I am building a machine for my “productivity” loads (mostly large code bases compilations + lots of virtual machines).
Main specs: intel i7 13700K, no gpu, 1tb m.2
Because of vms I run, I need some ram, so I would buy 64gb. Should I go DDR4 3200 or DDR5 5600?
DDR4 is quite cheaper, also motherboard is quite cheaper, so it adds up. But would DDR4 be a bottleneck for cpu?
Most reviews talk about gaming, but maybe ddr4 and ddr5 effect my workloads different?
The only reason to stick with ddr4 if building today is if you have some fast cl14 ram from an older build laying around unused. Ddr5 prices have come way down in the last year.
If you need 64 GB DDR5, you will need either 2x dual-rank 32 GB sticks or 4x16 single-rank sticks. DDR5 doesn’t play nice with 4 sticks without significantly lowering performance, so I’d suggest considering a 2x32 GB kit. You should be able to get at least 2x32 GB DDR5 sticks to 6000 MT/s.
It is ddr4 2x32gb kit cl16 vs ddr5 2x32gb kit cl40. I read somewhere that ddr4 cl16 is same as ddr5 cl40?
You have to compare frequency and latency. DDR4 3600 CL16 is roughly the same latency as DDR5 6400 CL32, but the DDR5 will have nearly double the read and write bandwidth.
If you want intel for work, just go for 14700k, 4 more ecores for almost the same price as 13700k. Get z790 ddr5 motherboard that can have pciex16 gen 5 and m.2 gen5. 4 slots of m.2 the better. Get a DDR5 ram 32gbx2. In that way, you can upgrade the storage, gpu and ram later if you want.
If you’re on the budget side, still get the 14700k, get the Asrock B760M steel legend motherboard. It can run 14700k no problem, and it’s already DDR5 memory and pcie,16 Gen 5 ready for ~$200, then get DDR5 16gbx2 ram.
100$ difference is not “almost the same” it’s exactly 2x16GB DDR5 kit Hynix A-die
In my country it’s $50 or even less. 4 more e cores for work is always welcome. You can go either way 13700k or 14700k. I choose the latter personally. It’ll pay for itself fast. What your budget allows, go for it. You can also either go for z690 if it’s cheaper than b760. What I always require though and important to consider is DDR5, pcie gen 5, number of m.2 storage, and # of connectors. Your usecase might be different.
Bro here 14700k is 100 dollar more than 13700k. Also u dont need gen 5, gen 4 is sufficient. Not much application can leverage that much bandwith, not to mention the availability of gen 5 ssd is still limited and still high in price. If your on a budget get z690, z790 is waste of money. That if still available tho.
That’s a valid point too. Depends really on your location and usecase. In my country, the difference isn’t that much between 13700k and 14700k. You may need to flash the bios though if the bios isn’t updated yet for all the z690 and z790 boards.
just an update to the comment: be cautious about mobos with m.2 pcie gen5 being populated that reduces the gpu pcie x16 to x8. I don’t know if this is true to all current motherboards. If that’s the case, it’s better to get the non m.2 gen 5 mobo.
It’s true for any motherboard with a PCIe Gen5 m.2 slot. It’s a limitation of the CPU.
With that said, a PC used for compiling code and running VM’s may have no need for a discrete GPU. If you’re using the iGPU, then there is no downside to using a Gen5 m.2 drive (other than cost).
For your usecase I would prioritize DDR5 over DDR4. There are significant bandwidth improvements from DDR5 which will help when compiling large code bases and running lots of VMs.
I can buy or Kingston Fury 64GB Beast DDR5 5600MHz CL40 KIT or KINGSTON DIMM DDR4 64GB (2x32GB kit) 3200MHz, do you think in that case that ddr5 would be much faster than ddr4
Yes, that’s a huge difference.
You could probably get good cheap DDR4 and run it in gear 1 and performance would be comparable to slower DDR5. Although DDR5 has really come down in price and is competitive. I just bought a 2x16GB kit of Teamgroup T-Create 5600 for $75. There are 64GB (2x32) kits of T-Create available in US for $155 at Newegg. At least in the US it is becoming more and more cost effective to choose DDR5 for the DDR4/DDR5 12-13 gen boards.
Buildzoid’s What DDR5 to buy June 2023
Even if you’re not a “hardcore overclocker” you may find value in Buildzoid’s RAM and motherboard roundup videos.E cores can’t be virtualized or hyper threaded. Get a 7950x
Then for peak performance, you can get a high density ram kit and run it fast in dual channel
I’ve got ecores shared across VMs and proxmox containers with no effort.
Check also single vs dual rank memory.
