DDR4 vs DDR5: Stick with DDR4 for budget gaming in 2025

DDR4 wins on price-to-performance for budget builds. DDR5 is 20-30% more expensive per gigabyte but only offers 5-10% real-world gaming gains. That extra $30-50 is better spent on a GPU upgrade, which boosts frame rates more than faster RAM. Pair DDR4 with a 13th-gen Intel or Ryzen 5000 series for a solid $600-800 build.