Innovation Spotlight: ASRock’s combo motherboard might be a DRAM savior

{"title": "ASRock's Hybrid Motherboard Offers Solution to Surging RAM Expenses", "body": ["As RAM costs keep climbing rapidly, those assembling PCs might need innovative approaches. ASRock has introduced a motherboard that allows users to install either DDR4 or DDR5 modules through specific slots designed for each type.", ["The ASRock H610m Combo, or similar models if demand grows, provides protection from the escalating DRAM costs, according to reports from UNIKO’s Hardware on Twitter and HotHardware. Details on the product's price remain unavailable from the manufacturer.", "Supplies of legacy DDR4 RAM are dwindling as production winds down, which has driven up costs significantly. For instance, PCPartPicker data shows that two 16GB DDR4-3600 modules rose from around $75 in June to over $225 by December, nearly tripling in value. Meanwhile, DDR5 RAM, heavily demanded by AI data centers, has surged from about $100 in September to roughly $380—an even steeper percentage hike, though the absolute expense hits consumers harder. This suggests that opting for the older, less speedy DDR4 could still offer better value despite some performance trade-offs.", "A key limitation is that DDR types are not interchangeable. Users can upgrade within the same DDR4 category to faster variants, but DDR5 setups cannot accommodate more affordable DDR4 from previous systems. On this particular board, options include using the two DDR4 slots for up to 64GB total or the four DDR5 slots for as much as 96GB at speeds of DDR5-4800.", "One additional constraint involves compatibility: the motherboard works exclusively with Intel's 12th- through 14th-generation Core processors, which executives describe as among the company's top-selling desktop CPUs, despite known stability challenges in that lineup.", "This development prompts reflection on competitors like AMD, whose AM4 socket earned praise for its extended support, yet the shift toward DDR5 prompted its phase-out. With DDR4 fading but still more budget-friendly than DDR5, hobbyists may delay upgrading to newer systems. ASRock appears to be aligning its designs with this trend.", "Mark has contributed to PCWorld over the past 10 years and brings three decades of tech journalism expertise. He has produced more than 3,500 pieces for PCWorld, focusing on areas like PC processors, accessories, and Windows OS. His work has appeared in outlets such as PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science, and Electronic Buyers' News, earning a Jesse H. Neal Award for news coverage. Lately, he cleared out a stockpile of Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs due to space constraints in his workspace."]}