X38/X48 and DDR2... What's the point?

[mrbbq]

Is there a point in waiting for the X38/X48 only to use DDR2? I mean beside PCI 2.0 and supposed better overclocking. If you were to build a new system now or in the coming few months, what would be the best choice?

Scenario 1: New computer now with P35 board and DDR2 = Cheap but wont last long!
Scenario 2: New computer in october/november with a X38/X48 board with DDR2 = Not so cheap but will last longer
Scenario 3: New computer in october/novembre with a X38/X48 board with DDR3 = Very expensive but will last the longest.

What's the best value?

 

[yap2much]

that all depends on 1 thing

How much you have to spend

most will go with the DDR2 setup for simple reasons

MONEY

Most of us that will be taking the plunge will have DDR2 and a good video card and solid setup so doing full tilt would be a cash issue

DDR3 is not cheap
New MB will be Pricy
CPUs now are cheap but who knows with Pernyns
and video cards that support PCI-E v2.0 im sure will have a preium for them as wll early out

Not looking to spend another 2Gs after spending 2Gs this year alone LOL

 

[Maziar]

who says P35 with DDR2 wont last long ?

1_It supports 1333mhz CPUs

2_It supports next gen 45nm CPUs

3_It supports PCI-E 2

4_DDR2 RAMs are very cheaper than DDR3 rams, and also most of DDR3 rams have bad timings

The main difference between P35 and X38 is that X38 supports Dual VGAs in 2x16x mode , and thats for users who want 2xcards

 

[Kamrooz]

Well of course they will have bad timings..But they have much higher bandwidth output. DDR3 is beginning to show it's benefits..But it only begins to shine around the DDR3 1650+ mark..Once you go higher it seems to scale very well in terms of performance. But if you're not dropping a pretty penny into it there is no reason to go DDR 3...DDR2 is still a better option value wise...Better bang per buck. But if money isn't an issue and you are getting DDR3 and OC'ing..You will see an improvement in memory bandwidth...

But for most people..it isn't the case..I'm trying to figure it out myself on what I'm planning to buy..I'll probably still go the DDR2 route...but don't know how long I'm going to be waiting..Might be around Christmas time I get my new rig for q1 2008..All depend on when I get my rig..By then I'll decide on which x38 board (I will be getting one of these...maybe x48 depending on the time it will be released) and ddr2 or ddr3.

 

[miahallen]

You can get 8GB of decent DDR2-800 for under $400.

Or you can get 2GB of decent DDR3-1600 for under $600.

Sure the DDR3 will win the benchmarks, but by how much? But your going to wish you had 4GB sooner than later, and 8GB will be very handy within a few years. It's an obvious choice to me.

 

[Maziar]

DDR3 has higher bandwidth , but if u read some revies , u will see that its equal to DDR2 in most games or its 5-10% faster and also i agree with miahallen , 8GB DDR2 for $400 and 2GB DDR2 for $600 , which one will u choose ?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/ddr3.html

 

[Kamrooz]

Well not necessarily..I'm not saying that it will win the benchmarks. But getting DDR3 below the 1600 mark isn't really worth it. It's similar to tightly timed DDR2 modules around 1066. But if you go above the 1600 mark on DDR3 modules you get a pretty good scaling in performance boost. Quite a bit as well...But this doesn't justify the price...If money is no an issue at all it would make sense to nab ddr3 if you are heavy oc'ing...These new Z9 micron chips are just amazing. But if money is an issue DDR2 is still just too hard to beat...Heck..You can get 2x1 gb of Crucial Ballistix D9 micron modules for around 180 dollars..hard to beat.