ddr outdated yet?

T

towly

New Member
I was wondering if ddr has already been outdated, or is it still comparable to ddr2 performance wise.

The reason I ask is because, right now Im looking into switching out my ram with some ddr 500 ram (2 gigs of) so that whenever I get vista I have enough ram to run it, in addition I just scored a sweet deal on a AMD X2 processor that I think I may jump on. The only clinger for me is if it is worth putting them money in the parts or if I should save up till I get my next computer (probably a laptop of sorts).

I dont play games much any more, so if I could extend the life of my desktop until I can get a very good laptop, Id rather go that route than have to put money soon (~1 yr) into buying something completely new.
 
DDR2 is fast becoming the standard, most of the better selling and better performing mobo's and processors and prebuilt machines all come with it.
 
That fast ddr2 ram is great in gaming but since you don't do any of that i don't see why you should opt for that.. And the x2's are great but c2d beat 'em hands down. I say save up for a good laptop.
 
I am currently running the Vista Home Premium version with 2gb of DDR400 value ram memory on the Socket 939 board here. Waiting for an FX-60 or Opteron 185 to drop down in price far enough will be about the time for an AM3 if not AM2 board to go in for the upgrade there. For the Asus board there you would be better off with 2gb of PC3200 DDR400 then 1gb of faster memory that will still be running at the 400mhz(200x2) speed.

With the wait for the eventual Vista 2nd edition or SP2 like seen with XP you will have already bought a new laptop with DDR2 800 probably by that time. Don't an SP1 even during the first year. I would simply increase the DDR 400 and grab a good deal on an X2 model if it is at least a 2.2ghz model. Then you have two cores instead of one running at the same speed.
 
computermaineack said:
Yeah but if you have no need to spend the extra money on a C2D, an X2 is still worth it...
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Yeah.. but i gotta single core 3700 oced and i do fine. :) I don't multitask that much so i guess i'm biased but i would save up all the money i could for a super lappy... that is unless the x2 is a real great deal.


And pc eye.. Why wait for a 185 to drop in price when a 165, which is no different 'cept a low multiplier, is only about $150 on newegg? The cheaper the better in my opinion.

Edit: Damn. it went up in price and it's outa stock... nevermind then.
 
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DDR is quickly on its way out but it's still comparible to the lower speed DDR2. If you don't play games anymore and stick to your average tasks you wont notice a difference between DDR and DDR2 of a low speed. Now DDR2-800 in a gaming/graphics rig is a different story.
 
Funny I'm still running DDR 400 here and run a number of games like Fear, Prey, Half Life 2, Metal of Honor: Allied Assault, Soldier of Fortune II, and the list goes on. Gradually DDR2 will simply be seen like PC100 is now seen as well. But your system will run quite well with the memory it supports. Any faster 184pin memory will still be limited to the DDR400 speed.
 
The reason I was looking at getting faster ram is so I can oc with at least a good amount of assurance my ram wont go out. Im still trying to do the numbers but if I can find another gig of 512 ram for not that much I might just get that instead.

My only goal is to do the least amount of upgrades that can hold me off for a year or so, until I do a complete system rebuild, so that hopefully by then, if I choose a desktop, the prices of most parts will have come down to reasonable prices, and I dont have to necessarily pay a high price.
 
If you are planning to oc you should simply swap out the current DDR memory for 2gb of DDR400 performance memory capatible with the current board not trying faster memory that has to backclock. Corsair's XMS series memory or Kingston's HyperX is some of that. Mushkin also was a good oc memory for the older AMD boards.
 
DDR2 is already the new standard. I work in technology for a living and every single new system we get in since like 6 months ago is all DDR2 RAM.

I have read a few articles about Rambus making a come back, but I haven't seen aything on it yet. Maybe RIMMs got way cheaper now, I mean it technically was better than DDR to begin with but it was just too expensive to scale and DDR became the new standard because it was cheap and easily scalable to higher performances.
 
PC eye said:
If you are planning to oc you should simply swap out the current DDR memory for 2gb of DDR400 performance memory capatible with the current board not trying faster memory that has to backclock. Corsair's XMS series memory or Kingston's HyperX is some of that. Mushkin also was a good oc memory for the older AMD boards.
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Err, actually I meant to say if I got faster speed ram, that I was going to get 2 gigs of the faster ram.

I've been looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141152

I was wondering if it would be compatible with the ram I have atm?
 
Can you believe the price on Kingston memory went UP instead of ddddown? Last year I paid $110 for 2gb of Kingston Value Ram at a pc fair. Take a look at the $173.99 seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141308

For the Socket 939 Asus A8N-SLI board here with an Atholon 3500+ that was a good investment without really planning to oc. In order to add two 512mb dimms you will want the same as what is already installed or move directly to a pair of 1gb performance dimms to replace the current memory. I don't care for the make of memory at the link you posted however. Good memory usually sees a higher price on it like everything else.
 
OCZ is a premium brand memory with the all too often "premium price" that goes along with it. There are drawbacks at times when installed on Asus model board however. Some have reported some incompatibilty issues there. But that or another good name memory would otherwise see good results. The personal favored here for strictly stock application is Kingston.

For a board you only plan to run until what next year? or when ready to upgrade it seems you could do just as well with a lower cost name brand like Corsair's xms series. Crucial, Kingston HyperX, Mushkin, or a few pthers for ocing with higher tag. For having the system around for a few years until it finally "bites the dust" the higher price is your choice there.
 
I just want some ram that can OC decently and that will last me for about a year, so that once allot of the new dual core technology has had time to flush out the market and what not, I can get a good upgrade for a reasonable price.

edit:

Actually I think Im just gonna get 2 of the same sticks as I have now, at least I know what Im getting and that its a solid product.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144330
 
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That will be compatible easy enough for the current memory being the same brand and type. The one important thing when adding memory is compatibilty more so to see the best performance value. The closer the better. On a new build you may want to consider 1gb not 512mb dimms for the increase as well as newer demands when going to upgrade to Vista. Start taking a look at the better DDR2 makes like Kingston's HyperX, Corsair's higher end, OCZ, Crucial, and a few others that easily top Geil.
 
PC eye said:
That will be compatible easy enough for the current memory being the same brand and type. The one important thing when adding memory is compatibilty more so to see the best performance value. The closer the better. On a new build you may want to consider 1gb not 512mb dimms for the increase as well as newer demands when going to upgrade to Vista. Start taking a look at the better DDR2 makes like Kingston's HyperX, Corsair's higher end, OCZ, Crucial, and a few others that easily top Geil.
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When I do my complete rebuild Ill probably get gig sticks instead of 512mb sticks to make life easier, and definitely get some better performance ram, but for now, all I need is some compatible ram to get to 2 gbs.

On a side note, geil isnt that bad, the memory overclocks pretty good, I've gotten it to 245 and it was running very stable, definitely not the best, but definitely not that bad.
 
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