2026-05-10
DDR4 vs DDR5 in 2026: Which Used RAM Should You Buy?
Used DDR4 is cheap. Used DDR5 has dropped 40% in 18 months. Here's which one to buy in 2026 based on your CPU, your budget, and the actual UK used-market prices right now.
The DDR4/DDR5 question used to be obvious: DDR4 is half the price. Not anymore. Used DDR5 prices have fallen sharply in 2026, and for new builds the gap is now small enough that DDR5 wins for most people.
Here's how to actually decide, with current UK used-market prices.
Step 1 — Your CPU decides for you (mostly)
| CPU socket | RAM type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AM4 (Ryzen 5000) | DDR4 only | Done. Buy DDR4. |
| LGA 1200 (Intel 10/11th gen) | DDR4 only | Done. Buy DDR4. |
| LGA 1700 (Intel 12/13/14th gen) | Either | Motherboard-dependent — check your board |
| AM5 (Ryzen 7000/9000) | DDR5 only | Done. Buy DDR5. |
| LGA 1851 (Core Ultra) | DDR5 only | Done. Buy DDR5. |
For AM4 and AM5 there's no choice. The interesting case is LGA 1700.
Step 2 — On LGA 1700, look at the used prices
Current UK used-market averages:
| Kit | UK used avg |
|---|---|
| 16GB DDR4 3200 | £30 |
| 16GB DDR4 3600 | £35 |
| 32GB DDR4 3200 | £55 |
| 32GB DDR4 3600 CL16 | £65 |
| 16GB DDR5 6000 | £60 |
| 32GB DDR5 6000 CL30 | £100 |
| 32GB DDR5 6400 | £120 |
| 64GB DDR5 6000 | £180 |
The DDR5 premium for a 32GB kit is now ~£35-45 over DDR4. That's smaller than the gap was 18 months ago.
Step 3 — Is DDR5 worth £35 more?
For gaming: mostly yes. On a modern CPU, DDR5-6000 CL30 gives 5–15% more 1% lows than DDR4-3600 CL16. That's the difference between a stutter and a smooth frame in CPU-bound titles like Cyberpunk, Spider-Man, BG3.
For productivity: yes, no question. Memory bandwidth matters more than raw clocks for compile times, video render, and large compressed file workloads.
For office and browsing: no. You will not notice.
Step 4 — The exception: 64GB+ DDR5 is still expensive
If you want 64GB of DDR5, you're paying £180+ used vs £80 used for 64GB of DDR4. That's a big enough gap that if your work is "lots of RAM, not latency-sensitive" (e.g. VMs, Docker, large datasets), DDR4 + an LGA 1700 board still wins on £/GB by a wide margin.
What to actually buy in 2026
- New AM5 build, gaming-first: 32GB DDR5-6000 CL30. Buy used at £85 or below.
- New AM5 build, productivity: 64GB DDR5-6000. Buy used at £150 or below.
- New Intel build, budget: LGA 1700 + DDR4 board + 32GB DDR4-3600 CL16. Saves £40-60 vs DDR5.
- Upgrading an AM4 system: 32GB DDR4-3600. Don't pay above £65.
What to avoid
- Mixed kits. A 16GB stick from one kit plus a 16GB stick from another kit will run at the lower XMP and may not POST. Always buy matched pairs.
- DDR5 below 5600 MT/s. Cheap for a reason. The performance gap to 6000 CL30 is bigger than the price gap.
- DDR4 above £70 for 32GB. Sellers haven't updated their prices. Don't reward them.
Tracking used RAM prices
RAM prices move slowly compared to GPUs, but they do drift. PartSnipe tracks every active UK RAM listing across eBay UK, CeX and Gumtree and shows the rolling average per kit. Set an alert for the specific kit you want — when a steal hits, you'll know.