Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance

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Gaming Performance

In order to test gaming performance properly, and really get a good feel for it, and cover all the bases for the big picture, we decided to test 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, all three resolutions to see from top to bottom how RAM performance affects gaming. For testing, we are using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition video card. This will ensure we are CPU bound at 1080p, but also some games will still be GPU bound at 4K.

Battlefield 2042

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Battlefield 2042

Generally speaking, there were no noticeable differences in gameplay performance in Battlefield 2042 between the different RAM types at any resolution. Technically speaking, there was a slight 1.2 FPS difference at 1080p. This is so small it could be the margin of error, remember we are doing a manual run-through. For all intents and purposes, performance was the same no matter what.

Cyberpunk 2077

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Cyberpunk 2077

We also do a manual run-through in this game, and we are once again not seeing any difference in performance at any resolution. Only at 1080p is there a tiny 1.1 FPS difference, which is within the margin of error for a manual run-through.

Far Cry 6

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 breaks from the norm from the last two games above. These results were repeatable and consistent, as we run the benchmark. Performance with DDR5 was higher specifically at 1080p, and less so at 1440p, and pretty much the same at 4K. At 1080p the system with DDR5 was 8% faster, or 10 FPS, this is significant. It’s enough to notice a difference and to make a difference comparing hardware. At 1440p DDR5 was 2% faster, so less of a difference. It seems though at 1080p with a fast GPU, DDR5 can potentially be faster.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Game Of The Year Edition

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Game Of The Year Edition

Flight Sim was interesting, as it actually went the other way at 1080p. The DDR4 platform was just a tad faster, but not noticeably so, and not in a major way. We ran and re-ran the DDR5 results and this was as fast as it would go. Don’t really know why it turned out like that, but at 1440p and 4K, it made no difference which platform.

Watch Dogs Legion

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Watch Dogs Legion

Watch Dogs Legion was another game, like Far Cry 6 where we did see a performance difference at 1080p. It seems DDR5 was 3% faster, it’s a small difference, but it is there. Otherwise, 1440p and 4K were the same.

Crysis Remastered

Intel Core i5-12600K Alder Lake DDR4 vs DDR5 Performance Crysis Remastered

Crysis Remastered was the same between both platforms, just a 1 FPS difference at 1440p and 1080p, so they were the same, and 4K was the same. RAM type made no difference here.

Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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