Is DDR5 Still Worth Buying in 2026? Buy Now, Wait, or Stick With DDR4?

we are desperate for ram

It’s timely because DDR5 pricing has become a real consumer pain point: Tom’s Hardware reports that a typical 32GB DDR5 kit that sold for about $100–$200 in October 2025 now starts around $350, while memory spot prices and nand costs also jumped sharply in early 2026. Tom’s also reported IDC expecting average PC prices to rise in 2026 partly because of memory shortages from ai.

Being realistic, DDR5 ram are like so MUCH better, however the difference in practice feels unnoticed. Kingston says DDR5 starts at 4800 MT/s while DDR4 tops out at 3200 MT/s, a 50% higher baseline transfer rate. However the price is so much more expensive. DDR5 gives a huge bandwidth uplift over DDR4, but the real performance jump is usually modest in gaming and much more meaningful in memory-heavy workloads. the price however is 25%-50%, so it is not worth it in my opinion.

Here’s a list of ddr4 and ddr5 ram choices, handpicked by me, chosen by value:

• DDR4: https://amzn.to/4aT1G86
• DDR5: https://amzn.to/40w9Qyb