Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!

Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!

  • Congratulations SkipVought on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

ddr400 or 333? 1

Status
Not open for further replies.

709

Technical User
May 1, 2001
41
0
0
GB
hello guys,

i can get ddr400 256mb for say 50 quid or 512mb ddr333 for 65, now ive just been reading that the higher clock rate of the memory offers no real difference over the 333mhz ddr.

wots your opinion?

hmmmm decisions decisions.

 
Well the fact is that ddr 400 is faster than ddr 333.
But having 512 mb ddr333 gives a better performance to your system than 256 mb ddr400. So I would go with the ddr333 512 mb option. Unless you can buy 512 mb ddr 400. Than I would go with that option.

Be carefull though. Most motherboards which support ddr 400 only support one ddr 400 stick on the board and the ddr 400 won't work together with ddr 333 memory. Keep this in mind.

Greetings.
 
More RAM at a slightly slower speed is better than less faster RAM.
Of course, this all depends on the motherboard/CPU combination it's going on, and if you can run RAM Asynchronous or not.

Cheers,
Jim
iamcan.gif
 
It's true. The DDR400 suffers from latency inconsistencies that actually hurt overall performance (FSB doesn't match Memory Bus). CL2 rated DDR333 easily outperforms any stick of DDR400 in most systems. You can read more about it at websites like:

- OR -




~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein
 
well originally my thought are get mobo with drr 400 and an xp 2600+ @333 fsb cant get for £109 plus vat (@ the moment i have xp1800 @ 266), but i have read alot about higher clock rates meaning xtra cost and offering little more.

also read that 2600xp @ 266 is better benchmarking than the 333 version :/

 
When comparing the different Athlon XP models, keep in mind that it's the "performance rating" that determines the model. Like take the 2500+ versions of 133MHz fsb and 166MHz fsb; the 166MHz version trails in clock speed by 200MHz or something (I don't know the exact figures).

So when AMD labels those two as 2500+ they're saying the two processors have roughly equal performance (which can solve hassles of wondering if a 2GHz 166MHz fsb is better than 2.4GHz 133MHz for instance).

And there's benchmarks out there that flip flop on which processor is better.


Onto the ram - running the memory at 200MHz with an fsb of 166MHz results in the clocks lining up only 1/5 of the time, which causes the slower performance. Once the Athlon XP's with a 200MHz fsb are released, you'll then see the gains of using DDR400.

And you can always get a stick of DDR400 ram, but run it at a reduced speed to match your fsb, there's no harm in that.
 
If you'll allow me to quote Gordon Mah Ung, from a popular North American PC mag, in his response to a question regarding performance with respect to your particular question:

"Most CPUs perform best when their frontside buses and RAM are running at the same speed. If you were to run the Athlon XP with 333MHz frontside bus and 400MHz DDR, the performance would be worse than running it at 333MHz/333MHz. For the record, we used Corsair DDR RAM rated to run in excess of 400MHz; we just had it clocked at 333MHz with CL2. I'm sure Intel would have liked for us to run it at 400MHz, but AMD would likely have been miffed."

I hope this proves useful to you.

PS - IMO, Gordon is a fountain of knowledge; and without transgressing by advertising the magazine he writes for, I can only say that he and his compatriots are top-notch.

Mick


Complacency is the rigor mortis of the soul.
 
Aye, Mick! That's one of my favorite mags to read when I actually have time. Yes, I must wholeheartedly agree with Gordon who really does his research.

Dakota has a good point, however. Once the 200MHz FSB chipsets are released for AMD rigs, DDR400 should have no problem outperforming DDR333 (given that there aren't any bugs with the new chipsets).




~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein
 
Agreed, cdogg!

Mick



Complacency is the rigor mortis of the soul.
 
cheers lads just the info i wanted ;) think ill go with the 333 ddr for now.

cheers once agian
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top