Decade-old RAM is making a comeback
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The RAM shortage is bringing back DDR4, with new Intel and AMD CPUs for older RAM, sockets, and chipsets.
Key facts
- Right now, a DDR5 32GB Corsair Vengeance RAM kit costs $620, while the corresponding DDR4 kit costs $260
- That socket debuted in 2021 with the 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs and supported both DDR4 RAM and the then-new DDR5 RAM
- On Friday, Gigabyte announced that two of its motherboard lines will support “upcoming” processors built on Intel’s LGA 1700 socket
- This backtrack stems from LGA 1700’s cross-compatibility with both kinds of RAM, an advantage over its successor that’s recently become much more important
Summary
CPU makers have noticed that the seemingly unending RAM price hikes are making it tough for a lot of them to upgrade their PCs. On Friday, Gigabyte announced that two of its motherboard lines will support “upcoming” processors built on Intel’s LGA 1700 socket. This backtrack stems from LGA 1700’s cross-compatibility with both kinds of RAM, an advantage over its successor that’s recently become much more important. DDR4 started hitting the market in 2014 and has since been succeeded by the much faster DDR5.