Just In Time for Ryzen 7000, DDR5 Prices Fall to More Affordable Levels

By Aaron Klotz
last updated

Now is a better time than ever to buy DDR5. If DDR4 isn't an option.

DDR5 memory overclocking
(Image credit: G.Skill)

While still significantly higher than DDR4, prices for next-generation DDR5 memory have dropped immensely over the past six months. Many of the lower-end kits now sell for just $6-7 per gigabyte -- or around $120-$130 for a 16GB dual-channel kit. This is a huge departure from the $500-$1000 price bracket we were used to seeing on almost all DDR5 kits -- including some of the Best RAM for Gaming -- just six months ago. This should finally make DDR5 a more mainstream proposition to PC builders and buyers, and it couldn't come at a better time for AMD. The company's Ryzen 7000 processors are expected soon, and that platform only supports DDR5 memory.

The downward price trend appears to be expanding globally, with ComputerBase reporting that DDR5 prices are even cheaper in Europe, with baseline kits approaching €5 per gigabyte.

The only remaining sticking point with DDR5's pricing is the timings you are paying for. Baseline DDR5 kits are stacking up better against DDR4. But if you want a DDR5 kit that is competitive with high-speed DDR4 kits with low latency timings, pricing is still highly in favor of DDR4. 

We're at a time now where DDR5, in general, can be bought for reasonable prices. If you are forced into the DDR5 platform for a new build, you won't be selling your kidney to find a DDR5 kit with "good enough" performance.

Currently, some of the cheapest 16GB DDR5 memory kits come from Crucial, Kingston, and Patriot, with kits featuring a baseline spec of 4800MHz starting at just $110 to $120. This is a good start for DDR5 and will allow DIY builders to assemble a relatively cheap DDR5 system for a similar value compared to mainstream DDR4 kits. However, again that's just for baseline DDR5 memory speeds, with performance comparable to baseline DDR4 kits at half the price.

The highest performance DDR5 dual-channel 16GB kits you'll find hover in the 5200-5600MHz range, with timings anywhere between CL40 and CL36. Prices there hover around $120 to $180.

32GB DDR5 dual-channel kits are where the good stuff is at, with performance options comparable to high-speed DDR4 memory kits. For a 5200MHz or 5600MHz kit featuring CL timings of 34 or 36, the cost goes up to $250. For even faster kits hitting the 6000Mhz mark with CL timings of 36 to 32, you'll have to spend well over $300.

$300-350 for a memory kit is definitely hard to swallow, but it is a huge departure from prices just several months ago. Back in January, G.Skill's Trident Z DDR5 6000 CL36 kit dropped from a whopping $4000 in December to "just" $800. Now that same kit with even tighter timings can be found for less than half that price at $369.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Model:SpeedCapacityPrice
Kingston FURY BeastDDR5-4800 CL3816 GB (2 x 8 GB)$115.44 - Amazon
CrucialDDR5-4800 CL4016 GB (2 x 8GB)$112.99 - Newegg
Row 3 - Cell 0 Row 3 - Cell 1 Row 3 - Cell 2 Row 3 - Cell 3
Patriot SignatureDDR5-5600 CL4016 GB (2 x 8GB)$124.99 - Newegg
Patriot Viper VenomDDR5-5200 CL3616 GB (2 x 8GB)$159.99 - Newegg
OLOy Blade RGBDDR5-5600 CL3616 GB (2 x 8GB)$189.99 - Newegg
Row 7 - Cell 0 Row 7 - Cell 1 Row 7 - Cell 2 Row 7 - Cell 3
Kingston FURY BeastDDR5-4800 CL3832 GB (2 x 16 GB)$189.99 - Amazon
CORSAIR VengeanceDDR5 6000 CL3632 GB (2 x 16 GB)$289.99 - Newegg
G.Skill Trident Z5 RGBDDR5-6000 CL3032 GB (2 x 16 GB)$379.99 - Newegg

Overall, the DDR5 value isn't great, with a performance-per-dollar value that still well underperforms DDR4. But things are a lot better than the absolutely absurd prices we saw just six months ago. DDR5 is now at a point where buyers can actually buy baseline DDR5 kits for a reasonable cost, which will become far more important as AMD's DDR5-only platform, AM5 and its Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 processors, is expected to arrive soon.

These lower-cost DDR5 kits will give future AM5 users a chance to build a functional Ryzen 7000 system for a reasonable cost, then perhaps upgrade to a much faster DDR5 with better timings down the road when prices (hopefully) drop even further.

Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

Topics
Memory
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • KananX
    Exactly how AMD planned. Soon the real DDR5/PCIE 5.0 platform arrives, fully featured with 24 lanes.
    Reply
  • LuxZg
    Give it another 5-6 months and hopefully market sorts itself a little just in time for Zen 4, AM5, DDR5. With GPUs also going down finally, maybe by year's end I can get me a whole PC upgrade at last.
    Reply
  • wrex247
    Still 2x more expensive than DDR4
    Reply
  • bjnmail
    8GB DDR5 DIMMs (2x8GB kits) are terrible for performance, gaming most especially. They use the same 16Gbit (2GB) ICs, but instead of populating 8 banks on 8 bank groups, they populate merely 4. So you lose half the interleaving and there is a significant performance penalty compared to 16GB DIMMs. DDR5 16GB DIMMs already cause 1% lows to suffer, and these are even worse.

    32GB DIMMs are the sweet spot for DDR5 IC density vs performance. But they're so damn expensive.

    8GB DDR5 DIMMs shouldn't even be in the conversation outside of absolute rock bottom budget systems.
    Reply
  • dk382
    I've been seeing some motherboard/DDR5 or SSD/DDR5 combo deals on Newegg and Amazon lately that actually bring the prices even closer to DDR4. I think it was Gigabyte who was selling their DDR5 motherboards bundled with DDR5-5200 or so at prices very similar to equivalent DDR4 mobos plus DDR4-3600CL16. The combo discounts were as high as -$180. I couldn't believe it.
    Reply
  • KananX
    I saw decent high grade DDR5 6000 (2x16GB) recently for 300 bucks, that’s a really good price and I think prices will come down at the end of the year as well. It’s not nearly as bad as before.
    Reply
  • dk382
    KananX said:
    I saw decent high grade DDR5 6000 (2x16GB) recently for 300 bucks, that’s a really good price and I think prices will come down at the end of the year as well. It’s not nearly as bad as before.
    Memory of that speed really needs to be below $200 for 32GB if AMD wants AM5 to receive widespread adoption.
    Reply
  • KananX
    dk382 said:
    Memory of that speed really needs to be below $200 for 32GB if AMD wants AM5 to receive widespread adoption.
    Strange comment, but DDR5 of that quality won’t ever cost under 200, it’s simply more expensive to produce. 250 minimum, like I said, the price is decent.
    Reply
  • dk382
    KananX said:
    Strange comment, but DDR5 of that quality won’t ever cost under 200, it’s simply more expensive to produce. 250 minimum, like I said, the price is decent.
    Then the future of personal computing is doomed if we'll be stuck with DDR4 platforms as the only affordable platforms for the rest of time.

    I don't think this will be true, though. Decent quality DDR5 like the kind being discussed will eventually be affordable for the masses.

    edit: and to be clear, I'm not saying this as pro-Intel (I'm on a Ryzen CPU right now lol). I think any DDR5-exclusive platform will face serious struggles with adoption if if costs really don't come back down. 32GB of midrange DDR5 will need to be $100, and higher-end stuff will need to be $150 - $200 like it is now with DDR4. I also think that DDR5-6000 is more of the baseline of what people should want for their gaming PCs since that's when the upgrade over DDR4 starts to become apparent. Hence why I think it needs to cost below $200. Whale-class products that are pushing the boundaries (7000+ MHz kits, for instance) will still exist and cost a fortune, but the 6000 MHz tier needs to be more mainstream.

    We're getting there, though. Here's a bundle where some DDR5-5200 costs roughly the same as DDR4 when you account for the price of the bundled SSD. I'm seeing kits of DDR5-6000 below $300 now. I think the industry realizes that it needs to reach these price goals eventually.
    Reply
  • KananX
    dk382 said:
    Then the future of personal computing is doomed if we'll be stuck with DDR4 platforms as the only affordable platforms for the rest of time.
    I think you misunderstood me or maybe I didn’t word it clear enough. 300 bucks for a high rate kit is a good price, I didn’t say it’s a good price for a beginner or mid range computer build. There are cheaper kits of course if a good one starts at 300 bucks. A while back the same kit was at 500 bucks afaik. So it’s fine. Prices are coming down. DDR5 isn’t comparable to the way DDR4 took compared to 3, it has higher complexity involved through extra chips, so that’s why it takes a bit more time for prices to come down.
    Reply