Core i9 12900K DDR4 3600 vs DDR5 5200 performance review - Product Showcase

Product Showcase

To be completely honest, it's a little strange to see DDR5, PCI-Express Gen 5, Alder Lake, and then all of a sudden see a shift back to DDR4. It is a real option, and it is quite possible that you will save money as a result of your decision. While there is no doubt that DDR5 will be the memory of choice in the future, as this article will illustrate, the performance difference between the two is not significant, and in certain cases is even insignificant. For the sake of this article, we will be using the ASUS Z690 TUF Gaming WIFI D4, which is the DDR4 variant. For DDR4 we apply a 2x16GB at 3600 MHZ, rated CL16. 

Kingston FURY 5200 MHz CL40 memory is used on the DDR5 frontend. Both memory types are configured at the advertised SPD profile. Below is an overview of the ASUS DDR4 motherboard used.