What is DDR?

 What is DDR?

I am interested to know what RAM my Old ACER Laptop has. 

I think it is DDR3 and it is pretty slow.

I know my NUC has DDR4.

I won't buy a gadget with DDR5, even though I promote Linux games, in my age I have lot the manual dexterity to play games like a kid.

What is DDR?

As the speed of computer components have increased, memory speeds also improved. Double data rate (DDR) memory was introduced to consumers in 2000, prompting the previous technology to become known as single data rate (SDR).

DDR memory transfers data to the processor on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal. This makes double data rate memory significantly faster – and more energy-efficient – than single data-rate memory, which uses only one edge of the clock signal to transfer data. Since DDR is faster and uses less energy than SDR, it quickly became the new standard for memory innovation.

It's also worth pointing out that double data rate memory differs from dual channel memory.

DDR generations

Each successive generation of DDR memory is faster and uses less energy than the one before it.

Today, most computers can get by using DDR3, while most high-end gaming and data-intensive creative content computers now use DDR4.

The latest generation, DDR5, was released in 2021 and offers the next level of performance for serious gamers and professional creatives.

It important to determine what generation of memory your computer supports before buying new RAM. DDR5 memory, for example, will not fit on a motherboard built to support DDR4. 

Check with your motherboard manufacturer to ensure you have the right memory.