DDR2100 or DDR3200 ? 2

[xit]

Hi All, I have a motherboard that can use either SDR SDRAM or DDR SDRAM, it is now using SDR SDRAM and I would like to upgrade to DDR. Here is my question, the board uses DDR200/266, can I use DDR3200 as the price is about the same and I could use it in the future on a faster board?

thanks
xit

 

[imstillatwork]

there are many new boards that use DDR PC3200 the highest end boards use DDR2 now.

 

[Dinobot2]

I don't think so. I've had this problem before and the reason why it didn't work was because of the voltage requirement for the chip. Also I don't think the 3200 could fit into the 2100 slot.

 

[paparazi]

Oh dear! bit of miss-information SORRY GUYS for putting you right!
imstillatwork
DDR2 is the latest memory for high end Intel boards but that doesn't apply to Athlon64 (well not yet anyway) were the fastest chipset for A64, the Nforce4 Ultra/SLi still runs happily on PC3200 (DDR400) standard DDR!!!!

Dinobot2
PC2100 (DDR266) and PC3200 (DDR400) use the same slots and operate at the same voltage.

All the dual slot (DDR/SDram) motherboards I've used are PC3200 (DDR400) compatible. (obviously running @ 266 speed)

ECS K7S5A OK!
Jetway V266A OK!
Jetway V266B OK!

Remember you cannot use both at the same time! (SDram and DDR)
You will notice a slight performance gain, maybe a few percent but nothing drastic.

Martin


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[cdogg]

The only downside of going with faster memory than you need is that the higher the speed rating, the slower the timings will likely be. Cheap PC3200 memory is not going to perform as fast as cheap PC2100 memory when running at 266MHz.

When I say timings, I'm talking about those latency numbers you often see in the specs. For example, you might see 2-5-5-7 on an average stick of PC3200 DDR. But on an average PC2100 DDR stick, you would likely see faster timings (lower numbers) in each position. The lower the better.

Now many might argue that you're only talking about a 1-2% margin of performance here. That's true. But to be technically correct, it really offers you no advantage and can actually hurt performance (even if only by a small percent) to get the PC3200 stick.

Besides, your next major upgrade will likely require DDR2 or some other future form of memory. Therefore, hoping that you can use it in your next system isn't a likely outcome...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[xit]

Thanks for all your input, I am going from 256 mb of SDR PC133 to 512 mb PC3200 DDR so I think I should see some improvement, right?
If not sometime I can upgrade the motherboard.

thanks a lot

xit

 

[paparazi]

xit
There will be an improvement in general applications but only slight, where you will notice a differance is when using particularly memory intensive applications like video encoding etc where with just 256mb your system would have in the past been pagefiling (running out of memory)but will now have the extra ram to call upon.
If you are going with DDR I still think the PC3200 is the wiser choice dispite cdogg's sound advice about lower latencies.
Even though DDR1/PC3200 is getting on, I can see it being supported for sometime yet.
At present PC3200 is fitted to the grater majority of new motherboards and it is vastly more common than DDR2 but as with all technology the ballance will change in favour of DDR2 over the next year or so.
Martin



We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[xit]

Thanks paparazi, My thinking was that with the additional ram I could dedicate much more ram to the onboard video thus improving visuals. As of present I have only 32 meg dedicated and I know I can go to at least 64meg or more, can't remember what the board allows. This is my wifes computer so I thought she would appreciate the small upgrade but I must admit I have an ulterior motive, I need the 256 meg SDR memory for one of my older computers, I don't think I mentioned that to her though, ha ha.

thanks

xit

 

[garebo]

Tell you what. I just did that upgrade for a friend of mine. There was a new store opened in my city and they were selling 512 mb pc 2700 or 3200 ram for $10 a stick.
I told my friend to pick up a bunch for me and a few for him as he has one of those mobos that will take either sdram or ddram.
We counted his boot time with his 512 mb sdram, and time to open wordperfect and we also ran a game.
Then we did the same with one stick of 512 mb ddram and the same with 2 x 512 mb ddram.
Each time we got better results. I certainly cant remember exactly how much better performance he got, but it was noticeably better each time. And it was an experiment, so nobody was biased here.
So there is a difference, and its more than worth it when getting the ram so cheap.
But i would say its even worth it at higher prices than we paid. Just my opinion.




Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[xit]

garebo, I would like to get my hands on a bunch of 2700 & 3200 ram for $10 a stick, what a good price & lucky you for getting a new computer store in your area. I will post back in a day or so as my order is due in tomorrow.

thanks
xit

 

[garebo]

It all went in less than a day. Once people like me started telling all their friends!
I couldnt believe it. I bought a bunch myself.
Yes sir, $10 a stick for 512 mb ddram, no lie!
I also got a new but opened creative zen touch 30 mb for $161 with all taxes included. They go for about $360 to $400 plus taxes here in Windsor! And i have mine loaded with mp3's!
I also got a sony net md unit that takes minidisks for $30.
Unfortunately the people who run the store are catching on that their prices are too low, lol.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[cdogg]

Well, glad to see you've gotten some of your questions answered. I just wanted to add that I was, in no way, suggesting that PC3200 is a bad idea. My 2¢ was just to point out that it's just a technicality about PC2100 being the logical choice.

If the brand you're looking at for PC3200 is about the same price as a decent stick of PC2100, then there's really not going to be much difference, if any, either way.


~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[xit]

cdogg, thanks for the reply. I was thinking along these lines, that I could use more ram for video going from 256 sdr to 512 ddr and I needed the old sdr for another older computer. I installed the 512 ddr into my wifes computer and dedicated 128 meg to onboard video and that alone was worth the upgrade, now I have 256 sdr for another computer in need of more memory. I will post back after I get a chance to determine if the ddr upgrade is noticeable or not.

thanks

xit

 

[cdogg]

xit,
OK, I just noticed here that you introduced a new topic in this discussion - going from SDRAM to DDR SDRAM.

As for that, the biggest factor that will determine whether or not you'll notice a big improvement is the CPU. For example, a CPU with a 200MHz frontside bus or faster is bottlenecked by any type of standard SDRAM.

Therefore, if your CPU falls into that category, you should see a noticeable difference going to DDR regardless of whether it's PC2100 or PC3200...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884