DDR2 vs DDR3

[Diamon]

How big of a performance increase would you see from using DDR3 over DDR2 RAM? As it is now I'm kinda meh towards the DDR3 since it's so expensive. Should I change my view of it?

[crenn]

Performance increase? You won't see much unless you get the extra expensive RAM. DDR3 is mainly for power savings.

[Diamon]

OK, thanks

[Technochicken]

Performance increase? You won't see much unless you get the extra expensive RAM. DDR3 is mainly for power savings.


I'm not sure about that. DDR3 has twice the bandwidth per clock cycle as DDR2, and combine that with the higher clock speeds, DDR3 has WAY higher bandwidth. You probably would not notice this difference much in every day applications, but in really CPU and memory intensive stuff you certainly would.

[crenn]

I'm not sure about that. DDR3 has twice the bandwidth per clock cycle as DDR2, and combine that with the higher clock speeds, DDR3 has WAY higher bandwidth. You probably would not notice this difference much in every day applications, but in really CPU and memory intensive stuff you certainly would.
You're also forgetting the higher latency of DDR3 which partially 'kills' some of that bandwidth. As for DDR3 having more raw bandwidth, I doubt it if it's running at the same clock speeds as DDR2.

[Technochicken]

You're also forgetting the higher latency of DDR3 which partially 'kills' some of that bandwidth. As for DDR3 having more raw bandwidth, I doubt it if it's running at the same clock speeds as DDR2.

True about the latency, but:


DDR3 SDRAM is an improvement over its predecessor, DDR2 SDRAM, and the two are not compatible. The primary benefit of DDR3 is the ability to transfer at twice the data rate of DDR2

^wikipedia

[Luke122]

Yes, lets not also remember that the two are physically different, so unless your board supports both....

[PauL]

You most likely wont notice a difference between the two unless you are doing benchmarking (assuming you are using the same amount of DDR2 compared to DDR3) or possibly photo/video editing but usually quantity takes over by then, the more RAM usually the better to a certain point.

[Oneslowz28]

I have some 2000MHz Geil Evo One that will blow any ddr2 @ any latency out of the water.

[crenn]

True about the latency, but:



^wikipedia
Just went to wikipedia and you're correct, the reason it's faster is the bus multiplier is 4 for DDR3 and 2 for DDR2, this means that even at the same clock speed DDR3 has double the bandwidth (theoritically).

Learn something new every day!

[Diamon]

Thanks for all the info guys. It's not like I can choose between them if I want to upgrade to an i7 though ^^

[crenn]

Put it this way, DDR3 is here to stay for a while longer.

[x88x]

Another thing to consider, depending on what CPU you're getting, is that if you get a compatible CPU and the right RAM configuration, you can have triple-channel communication with the RAM, which will give you a noticeable performance increase. Granted, though, the only CPUs that currently support triple-channel DDR3 are S1366 i7's.

[Diamon]

If I upgrade my system I'll likely go with an S1366 i7 and a (gigabyte?) motherboard which supports triple channel DDR3 so that's no problem. The question is if and when I'll update since my computer can do all the things it's supposed to at the moment.

[x88x]

My advice, which I have (sorta) been following, is to stay with what you have until it won't do what you want it to. I'm in a similar situation right now, where my CPU is over 3 years old, and my GPU is almost 2 years old, but it still does everything that I want it to, with power to spare.

[SXRguyinMA]

/\ this

I'm currently running an older abit board, a q6600, and a pair of 3870x2s in crossfire with 6gb of ddr2 800. All of this hardware is 3 or 4 years old, and this rig still does everything and anything I need it to

[Diamon]

My advice, which I have (sorta) been following, is to stay with what you have until it won't do what you want it to. I'm in a similar situation right now, where my CPU is over 3 years old, and my GPU is almost 2 years old, but it still does everything that I want it to, with power to spare.

Is that why you bought a huge monsta rad? :)

I've been thinking the same way with my upgrades.

[x88x]

Is that why you bought a huge monsta rad? :)

Lol, no, that was because I'm a sucker for a great deal. :whistler:

Also, a good rad can last for many years, over many different system configurations. Especially one as good as the Monsta. :D

[Diamon]

Lol, no, that was because I'm a sucker for a great deal. :whistler:

Also, a good rad can last for many years, over many different system configurations. Especially one as good as the Monsta. :D

Fair enough :)