{
  "id": 14478507,
  "title": "New motherboards, old RAM, plenty of life left in yesterday's PCs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/new-motherboards-old-ram-plenty-of-life-left-in-yesterdays-pcs-14478507",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-14T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/10/14/new-motherboards-old-ram-plenty-of-life-left-in-yesterdays-pcs/5303018"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Gigabyte recently unveiled new motherboards that utilize DDR4 RAM, a standard launched in 2014. Other manufacturers still support even older RAM standards in recently released computer components. In April, AMD introduced the Ryzen 7 5800X3D anniversary edition, commemorating ten years of AM4 processors. Gigabyte offers the B450M H ARGB with two DDR4 slots and the B550 X-Eagle with four slots for AM4 processors. Intel users can now purchase the B760M Aorus Elite. This is significant due to the age of the DDR4 standard. The Register first reported on the DDR4 specification in 2012 and advised waiting a year or two before adopting it. DDR5, which offers higher transfer rates, was agreed upon in 2020 and is set to be widely adopted in 2021. In China, several vendors sell new DDR3 motherboards for 15-year-old server CPUs, such as Huananzhi's X79-4D or X79 Supreme, and the Machinist X79 V2.82H. These use Intel's LGA-2011 socket, launched in 2011. This Chinese discussion explores the potential value of buying 15-year-old Xeon E5 CPUs, a topic previously covered by The Register in 2012. This decision is partly driven by current price hikes and component shortages caused by the development of large-scale, cloud-based language models, as well as the training of open-weight models on personal computers. These models are often trained using vast amounts of human-written data sourced from the internet and rarely ask for consent. Additionally, once a user removes the sluggish, bloated commercial operating system from their computer's storage, they often discover that the older the PC (or Mac), the more likely it is to function properly with Linux or other free and open-source software (FOSS) operating systems. Current and recent hardware is particularly problematic for FOSS developers, as manufacturers often prioritize Windows testing and restricted documentation and proprietary drivers make open-source support for new hardware challenging. Keeping older hardware in service is advantageous when high-powered local language models or three-digit frame rates are not required. Second-hand kit is more usable than ever, particularly for those who do not need high-powered local language models or three-digit frame rates.",
  "summary": "DDR4 makes a comeback as component costs rise, while Linux offers an escape from forced upgrades",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register",
        "title": "New motherboards, old RAM, plenty of life left in yesterday's PCs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/new-motherboards-old-ram-plenty-of-life-left-in-yesterdays-pcs",
        "published": "2026-10-14T15:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}