DDR 3 RAM should I go for it?

[AsphyxiA]

Im going to do a total system over haul this summer and want to know if i should even touch DDR3 RAM right now. Good idea? bad idea?

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

You are coming from almost the exact system I upgraded from. Im suprised you haven't oc'd your 165, you know they are a serious OC beast right?

Anyway to the question at hand. IMO I wouldn't go with DDR3 yet for a couple of reason.
1.) DDR3 is SUPER Expensive
2.) High Performance DDR2 is about 2-3% slower then DDR3
3.) DDR3 has horrible latencies. This will get better as tech increases.

I would save the $600 you spend on a 2x2GB kit of DDR3 and spend that on a better video card, better cooling, a good Motherboard (DFI) and a 2x2gb kit of High Performance DDR2.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

IMO DDR3 pricing makes it difficult for most to upgrade to. I would wait until mid 2008 as prices should drop by then. When you do upgrade to DDR3 settle for nothing less of DDR3 1600 and higher. I've read a few reviews and anything lower then DDR3 1600 didn't yield that much of an improvement over DDR2 1066 when OC'd. I hope by then that latencies get better. Being able to do 5-5-5-X should be the norm for a good high end DDR3 but it's uncertain if we will ever see that. The down side will be the premium of admission.

 

[largon]

3.) DDR3 has horrible latencies. This will get better as tech increases.

DDR3 has much lower latencies than any DDR2 out there.
Fastest DDR3 (tCL6 @ 942MHz) is now just as low latency as the legendary Winbond BH-5 @ tCL2 315MHz (DDR630).

It's just way too expensive atm. And ofcourse, FSB horribly bottnecks high speed DDR3. When AMD goes DDR3 things will get interesting though.

 

[zCexVe]

Considering the price,availability and tech matuarity I'd say you have to wait more to use DDR3.Besides DDR2 is dirty cheap these days.We can OC some good RAMS closer to DDR3 starting JEDEC specs.

 

[hat]

Ner! Use DDR2.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

Ner! Use DDR2.

+1.

DDR3 is not mature yet.

 

[AsphyxiA]

well i plan to buy and build the system in mid summer, but i guess i can see why. its kinda like when ddr2 first came out it took it a few years to get where it is right now! ill probably stick with ddr2, which significantly brings down the cost of the system anyway. now for the kit, can anyone recommend a nice 4gb two stick kit?

 

[panchoman]

high speed ddr3 perform really fast, but have latencies of up to 7-8. lower speed ddr3 modules can be slower then ddr2 counter parts. and they are very expensive so its a very expensive upgrade option if you want the ddr3 to outperform ddr2

 

[Grings]

if you can afford it, then do it. im already seeing ddr3 1600 sets a good deal cheaper than ddr2 800 was when that was new tech, only thing its got going against it is ddr2 is virtually free nowadays

 

[Chewy]

take a look around for reviews of this memory for 2x 4gb.. my patriots are nice and so are thier 2x 1gb 6400 sticks.. not sure what chips are in theses 4 gb kits though.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26701&vpn=PDC24G6400LLK&manufacture=Patriot&promoid=1078

Im going to bed otherwise I would look it up a bit for you.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2190&page=5 Looks very nice Patriot PDC24G6400LLK 4-4-4-12 2048MB 1066 MHz, wonder what voltage there were using.. I havent looking into 4gb kits much though but that looks promising if its >2.4v.


Edit: just noticed thats thier 2gb kit.. same chips though.

 

[fairytale00]

Hey AsphyxiA, just get a DDR2. And you can have a look at the PATRIOT 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz 5-5-5-12 ,right now it is on sale for $90:
http://www.dealstudio.com/viewtopic.php?t=33942

 

[NoTTY]

Low Latency is KEY

Remember that any type of memory if you relax its memory timing (latency) you can raise up bandwidth (speed).
For online gamers I always recommend going low latency over speed.
For example , whats the point of having a 10mb up and down connection if the server is 10K miles away. Now someone on a 512K up and down of bandwidth but live within 30 miles of the server is going to have the advantage. This market hype with high speeds with latency reaching CAS 8-etc , its only to rip off consumers. I would buy some very low latency DDR2 over anything DDR3 on the market right now.

 

[largon]

LOL!
"Low latency" RAM is the biggest rip-off of computer components.
Binned modules easily cost double-to-triple compared to standard modules but gains never-ever reach even 5%. Low latency RAM makes no sense for gamers. It's only good for benchmarking (SuperPi, eg.).

 

[zCexVe]

Yeah,I agrre that.Even for my existing DDR Socket 939 rig.Low latencies never did any better to me.

 

[Darknova]

For online gamers I always recommend going low latency over speed.
For example , whats the point of having a 10mb up and down connection if the server is 10K miles away. Now someone on a 512K up and down of bandwidth but live within 30 miles of the server is going to have the advantage. This market hype with high speeds with latency reaching CAS 8-etc , its only to rip off consumers.

Erm...you do know that latency (or ping) on the internet is ENTIRELY different to Memory Latency right? Because from that it sounds like you don't.

You need to strike a balance. Low Latency is NOT the key, neither is something with absolutely huge bandwidth and really high latency. I get better performance at 5 timings and 1066Mhz than 4 timings and 800Mhz.

 

[AddSub]

I've benchmarked and observed the relationship between latencies and actual performance gains long time ago, as far as DDR(1) RAM is concerned.

CAS 2 vs. CAS 2.5? anywhere from 2% to 4% improvement as far 3DMark benching is concerned (with 4% coming from 3DMark01) Actual game performance? About the same or more depending on the game in question with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. giving me the best results (almost 10% improvement). It really depends on the game or application, but gains are visible and are across the board.

CAS 2 vs. CAS 3, even more difference. I've also tested the effect other timings have (tRCD, tRP, tRAS, etc), but results were not as profound or that great performance-wise (1% to 2% performance boosts at best with tighter tRAS giving the best results )


AsphyxiA, as for DDR3? If you got the cash, then go for it. I wouldn’t though.

 

[AsphyxiA]

As I said it's going to be a little while before the upgrade, i may just go with ddr2 and go with a really nice 4 GB kit. BTW, thought latency did not give Intel processors a huge hit in performance. i thought their biggest gains where from high overall clock speeds while AMD processors benefited from the lower latency RAM modules.

 

[AsphyxiA]

my rig: im not playing around!

processor: Intel C2Q Q6700 <- subject to change!
MOBO: not sure yet
RAM: Patriot PDC24G6400LLK 4-4-4-12 2048MB 1066 MHz
Video: "the 3900 xtx series" w/ two dual core cards set in quad crossfire,LOL
case: custom
hdd: dual seagate 1TB (RAID TIME!)


what ill be reusing from teh old box!
sound: Audigy 2 ZS
hdd: seagate 320GB
optical: liteon sata dvd+r/RAM
cooling: various blue LED fans

Cooling

probably some over the top watercooling setup!