DDR4 vs DDR5 for esports: Latency difference is mostly irrelevant

DDR5’s higher CL numbers (CL30 vs CL16) don’t translate to worse real-world latency because the frequency is double, so nanoseconds end up similar. In esports titles like Valorant, CS2, or Overwatch, 1% lows are driven by CPU core speed and cache, not RAM timings — DDR4-3600 CL16 and DDR5-6000 CL30 trade blows within 1–3% on minimum FPS. If you already have DDR4, upgrading for esports alone is a waste; if building new, just buy DDR5 and don’t overthink it.