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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    137beth's Avatar

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    Aug 2009

    Default Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    I am planning on replacing my desktop-replacement-laptop with an actual desktop. The question is, should I wait another half a year to get a motherboard/CPU that is compatible with DDR5 memory, or is the difference between DDR4 and DDR5 irrelevant to my use case?

    I intend to run Linux Mint Cinnamon. The apps I expect to run, in approximate order of how demanding they are on hardware, are:

    1)Sagemath: mostly manipulating topological and graph-theory objects.

    2)iTunes running in a Windows virtual machine: Much to my frustration, some musicsians only release their albums through iTunes/Apple Music and not other stores like Bandcamp. And even though iTunes sells DRM-free audio files that can be played using any media playing app, the only way to purchase or download music from the Apple Music store is with the iTunes desktop app. I will not actually be using iTunes to play music (I use VLC for that), just to purchase it.

    Side note: does anyone know if having secure boot disabled on the host system prevents Windows 11 from being installed in a VM?

    3) OBS Studio, which I will use to record video meetings. I do not record myself playing games.

    4)Indie games from Steam and Itch. No games with heavy graphics requirements.

    5)Typical office tasks (web browsing, editing text files including compiling LaTeX, video meetings).

    6)Open source games from the Mint/Ubuntu/Debian repository.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    Well, you *could* get DDR5 right now, if you wanted to--the Intel Alder Lake CPUs support it? However, being an early adopter is always an expensive game, and with the possible exception of Sagemath which I'm not familiar with, I don't think anything you're planning to run on this machine would actually benefit much from the additional memory bandwidth DDR5 offers.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Troll in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    The other factor is that with home computers there is always something *new* just coming out (for a given definition of new).

    This is one of the reasons why a good piece of PC buying advice is "work out what you want to spend, buy the best PC you can find for that money, then don't look at another computer magazine or advert for at least six months."

    The other question is "what do you need the super new fast memory for?" From what you say of your tasks your main number crunching will be done by the video card...

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    Titan in the Playground
     
    tyckspoon's Avatar

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    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    Sagemath might appreciate the faster RAM, if it's not doing primarily GPU processing instead. None of the rest of that is going to notice any difference, assuming you have adequate RAM for everything to claim the memory space it needs to start with.

    The other factor is that with home computers there is always something *new* just coming out (for a given definition of new).
    ..and the corollary would be that the actual software is always just catching up to last year's New Exciting Thing. By the time everybody has figured out how to optimize for DDR5, the DDR6 generation will be showing up in hardware, and the actual assumption will be that you're using DDR4 anyways. So.. yeah, if you are ready to get a new system, get a new system.
    Last edited by tyckspoon; 2021-12-21 at 01:00 PM.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Orc in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Aug 2011

    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    If you can get DDR5 compatibility without breaking the bank, you'd might as well. But top end DDR4 will work just fine for any software currently available for virtually all use cases, and will be much cheaper, so even if you're DDR5 compatible you're better off buying DDR4 now and upgrading in a fre years.
    Quote Originally Posted by crayzz
    That a given person is known for his sex appeal does not mean that he is only known for his sex appeal.
    Quote Originally Posted by jere7my
    For instance, I am also known for my humility.

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    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Griffon

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    Bristol, UK

    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    Quote Originally Posted by crayzz View Post
    If you can get DDR5 compatibility without breaking the bank, you'd might as well. But top end DDR4 will work just fine for any software currently available for virtually all use cases, and will be much cheaper, so even if you're DDR5 compatible you're better off buying DDR4 now and upgrading in a fre years.
    Is that possible? I thought I read that you could have DDR4 or DDR5, and to change you needed to change motherboards.
    The end of what Son? The story? There is no end. There's just the point where the storytellers stop talking.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Orc in the Playground
     
    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Aug 2011

    Default Re: Getting a new desktop: is it worth holding out for DDR5 compatibility?

    Quote Originally Posted by halfeye View Post
    Is that possible? I thought I read that you could have DDR4 or DDR5, and to change you needed to change motherboards.
    Oh no youre correct, I'm wrong. RAM is not backwards compatible, so if you buy a DDR5 motherboard you're locked into DDR5.

    I'll amend my recommendation and say just go with DDR4 unless you want to be an early adopter. Performance per dollar, it won't be worth it imo.
    Quote Originally Posted by crayzz
    That a given person is known for his sex appeal does not mean that he is only known for his sex appeal.
    Quote Originally Posted by jere7my
    For instance, I am also known for my humility.

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