DDR3 and DDR4 memory work with different motherboards and chipsets. Essentially, DDR3 is compatible with almost every motherboard and socket out there, but DDR4 is only compatible with boards using Intel’s X99 chipset and LGA 2011 processor socket.
So the answer is No. They’re physically and electrically incompatible. let’s see why not.
SEE ALSO: Best Motherboards for i7 9700k
Motherboard Support for ddr4
DDR3 MoBo aren’t compatible with DDR4 RAMs. They simply won’t fit..
Checking compatibility with your motherboard before you buy it is important. We’ll list some models from various manufacturers that we know work and some that we know don’t. In general, all GIGABYTE Z170/X99 boards should work fine as well as most other popular brands such as ASUS, ASRock, MSI. The motherboards we know that have no support for ddr4 are the following: MSI H110M-Pro VH Plus Intel® Xeon™ E3-1200 & v5 series Chipset codename skyline.
SEE ALSO – Best Intel Motherboards for Gaming
Most Current motherboards are compatible with ddr4, but be aware that some may require updated bios. If the memory is not bootable, it usually will show up under “removable devices” or “disk drives”. Many motherboards have a place to plug in the new type of memory while others do not.
Memory Support List By Motherboard Manufacturer
Some notes on ram compatibility with some of the more popular motherboards/cpu combos. As long as you’re not mixing AMD and Intel chips in the same rig, most all ram will work fine. X99 + i7 6800k = Kingston HyperX Fury is an excellent combination as it has a better heat spreader than other brands and tighter clamping force on the modules which stops them from vibrating loose over time compared to multiple other brands tested (superior to G.Skill, Crucial, Corsair).
I also am a fan of using the 32GB kit for X99 as I like having my memory in a single module. Z170/i7 6700k = Kingston HyperX Fury is an excellent combination as it has a better heat spreader than other brands and tighter clamping force on the modules which stops them from vibrating loose over time compared to multiple other brands tested (superior to G.Skill, Crucial, Corsair). Z170/i7 6800k = anything that works with the Skylake Xeon should work here too; the same goes for any i5 6600Kor i5 6500 CPU.