TECH TALK
Prepare for the DDR5 shift
BUCKLE YOUR WALLETS, because the Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake and AMD AM5 platforms will entail some costly upgrades. Modern PCs utilize DDR4 memor y, but that’s all set to change with the next generation CPUs and platforms, ushering in a new era of memory bandwidth and capacity. The last time desktop PCs went through such a transition was five years ago, and early adopters often pay the price. Here’s what to expect from DDR5.
Jarred Walton
© SK HYNIX GLOBAL NEWSROOM
DDR5 slots aren’t compatible with DDR4 slots. We might see motherboards that support both DDR4 and DDR5, but you’ll have to choose between one or the other—you won’t be able to install both memory types at the same time. For this reason, I’ve avoided mixed DIMM slot motherboards in the past; I’d rather have four of one type of slot rather than two of each. DDR5 slots will maintain the same pin count as DDR4, 288-pin, but the pin layout will be different, and the slots are keyed with a notch so that you can’t put in the wrong type of memory. Voltages are also different, with DDR5 dropping to a standard 1.1V compared to 1.2V on DDR4.