In a stunning display of innovation, the computer industry has solved the RAM price crisis by... traveling back to 2014. Intel and AMD are reportedly preparing new CPUs that support DDR4 memory, the older, cheaper standard that everyone definitely didn't spend the last few years abandoning.

Gigabyte announced Friday that two of its motherboard lines will support "upcoming" processors built on Intel's LGA 1700 socket. That socket debuted in 2021 alongside the 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs and originally supported both DDR4 and the then-fresh DDR5. Intel dropped dual support for a DDR5-only approach in 2024, because why make things easy when you can make them expensive? But according to Gigabyte, the dual format support is now being revived, with new LGA 1700 chips "expected to launch in early 2027." Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment, presumably because it was busy rummaging through a drawer of old hardware.

The backtrack hinges on LGA 1700's cross-compatibility with both kinds of RAM - an advantage over its successor that's suddenly become very important now that DDR5 prices have entered the "second mortgage" tier. Intel's apparent strategy is to let users buy a new CPU without also being forced to switch to new, very expensive DDR5 memory. AMD is doing something similar: in August, Gigabyte also announced a new series of motherboards for AMD's last-gen, DDR4-compatible AM4 platform, to go along with the 10th-anniversary relaunch of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU.

DDR4 started hitting the market in 2014 and has since been succeeded by the much faster DDR5. Under normal circumstances, buying new hardware to use technology that's over a decade old would probably be a bad investment. But the RAM shortage is changing the math, with DDR4 seemingly feeling the sting of price hikes much less than its newer sibling.

This reporter recently saw the disparity first-hand while shopping for new RAM after a DDR4 kit abruptly died. Right now, a DDR5 32GB Corsair Vengeance RAM kit costs $620, while the corresponding DDR4 kit costs $260. Even though that's more than 32GB of DDR4 typically cost back in mid-2025, it's still more than double the price for DDR5. Sure, DDR5 offers higher speeds and better power efficiency. But those perks might not be worth the current price of admission.

It could be years before prices drop again, a reality that's starting to sink in with the official return of older sockets and chipsets. But at least it's a good time to hang onto your DDR4 RAM - or, if you're Intel, to pretend you never left it.