Rising RAM prices have pushed PC makers to revive decade-old DDR4 support so users can upgrade CPUs without buying expensive DDR5 memory. Gigabyte announced new motherboard lines for Intel’s LGA 1700 socket that will accept upcoming Intel processors expected in early 2027; LGA 1700 originally supported both DDR4 and DDR5 before Intel shifted to DDR5-only in 2024. AMD is following a similar path, releasing new AM4-compatible motherboards alongside a 10th-anniversary relaunch of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The industry shift restores older sockets and chipsets to give buyers a lower-cost upgrade path rather than forcing a move to pricier DDR5.
The practical driver is a steep price gap: a 32GB DDR5 Corsair kit lists around $620 while a comparable DDR4 kit is about $260, making DDR4 a far more economical choice despite DDR5’s higher speeds and efficiency. With global memory shortages likely to keep DDR5 expensive for years, companies are reopening support for DDR4 to preserve consumer choice and ease upgrade costs. The change signals a tactical retreat from forcing next-gen memory and makes holding onto existing DDR4 modules a sound move for many PC builders.
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The Lightbulb Computer is a device that projects information into real-world spaces using modern projector technology and computer vision, avoiding traditional screens. It can be mounted in various locations and reacts to voice, gestures, and vision to enhance everyday tasks like cooking, studying, and planning. (lightbulbcomputer.com)
The switchdev model is an in-kernel driver framework for offloading switch device forwarding from the Linux kernel, enabling efficient data plane processing. It supports various setups, including data-center switches and SR-IOV, with components spanning user-space tools, kernel drivers, and hardware devices. (docs.kernel.org)
The Museo de Historia de la Computación in Spain built a replica of the Cray-1 supercomputer using 30 obsolete Mac Minis. The project demonstrates how modern consumer hardware can emulate historic supercomputers and highlights the evolution of computing architecture. (arstechnica.com)
The Atari Falcon030 was Atari Corporation's final computer, released in late 1992 and based on a Motorola 68030 CPU with a digital signal processor. It was discontinued in 1993 as Atari shifted focus to the Jaguar console, but later versions were produced by C-Lab for music production. (atarimuseum.nl)
Global PC shipments have declined by 20 percent over the past year due to the RAMpocalypse. This drop reflects ongoing supply chain issues and market challenges in the computing industry. (techradar.com)
A tiny game console was built inside an antenna plug using an ESP32-S3 chip, capable of running games like Doom. The project focuses on creating a fully functional, analog TV-output device in an extremely small form factor. (raytriangle.com)
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