It’s against my nature*, but I’d keep the DDR4. You’re talking VMs, so, I’d also try for 128GB unless you’ve already run the numbers.
* I usually tap out the max the MB does at the time.
DDR4 is probably better for value. Just built another 128GB 13700k system since it was so cheap.
What motherboard did you use? Is there any real performance difference?
where I live DDR4 and DDR5 are the same price at the moment.
Me and my friend just built identical systems his white mine black. My new system is with I9-14900k($599), MSI Z790 tomahawk ddr4($200), 32GB ddr4 3600 cl14 old used memory from old system($73), Samsung 990 pro 4tb, RTX 2080 Super from old system($500), HX1500i power supply I got on sale for ($99), Win10, and my new Lian li PC-011 EVO XL Black. His system is I9-14900k($599), MSI Z790 Edge TI max($349), 32GB ddr5 5200 cl32 ($308), Samsung 990 pro 4tb, RTX 3060ti from old system($420), EVGA 750W power supply ($129), Win11, Lian li PC-011 EVO XL SNOW white. I am very happy with my upgrade!! and I saved over $383 staying on ddr4 with more performance than his system. my latency is substantially better my PC feels snappier and we both agree. playing the same games I get a few more fps which is obvious since graphics cards are not the same but, what I notice the most is programs launch way faster, loading screens are way quicker, everything seems way better on my system by a long shot. Something I noticed about my PC I don’t have support for 4 slots of the ddr4 I bought and ended up only using 2. In his PC he’s using 4x16gb ddr5 with no issues.
So you are telling that your PC is snappier due to RAM? Because his DDR5 is objectively much faster than your DDR4. Try the same 7-zip benchmark on both systems and you will see at what extent the difference is there
Yep, mines faster in 7-zip. Only other diff in pc is win 10 and 11
If price is your problem go with ddr4 but like future proof I think it is better you go with ddr5 you should try to get at least 6000mhz cl36 or cl30 you get better performance.
In terms of motherboard you don’t need a top of the line. You need motherboard under 200 if not under 300 and is z690 or z790 chipset. Make sure it has what you need like WiFi, enough usb ports, or many ever many m.2 slot you need for storage.
DDR5 will be better for future growth.
Ddr4 will outperform ddr5 at those speeds. Go for ddr4, just know that if you were to go ddr5 now, get a cheap kit and wait for ~1-2 years to upgrade, prices will plummet and it’ll be an easy cheap upgrade down the road, and youl have a spare kit of ram for emergencies or experimentation
Example: I purchased a kit of ddr5-7200-32Gb (2x16) for $280 last year when I first built my PC
That same kit is $120 now, 1 year down the road
Guess what costs $270 now? Ddr5-8000-2x24Gb (48Gb)
That cycle will repeat at least 1-2 more times only with the 96Gb kits
DDR5 because 4 is obsolete and why by an obsolete mobo to suit obsolete RAM?
I wouldn’t say it’s obsolete at this point lol. But in another year or two it will be obsolete.
Once the stock speed and timings of DDR5 is able to overcome the latency deficit between DDR4 and DDR5, DDR4 will become obsolete.
I might need to read more tests, but I had believed we passed that point at about 6200mhz on most kits.
With extremely tight timings you can get close to the latency of DDR4. Within like 10-12ns I think. But I think that’s on much faster kits.
I’ll have to look around and double check lol.
How is it obsolete? When i just put on my new 14900k…
You can fit obsolete tech to new tech. I believe a better option if you want to save money would be to get a cheap DDR5 kit and a DDR5 capable board and, in a couple of years, upgrade the ram to a nice overclock kit.
By obsolete tech I didn’t mean it’s no good, just that you’re committing yourself to a product that’s being phased out.
Oh yea totally, but for this gen its not yet obsolete, my current kit has been thru 3 builds now.
Since you already had DDR4, that makes complete sense. I sold my ram, mobo, and CPU when I went to a 12900k.
DDR5 for a bunch of reasons. Bandwidth among them.
DDR5 has ECC on-die.
The motherboards should be the same price so I’m not sure where you’re getting that they’re more expensive. Two of the same model boards, one being DDR5 and the other being DDR4, are the same price like 99% of the time.
DDR5 is more expensive but for your workload the additional cost is 100% worth it. It’s not like DDR5 is twice the price lol. You can get 64gb of 5600mhz for like $180.
Also, you can get 48gb sticks of DDR5 rather than 32gb sticks. They obviously cost more but the point is you can upgrade down the road if you find out you need more RAM.
Lastly, why are you stuck on 5600mhz? Why not 6000mhz or 6400mhz? More speed equals more bandwidth.