DDR5 is worth it for a gaming + video editing rig.

Yes, if you actually edit video.

Gaming alone doesn’t need DDR5. A good DDR4 kit with tight timings will get you 95% of the frames. But video editing loves bandwidth. Proxies, timeline scrubbing, rendering – all benefit from DDR5’s higher multi-core throughput. The gap between DDR4 and DDR5 in Premiere or DaVinci is real, especially with larger files.

The price premium has been shrinking. You’re probably paying 20–30% more for a DDR5 kit and motherboard, compared to DDR4. If you edit even semi-regularly, that money buys real time savings. If you only game, save it.

Future You, upgrading in three years, will also thank you for being on the newer platform.

Don’t overthink it: if you edit, get DDR5.