DDR worth it?

milwaukeeguy · Post by **milwaukeeguy** » Mon Mar 26, 2001 11:42 pm

I've noticed that a lot of DDR boards are hitting the market, and I'm thinking of upgrading. I was looking at the Asus A7M266 as a MoBo but the cheapest i've seen it is $184 and that company didn't have it in stock. Most others are selling it for around $200. I found an Athlon 1.2ghz (266FSB) for $220 and that seems ok, right? Lastly, I have seen crucial.com selling DDR PC1600 dirt cheap (like $98 for a 256MB stick and free shipping) But then again they are out of stock on the 256MB sticks...and are not selling the PC2100 to the public. BTW can someone explain, or give me a link for information on PC1600 vs. PC2100 (in know the PC2100 is at a higher bandwidth, but how do they differ proformance wise)?

[ 03-26-2001: Message edited by: milwaukeeguy ]

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 12:01 am

IT's just so new, there isn't an abundance yet

gooder DDR Memory here: http://www.mushkin.com/cgi-bin/Mushkin.filereader?3ac01d130fbfe576273f0a00010205df+EN/catalogs/4769

glc1 · Post by **glc1** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 3:13 am

Originally posted by milwaukeeguy:
BTW can someone explain, or give me a link for information on PC1600 vs. PC2100 (in know the PC2100 is at a higher bandwidth, but how do they differ proformance wise)?

There's not going to be a big boost b/c there's not a big boost over SDR.

SDR vs. DDR: http://www.gamepc.com/reviews/hardware_review.asp?review=sdrvsddr&page=1&mscssid=&tp=

colour · Post by **colour** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 3:59 am

http://www.byteware.net/product_info.php?id=817

HongKongPolice · Post by **HongKongPolice** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 10:41 am

Currently there isn't a big difference between DDR and SDR ram mobo, BUT with more tweaks and higher FSB speeds, the true potential of DDR Ram will be released.

For example, when RDRAM came out for the P3 chipset running only on a 133Mhz FSB, there was NO improvement in memory performance, it was actually a bit SLOWER than SDRAM cuz of the high latency of RDRAM. So why was RDRAM slower than SDRAM on the P3? Because the 133Mhz FSB isn't even close to being fast enuff to push RDRAM to the limits.

Now, when the P4 came out with a 400Mhz DDR FSB, it finally had the muscle to push RDRAM to its limits, which is why P4 memory benchmarks are at least double what you see with Athlon systems.

This is the same case with the KT133 chipsets and the new DDR Chipsets. Benchmarks proved that a KT133 running with 200Mhz FSB and 133Mhz Ram is slower than the KT133A with 266Mhz FSB and 133Mhz Ram. So even with 266Mhz FSB, PC133 Ram isn't even getting pushed to its limits yet!

Now, if you pair up the 266Mhz FSB with DDR Ram instead, its obvious that you don't see much of a performance boost because the FSB is the limiting factor. Now if you pair up something like a 400Mhz FSB like the one from the P4 with DDR ram, I bet it will be close to or the same speed as RDRAM, which is what Intel will release in a few months.

As for Athlon mobo's they gotta keep pushing the FSB upto at least 300Mhz or so with a lot of tweaks before you see a majour improvement with DDR Ram

Charlie · Post by **Charlie** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 4:37 pm

Hey milwaukeeguy,

I just put together a Asus A7M266 board with 128mb samsung chips it's 2100 but it's only running @1600 because of the cpu which is a 850TBird 200fsb.This is my first put together rig. And I didn't want to take a chance with a $275.00 1.2 266fsb chip getting fried. But now I know whats going on next week I'll swap in the 1.33Mhz and crank it up.

Check out the Asus AV266 I think AV something with that board you can use either DDR or PC133 PC150

You can check
Here These Guys will set you straight

[ 03-27-2001: Message edited by: Charlie ]

glc1 · Post by **glc1** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 4:44 pm

Unless you plan on o'cing, PC150 is useless.

milwaukeeguy · Post by **milwaukeeguy** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 5:15 pm

Charlie,

Thanks for the info. Where did you pick your board up, and how much did it set you back (if you don't mind me asking)?

Charlie · Post by **Charlie** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 5:36 pm

Originally posted by milwaukeeguy:
Charlie,

Thanks for the info. Where did you pick your board up, and how much did it set you back (if you don't mind me asking)?

I picked up the board about a month ago from a Place called Computer Stop.(www.computerstop.com) At the time it listed for $179.95 after shipping it came to $208.46 The chip 850T Bird from Monarch (monarchcomputer.com)$120.00 the memory from Run Time(www.runtimecc.com)
and a Radeon 64MB $179.00 Comp USA

Need anything else let me know
Charlie

downhill · Post by **downhill** » Tue Mar 27, 2001 6:31 pm

With DDR selling at crucial for what amounts to a piddling more, why not go for DDR. Sure your improvement isn't all that much yet, but if your already going for a new mobo and processer, then at least you can still use your DDR later for a faster setup. Memory is dirt cheap right now.

Oh I just ran on to this. It's about power savings of DDR over Sram. Keep in mind that although ram probably dosn't use THAT much juice, over the course of a year, DDR starts to look like a really good deal.

http://www.realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT032701002751

[ 03-27-2001: Message edited by: downhill ]