DDR5 price surge keeps DDR4 in play despite a double-digit gaming penalty

Tom's Hardware revisited Intel's LGA 1700 platform to compare DDR4 and DDR5 in a modern gaming suite and found DDR4 trailing by roughly 11% to 14% on average, with some titles showing losses above 20% and one cited result above 25%. The article argues that LGA 1700 remains a practical bridge platform because it lets buyers reuse DDR4 while postponing a more expensive move to DDR5. That matters for RamTrend because the benchmark story is being driven by memory pricing, not just enthusiast tuning. The source describes DDR5 as expensive enough to reshape buying decisions, keep older DDR4 platforms relevant, and push consumers to weigh weaker CPUs plus DDR5 against stronger CPUs paired with legacy memory. Even where DDR5 clearly leads on performance and upgrade longevity, elevated DRAM prices are extending the commercial life of DDR4 and delaying full migration for cost-sensitive builders.