recommendations

If you are budget-constrained:
- DDR4 builds (especially when reusing parts or buying discounted DDR4 kits) remain a very solid choice for gaming. Don’t pay a premium for DDR5 expecting large FPS gains at 1440p+.
If you want a cleaner upgrade path / longer-term platform support:
- AM5 + DDR5 is reasonable for future-proofing, but long-term gains are uncertain — avoid buying solely on hoped-for big future performance jumps.
If building new today:
- Prefer dual-channel DDR5 over a single-stick DDR5 to avoid inconsistent 1% low performance.
- The Hardware Unboxed video on single vs dual-channel DDR5 is recommended for a deeper dive into the tradeoffs.
General advice:
- Buy what you can afford today instead of speculating on future platform or IPC improvements. Memory and platform prices are volatile.

Other notes

The host mentioned that older Intel desktop chips may be approaching end‑of‑life, which can affect availability and upgrade choices.
The video subtitles contained some misrecognitions for component model names and game titles in places.
A PCPartPicker list was used for guidance on parts, but the actual test hardware had minor differences from that list.

Referenced content and sources

The comparative gaming/price-performance video (DDR4 vs DDR5 across Intel, AM5, AM4).
Hardware Unboxed video on single vs dual-channel DDR5 (recommended).
PCPartPicker list used as guidance for parts and pricing.

Main speakers / contributors (from the video)

Primary host (presenter; Linus Tech Tips production — name not explicit in subtitles).
“Plof” (participant mentioned in dialog).
David (participant whose system/architecture was referenced).
Hardware Unboxed (referenced third‑party benchmarking channel).
Sponsor mentioned: Meter (enterprise networking vendor).