Long-awaited support for the next generation of memory standards is almost here. Earlier this month, Intel released its Z590 chipset to accompany its 13th-generation Rocket Lake-S CPUs. Some of the new features of the Z590 include PCIe 4.0 support, WiFi 6E compatibility, and increased capabilities for overclocking and managing fan speeds. But perhaps most importantly, the Z590 also introduces native support for DDR4 RAM running at speeds up to 5000MHz—a significant jump from the previous max speed of 3600MHz on the Z490 chipset.
Now that DDR4 RAM support is finally coming to Intel’s mainstream CPUs, manufacturers are beginning to announce new motherboards that take advantage of the increased speed and capabilities. Chief among them is Asus, who has announced a slew of new Z790-chipset motherboards that will support DDR4 memory modules running at speeds up to 5000MHz.
DDR4 RAM Speed Increases Will Benefit Gamers and Professionals Alike
The benefits of higher RAM speeds have long been debated in the tech world. For years, most experts agreed that increased RAM speeds above 1600MHz provided little to no real-world benefit for users outside of professional workloads like video editing or 3D rendering. However, as games have become increasingly demanding, many gamers have found that they can see tangible benefits from faster RAM—particularly when it comes to in-game loading times and stutter-free gaming experiences. With the release of Ryzen 3000 CPUs last year, AMD popularized the concept of “gaming” RAM running at absurdly high speeds like 3200MHz or even 4000MHz, and Intel’s new 5000MHz standard will likely help bring those same benefits to gamers using Intel CPUs and boards.
Of course, for professionals working with a large images or video files, faster RAM speeds can significantly affect both productivity and efficiency. If you frequently find yourself wishing you could just load that 4K video a little bit faster or open that huge Photoshop file without waiting an eternity, faster RAM is almost certainly going to help—and 5000MHz is about as fast as it gets right now.
Asus’ New Boards utilize Cutting-Edge Memory Technology:
Asus’ new line of Z790 boards includes several features designed to take full advantage of everything DDR4 has to offer. For starters, each board includes what Asus calls “OptiMem III,” essentially a series of proprietary design choices to ensure signal integrity and stability when using high-speed memory modules. In addition, each board includes special routing techniques and onboard components specifically chosen for their ability to handle extremely high data transfer rates—up to 64 GB/s in each direction on some models!
Conclusion:
The release of Intel’s Z590 chipset earlier this month excited many PC enthusiasts, as it finally brought native support for DDR4 RAM running at speeds up to 5000MHz to mainstream Intel CPUs. Now that manufacturers are beginning to release new motherboards designed to take advantage of the increased speed and capabilities offered by DDR4 RAM, we’re on the cusp of a new era in PC memory technology. In this era, faster is finally better for everyone involved.
Related: AMD will soon negotiate with TSMC for 2nm and 3nm chips
