SDRAM vrs DDR

[Variable]

Ive been reading different sites all morning about SDRAM and DDR SDRAM ( i use AMD cpu's) im thinking of upgradeing my ageing and somewhat dated k7 750. So I notice i need new RAM , goto pricewatch and see the large difference in price between the regular SDRAM and DDR SDRAM , 1 gig of DDR2700 is $250. I have a gig of pc133 now.
So my question is .. Does anyone have any real world exp with the performance difference between DDR and SDRAM on Win 2k/XP running in a non server enviroment? No Auto-CAD class apps running on this machine here, but i do notice the old girl needs some revving up.
I know how both RAM works etc, im just wondering if some folks who may have both types or upgraded recently and notice a big boost in real world performance. Is it worth it?
V

[This message has been edited by Variable (edited 04-14-2002).]

[iisbob]

In a word, YES!

DDR runs 2 clock cycles too standard SDRAMs' one.

{ DDR is still a version of SDRAM }, and coupled with the new Athlons' XP instruction set-it makes a significant performance boost!

Haven't seen where the new DDR333 has made much of a difference yet, however the new Quad pumped DDR is on it's way ( will it be called QDR? ) and it promises to give the same ( or more than likely better ) performance that Intel's RDRAM gave to the early P4's.

So yes, if you're building a new system i would recommend shelling out the xtra dollar or two for DDR-especially if you do any Gaming.



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iisbob

Computer-Show me the Enterprise; no bloody A, no bloody B, and no bloody C-just the original...Mr Scott { from a STNG episode }

[saphalline]

Woah now, you have to be careful here! DDR isn't pin compatible with SDRAM. SDRAM is 168-pin, DDR is 184-pin, so if your mobo has SDRAM DIMM slots (which is probably the case for original Slot A Athlons) then you can't just drop in some DDR RAM and call it a day! It just physically won't fit.

If you have a Socket A Athlon Thunderbird and either have a mobo with DDR DIMM slots or are planning to get one, then DDR is definitely worth it. If only because the price difference is so insignificant nowadays. As for a performance difference, yeah it's there, but you only really notice it when your system is pumping data around like crazy. Crunching digital video, calculating spreadsheets, playing games, etc. Whenever RAM bandwidth becomes the bottleneck.

Oh, and PC333 DDR is the same as PC2700 DDR (333MHz = 2700MB per second). PC300 = PC2400, PC266 = PC2100, and PC200 = PC1600 (slowest DDR).

[rond36]

If you are wanting to use DDR 2700 you need a motherboard that will support it. If you have the MB and processor DDR is allot faster than SDRAM. Don't buy Corsair XMS2400 or XMS2700 it is just overclocked PC2100. Buy Samsung or KingMax make sure it is real PC2700 DDR SDRAM

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[Variable]

Well this isnt what i wanted to hear. I wanted to hear "ahh dont waste your money! Its not that big of an improvement" Just when we have nice cheap RAM they go and create "new" RAM thats more expensive. I figured 1064 MB/s for pc133 was plenty ah well its only money.
V

[bassman]

Hey Variable, welcome aboard.

When you get that new faster mule working, send that old dated one my way. I know a couple of kids who could manage to get along with only 1Gig of PC133. I'll pick up the shipping http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

J/K http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

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A real Christian is one who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.
Frank's Place (http://dreamwater.net/tech/frankscomp/)

[sea69]

lol- I haven't found much that my slot (a) athlon T-Bird 800Mhz, 512MB's sdram/pc133 can't do, and do well!

winxp-pro

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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sea1_69@hotmail.com

homepage (http://www.seanweb1.homestead.com/index.html)

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 04-16-2002).]

[ranchdog]

Personally in a non-server environment, non-massive gaming
PC, my eyes can't see the 5%/10% increase in benchmarks.
Nano Seconds here.

There are decent Video Cards available that still use SDRAM
and they don't cost an arm and a leg.

So here's my Take... Don't go DDR just to keep up with
Mr. Jones. Go with what you got. If you have a Mboard that
is XP CPU friendly (maybe with a BIOS upgrade) use that $
for a 1600+/1800+ series chip and the gain in CPU clock
speed will make you smile.

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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....How long is a minute... depends on which side of the Bathroom door you're on. ......
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[Variable]

Hmm well i dunno, ill have to cogitate on it a bit. Got a nice machine just needs a little goose. Plenty of machines here can take my hand me down ram so thats not an issue. Mayby ill look for a board that has SDRAM slots as well as DDR SDRAM slots. You know the price is gonna drop on the DDR. My mobo now will only go up to 1 ghtz and good mobo/cpu combos are pretty cheap i also want an IDE RAID board. New toys and all that ; )
V