performance increase of ddr3 over ddr2

[jonj320]

ok, im lookin to upgrade my computer and wow, theres a lot of different ram out there now. i dont see the point in getting ram with a slightly higher mhz, such as ddr2 667mhz and ddr2 800 mhz( i think its just marketing hype). and since i usually upgrade every year and a half or so im torn between ddr2 and ddr3. while i do use this computer mostly for games it seems fine with ddr2 800 ram, and i wont be upgrading for a long time.....so is it worth the price/ performance of ddr3??im just wonderin. if not il just get ddr2 and b happy with it. thanks

 

[4745454b]

At this point in time, no. Its a bit the same as when DDR2 first came out. You could get DDR1-400MHz ram with 2-2-2-6 timings, or you could get DDR2-400MHz with 4-4-4-12. They ran at the same speed, but due to the increase in timings, the DDR2 ran slower. DDR2-533 ran at a faster frequency, but again, due to the timings it wasn't fast enough.

DDR3 runs faster then DDR2, but the latency went up through the roof. 9-9-9-24? I've seen some CL8, but I don't think I've seen anything lower then that. Also, whats the point of running your ram at twice the speed of your FSB? (Nehalem will need it for its tri ram setup, but thats a ways off yet.)

 

[jonj320]

thats what i was thinking about. but i thought i must have missed something when i saw how many people are talking about ddr3. i think that ddr2 will b fine for me for the next year or so

 

[th_username]

doesnt worth to go with ddr3

stick with ddr2

 

[FrozenGpu]

At this point in time, no. Its a bit the same as when DDR2 first came out. You could get DDR1-400MHz ram with 2-2-2-6 timings, or you could get DDR2-400MHz with 4-4-4-12. They ran at the same speed, but due to the increase in timings, the DDR2 ran slower. DDR2-533 ran at a faster frequency, but again, due to the timings it wasn't fast enough.

DDR3 runs faster then DDR2, but the latency went up through the roof. 9-9-9-24? I've seen some CL8, but I don't think I've seen anything lower then that. Also, whats the point of running your ram at twice the speed of your FSB? (Nehalem will need it for its tri ram setup, but thats a ways off yet.)

back when I had my socket 939 3800 x2, w/ 2 gb of low latency kingston's man i was set for a couple years, but eventually the bandwidth of ddr2 over ddr1 made me deiced to start thinking about a new build...

 

[huron]

Plus, you can't just get DDR3 if your motherboard doesn't take it. So if you don't have a DDR2/DDR3 mobo, then you are looking at spending a few hundred bucks to get lackluster performance (similar or lower for more $$$).

Wait on it a bit. Get some better DDR2 memory - it's dirt cheap - if you want to upgrade your RAM. Yes, the higher frequencies are important in overclocking, and obviously are faster (hence the higher frequencies).