dxiw
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- Joined
- Feb 7, 2002
This is pretty muc all I can think of about ram right now, correct me if I'm wrong anywhere...I didn't talk about ancient 486 platform ram so dont bring that up plz. Well anyways, here goes.
there are 3 types of RAM (Random Access Memory), these are DDR (double data rate), RDRAM and SDRAM. In a copmuter when a program or anything is loaded froma hard drive, cdrom, dvd, or any other component it must be sent to the RAM. Imagine the RAM as your workspace on your desk. The CPU then processes instructions from the RAM. It is best to have more RAM than less as you will notice that your computer will load things faster depending on how much ram you have upto about 512mb-1gb. In Windos XP or even Windows 98SE I would not recommend less than 256 , and as baseline I always put 512mb in all my computers. Less than 512mb in time will cause slow downs especially if you have a lot software and like to run it at the same time. Servers sometimes require 2GB+ of ram because of all the data that is being worked with. For the average home/power user 512mb is sufficient for good performance. Now for an explanation of the 3 types of RAM, RDRAM, SDRAM, and DDR.
SDRAM - This is the slowest of all RAM's, it works on a single data rate which means it works at the same speed as the systems front side bus. Newer computers tend to use only DDR and RDRAM because SDRAM can never offer enough bandwidth.
DDR - This is used on most of today's pc's. It works at a double data rate. Most Athlon XP computers use DDR. DDR works at double the FSB of the system and then is multiplied by the divider, so if your fsb is 133 on a 1:1 divider then the memory would be (133/1 * 1 = 133) * 2(double data rate) = 266 mhz, while if it was at 133fsb on a 4:5 divider (133/4 * 5 =166mhz) * 2(double data rate) = 333 mhz. ost athlon chipsets either run ddr 266 or ddr333. DDR is also often called pc2100 or pc 2700, this denotes the bandwidth, ddr at 266mhz is 2.1gb/s bandwidth hence the name pc2100 and ddr at 333mhz is 2.7gb/sec bandwidth hence the name pc2700. Pentium 4 pc's use this ram too, although for pentium 4's because of the higher bandwidth (400 or 533 fsb vs 266 in athlon xp's) rdram is a better solution.
RDRAM - is the fastest but priciest of today's memory. It is available in 800mhz or 1066 mhz. The 800 mhz is 3.2gb/sec and the 1066mhz is 4.2gb/sec. This type of RAM is well coupled with the Pentium 4's. The A chips are 400fsb(100xquad data rate) and the B chips are 533fsb(133xquad data rate). Because the bandwidth requirements of a Pentium 4 pc match the speed of rdram pentium4's reach peak performance with this ram. Athlon XP's do not run with RDRAM at all. RDRAm is available in mostly 16-bit although 32-bit is brand new on the market, but only works with the Asus P4T533. 16-bit RDRAM which is most RDRAM as we know it today must be used in pairs and any empty slots must be filled with 0mb terminator sticks. 32-bit rdram however doesnot have to be used in pairs.
The very first DDR was ddr200 (pc1600) and the very first RDRAM was rdram600 (2.4gb/sec). Today, the fastest rdram is 1066mhz(4.2gb/sec) and the fastest ddr is 400mhz(3.2gb/sec) although there are no official chipsets to support ddr400.
Another thing with DDR is that it has timings. Better quality RAM will be able to run at CAS 2.0 instead of CAS2.5. SDRAM runs at CAS3 I am not very knowledgeable on timings so I can't really help you there.
When it comes to overclocking IMO ddr and rdram are the best. Although there are no motherboard to raise the voltage on rdram it can still handle pretty high fsb, ddr can handle it too at higher voltages. With RAM brandname is very important. The best RAM sticks are made by Crucial, Corsair, and Samsung. I have never worked with Crucial but everybody says they are the best as they use the high quality micron chips. My favorite is the Corsair XMS, it overclocks great and has no stability issues at very aggressive timings. Crucial hsa come down i price a lot, and at 115$ pc2100 crucial is a steal, still though I would go with Corsair XMS pc2700 (333ddr) or Corsair XMS pc3200 (400ddr). The corsair pc 2700 for a 512mb is bout 150$ now at newegg.com.
