Think I Need a New Motherboard

Hi, if you wish to make sure you're getting the correct parts, manufacturers e.g. Crucial and others offer compatibility checkers.

Enter the details, and you'll be offered correct parts.

And if you don't know the make, model name and model number of the computer or motherboard Crucial has a Scan feature that can be run to get that and suggest the proper modules. Only problem I've had with them lately is some older RAM may no longer be available. Also, a new motherboard may not be available for older CPUs.

Aemon said:

Thanks for your reply! Guess I am just weighing my options.

Is DDR4 that much better than 3, or is it not going to make that big of a deal? That does seem like the easiest way.

Guess I just wasn't sure if I should spend money on DDR 3 if it is much worse and should maybe work on upgrading things anyway and just start putting my money towards new things. Chips are pretty expensive right now though, don't know if this is a good time for a full upgrade.

Thanks again!

It's a little hard to compare, but...





The math would go like this...

1866/3200 = 25375/x ...where x will be the comparable read speed for the 3200 (DDR4) RAM.

3200 * read speed (for example)... then divide that number by 1866


If we did this math on paper...
We are trying to discover what the read speed of 3200Mhz RAM should be... if it was also DDR3.
Then we can compare the DDR3 vs. the DDR4 speeds.







After all this, we find that the "actual" DDR4 RAM read speed is just a bit faster. 46,535 vs. 43,516






So, to answer your question... you won't notice that much difference is the actual RAM speeds, when switching from DDR3 to DDR4. On the other hand...

A new motherboard, CPU, and RAM... will blow your current system out of the water.




Check out these benchmarks, here... these list the CPU and the vid card, so it's easier to compare.

PCMark 10 Benchmarks

Or here... check #13 and #34. This is a CPU benchmark...

Cinebench Leaderboard



Something like this, will leave your current system in the dust... I could make it even faster, but... price.
At top left, you can change to whatever country...

System Builder - Core i7-11700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core - PCPartPicker

If you change your motherboard then you are likely to need a new CPU and RAM to fit which will be expensive. You might also need a new Windows licence if you don't currently have a retail licence. If the PC performance meets your needs then just get a refund on that DDR4 memory and buy the right DDR3 memory as discussed above. I'm not nit upgrading my 2012 desktop PC for another year since its performance is still fine and I want wait for the next generation AMD CPUs.

Get an Asus Z690, the most expensive one you can afford, then save up another 4 months for the CPU, then another 4 months for the new DDR5 memory, etc etc etc.

And have fun