DDR3L still worth it?

[Njurdi]

So I am looking into buying a new laptop to use while I am studying. Now I came across the new HP Envy 13, however I see it still uses DDR3L ram instead of DDR4. My question is would it be worth getting a laptop with DDR3L or should I just try to find one with DDR4?

 

I hope someone can help me out and tell me a bit about the differences between these two types of RAM.

 

Kind regards,

 

Njürden

[Sakkura]

The difference between DDR3L and DDR4 mostly doesn't matter. DDR3L does indicate the system is on an older hardware platform, which may make a difference for CPU and/or GPU performance, but the memory type itself isn't that important.

[Jurrunio]

5 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

The difference between DDR3L and DDR4 mostly doesn't matter. DDR3L does indicate the system is on an older hardware platform, which may make a difference for CPU and/or GPU performance, but the memory type itself isn't that important.

6th and 7th gen CPU from Intel supports DDR3L from the box, so it doesnt mean it's older.

 

For a paperwork machine DDR3L or DDR4 doesnt matter. What do matter is a good screen, SSD and maybe battery life.

[GeoffLucas]

I generally agree with Jurrunio with the caveat that a few instances would take advantage of higher-end ram.  These mostly fall into the power-user category where there is a lot of information transfer happening.  For general use or productivity, though, focus on an ssd, a screen if you're not getting a standalone monitor, and a gpu if you want to do any gaming.

[Sakkura]

3 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

6th and 7th gen CPU from Intel supports DDR3L from the box, so it doesnt mean it's older.

 

For a paperwork machine DDR3L or DDR4 doesnt matter. What do matter is a good screen, SSD and maybe battery life.

Most systems use DDR4 even though DDR3L is supported.

[Jurrunio]

41 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

Most systems use DDR4 even though DDR3L is supported.

Because DDR4 is indeed faster, though I think the major reason is marketing. Laptop using DDR4 just sounds better than laptop using DDR3 (those who dont know tech thinks DDR3L = DDR3 anyway)

[Sakkura]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

Because DDR4 is indeed faster, though I think the major reason is marketing. Laptop using DDR4 just sounds better than laptop using DDR3 (those who dont know tech thinks DDR3L = DDR3 anyway)

Well, DDR3L is just DDR3. At 1.35V.

[ErrystioT]

The difference is just speed and voltage draw, the newer standard have more speed while also having less voltage draw. But for normal real-world usage (non CPU-intensive tasks btw), it shouldn't have that much of a difference (unless benchmarks).