Is DDR4 worth buying?

James Hunt assesses the benefits of the latest standard of RAM

It's been close to a decade since DDR3 memory was first introduced and five years since it became the dominant form of RAM in home PCs. In an industry where anything older than 18 months looks seriously out of date, DDR3 is starting to seem positively ancient. It's no surprise, then, that the next evolution of the technology, DDR4 memory, is starting to creep into the latest high-end hardware.

At this point, there's a chance that the next computer you buy will indeed support DDR4. But what is DDR4 memory, and what are the practical benefits of it? And most importantly, is it worth aiming to include in your next system?

Canon Pixma MG4250

Canon Pixma MG4000 printers are the middle rung of its home and SOHO multifunction range. They generally offer better performance and are quite heavy duty machines used for mid-volume printing and scanning.

The Pixma MG4250 is the follow-up to the MG4150 from early 2012, and aside from the design of the chassis, this model having a matt-black finish as opposed to the glossy piano black of its predecessor, there's really very little difference between the pair.

This is a print, copy and scan device with wi-fi and USB connectivity, Apple AirPrint, Pixma Cloud print and Google Cloud Print support, as well as a memory card reader and automatic duplex printing.

HP Envy 4507

The HP 4500 range of multifunction printers were very much the darling of the high-street electrical store's shelves early last year. This was the newer range of inkjets from HP covering 2013/14, and for the most part they did a reasonably good job and flew off the shelves quick enough to replace the older Deskjet 3500s.

This is a fairly slim, low-profile, all-in-one printer offering print, copy and scan functionality. In terms of connectivity, there's USB and wi-fi, with Apple AirPrint and HP ePrint support. As with the Officejet, you can also send documents to print via your smartphone or tablet and, if needed, you can also administer the printer remotely.

HP DeskJet 1510

The HP Deskjet range of printers have been around for what seems like an eternity. The old saying that you're never more than six feet from a rat could also be applied to HP Deskjets, as they seem to be the choice of printer for nearly every small office and home in the known universe.

The reason is, of course, that they’re generally cheap to buy, cheap to maintain and can take a surprising amount of abuse before they go on to that great recycling plant in the sky or wherever it is these things go once they leave your possession.

Canon Pixma MX525

This is the second Pixma in this group, and rather than being a single-use printer as before, this time we have an all-singing, all-dancing multifunction device that's crammed full of features.

The Canon Pixma MX525 is the direct competitor to the HP 4630, in that you can copy, scan, fax and print, with support for smartphones and tablets, along with Apple AirPrint and internet printing from any device and location. It also goes one step further and adds support for cloud technologies, allowing you to scan directly to your Dropbox account and the Pixma cloud.

HP Officejet 4630

The HP Officejet 4630 multifunction printer is a product perfect for modern home offices. It scans, faxes, copies, prints, is wireless and USB connected, and has automatic duplexing. The only thing it doesn't do is make you a cup of tea in the morning.

This particular model was actually one of the first to accommodate printing from a smartphone or tablet, and it features AirPrint, the Apple protocol from OS X Lion and iOS 4.2 onward. There's also a scan-to-email feature, and through the wi-fi functionality you also get HP ePrint, which allows you to send a print to the printer's email address. In fact, you can administer the printer remotely if needed.

Canon Pixma iP2850

The Pixma range from Canon has proved over the years to be quite a solid workhorse and very popular with consumers. The range is, for the most part, consists of good-quality printers that tend to remain in active service for quite some time.

This particular Pixma is something of an oddity among its cousins on the shelves, as Canon has made the decision to buck the trend for multifunction printers and has released a standard printer aimed squarely at the home and SOHO user.