DDR3 vs. DDR4 - Four big differences
The Features And Differences Between DDR3 And DDR4
For over 8 years RAM manufacturers have used DDR3 (Double Data Rate Three SDRAM) as memory chips for systems such as computers. However, that has changed in recent years with RAM manufacturers now selling the latest memory chips in DDR4. DDR4 (Double Data Rate Fourth SDRAM)RAM made its debut in the year 2015 and has gained lots of plaudits for the improved features it has.
In case you have been using DDR3 RAM, you might be wondering whether the latest memory chip has more benefits compared to the former. To start off, DDR4 RAM is more expensive than DDR3 RAM and can only run on Intel X99 and on extreme processors. Although systems that run on DDR4 are not ideal for gaming, they have a faster clock speed compared to DDR3. The following are the differences between DDR3 and DDR4 RAM.
Differences between DDR3 and DDR4
They have different physical layout
One of the main differences between DDR3 and DDR4 RAMs is that they have different number of pins. For DDR3 RAM it has 240 pins, on the other hand DDR4 RAM has 288 pins. Because of this difference, a CPU and motherboard that uses DDR3 cannot work with DDR4 RAM, while CPU that use DDR4 RAM cannot work with DDR3. Therefore, before you decide to upgrade to DDR4 RAM, it is important you do your research to find if your system is compatible with the latest memory chip.
A motherboard and CPU that work with DDR3 RAM don't work with DDR4 RAM and vice versa!
DDR3 RAM uses a higher voltage than DDR4 RAM
If you are looking to cut on electricity bill at the end of the month, especially if you are using the RAM on a server, it is important you know that DDR3 RAM uses more voltage than DDR4 RAM DDR3 RAM uses 1.5 V compared to DDR3 RAM that uses 1.2 V. The good thing about running on a lower voltage RAM is that you can transfer more data with DDR4 RAM at a lower voltage. This means that your computer will be more stable in future because it will avoid the risk of your RAM being fried. DIMM SODIMM have the same voltage, although SODIMM has a lower memory size than DIMM.
DDR4 RAM is faster than DDR3 RAM
The reason why you may want to upgrade to DDR4 RAM is because it has a faster speed of transferring data compared to DDR3 RAM. Typically, a random access memory or RAM is used to store data in your computer which can be accessed by your CPU. However, depending on the RAM you are using, the speed at which the CPU access data from the RAM will vary.
DDR3 RAM has a slower clock speed compared to DDR4 RAM. Clock speed refers to how fast the RAM can write or read data. DDR3 RAM also has a slower transfer rate compared to DDR4 RAM. However, that does not mean that DDR4 RAM is better than DDR3 RAM. Sometimes DDR3 RAM may perform better than DDR4 RAM.
DDR4 RAM is more costly than DDR3 RAM
Another difference is that DDR4 RAM is more expensive than DDR3 RAM. When DDR4 RAM was first released into the market, it was way more expensive than DDR3 RAM. The price of DDR4 RAM has gone down but it is still more expensive than DDR3 RAM.
