Decade-old RAM is making a comeback

<figure> <img alt="Circuitboard with error message." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/STKS523_RAM_SHORTAGE_B.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">CPU makers have noticed that the seemingly unending <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/839353/pc-ram-shortage-pricing-spike-news">RAM price hikes</a> are making it tough for a lot of us to upgrade our PCs. Their solution? A return to last-gen DDR4 RAM. Intel and AMD are making new CPUs that'll support the older, more affordable type of memory. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Friday, Gigabyte <a href="https://www.gigabyte.com/press/news/2460">announced</a> that two of its motherboard lines will support "upcoming" processors built on Intel's LGA 1700 socket. That socket debuted in 2021 with the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/27/22747271/intel-12th-gen-alder-lake-chips-hybrid-architecture-price-release-date-i9-12900k">12th gen Alder Lake CPUs</a> and supported both DDR4 RAM and the then-new DDR5 RAM. Intel dropped it for a DDR5-only approach in 2024. But according to Gigabyte, the dual format support is now being revived, with new …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/1009140/ram-shortage-intel-amd-ddr4-comeback">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>