As far as motherboards, there are too many to talk about and they al say what they support. In my opinion the best motherboard manufacturer is Asus, they have lots of features, rock solid stability, and high performance as well as overclocking. Other top of the line boards are made by Abit, Epox, Gigabyte,Shuttle and Soyo sometimes. Albatron is enw but I don't know much about theyre stuff. In my opinion for Athlon XP the A7V333 by Asus is the best and it runs on ddr333.
Have I stupified anyone yet? lol...
there are 3 types of RAM (Random Access Memory), these are DDR (double data rate), RDRAM and SDRAM. In a copmuter when a program or anything is loaded froma hard drive, cdrom, dvd, or any other component it must be sent to the RAM. Imagine the RAM as your workspace on your desk. The CPU then processes instructions from the RAM. It is best to have more RAM than less as you will notice that your computer will load things faster depending on how much ram you have upto about 512mb-1gb. In Windos XP or even Windows 98SE I would not recommend less than 256 , and as baseline I always put 512mb in all my computers. Less than 512mb in time will cause slow downs especially if you have a lot software and like to run it at the same time. Servers sometimes require 2GB+ of ram because of all the data that is being worked with. For the average home/power user 512mb is sufficient for good performance. Now for an explanation of the 3 types of RAM, RDRAM, SDRAM, and DDR.
SDRAM - This is the slowest of all RAM's, it works on a single data rate which means it works at the same speed as the systems front side bus. Newer computers tend to use only DDR and RDRAM because SDRAM can never offer enough bandwidth.
DDR - This is used on most of today's pc's. It works at a double data rate. Most Athlon XP computers use DDR. DDR works at double the FSB of the system and then is multiplied by the divider, so if your fsb is 133 on a 1:1 divider then the memory would be (133/1 * 1 = 133) * 2(double data rate) = 266 mhz, while if it was at 133fsb on a 4:5 divider (133/4 * 5 =166mhz) * 2(double data rate) = 333 mhz. ost athlon chipsets either run ddr 266 or ddr333. DDR is also often called pc2100 or pc 2700, this denotes the bandwidth, ddr at 266mhz is 2.1gb/s bandwidth hence the name pc2100 and ddr at 333mhz is 2.7gb/sec bandwidth hence the name pc2700. Pentium 4 pc's use this ram too, although for pentium 4's because of the higher bandwidth (400 or 533 fsb vs 266 in athlon xp's) rdram is a better solution.
RDRAM - is the fastest but priciest of today's memory. It is available in 800mhz or 1066 mhz. The 800 mhz is 3.2gb/sec and the 1066mhz is 4.2gb/sec. This type of RAM is well coupled with the Pentium 4's. The A chips are 400fsb(100xquad data rate) and the B chips are 533fsb(133xquad data rate). Because the bandwidth requirements of a Pentium 4 pc match the speed of rdram pentium4's reach peak performance with this ram. Athlon XP's do not run with RDRAM at all. RDRAm is available in mostly 16-bit although 32-bit is brand new on the market, but only works with the Asus P4T533. 16-bit RDRAM which is most RDRAM as we know it today must be used in pairs and any empty slots must be filled with 0mb terminator sticks. 32-bit rdram however doesnot have to be used in pairs.
The very first DDR was ddr200 (pc1600) and the very first RDRAM was rdram600 (2.4gb/sec). Today, the fastest rdram is 1066mhz(4.2gb/sec) and the fastest ddr is 400mhz(3.2gb/sec) although there are no official chipsets to support ddr400.
Another thing with DDR is that it has timings. Better quality RAM will be able to run at CAS 2.0 instead of CAS2.5. SDRAM runs at CAS3 I am not very knowledgeable on timings so I can't really help you there.
When it comes to overclocking IMO ddr and rdram are the best. Although there are no motherboard to raise the voltage on rdram it can still handle pretty high fsb, ddr can handle it too at higher voltages. With RAM brandname is very important. The best RAM sticks are made by Crucial, Corsair, and Samsung. I have never worked with Crucial but everybody says they are the best as they use the high quality micron chips. My favorite is the Corsair XMS, it overclocks great and has no stability issues at very aggressive timings. Crucial hsa come down i price a lot, and at 115$ pc2100 crucial is a steal, still though I would go with Corsair XMS pc2700 (333ddr) or Corsair XMS pc3200 (400ddr). The corsair pc 2700 for a 512mb is bout 150$ now at newegg.com.
As far as motherboards, there are too many to talk about and they al say what they support. In my opinion the best motherboard manufacturer is Asus, they have lots of features, rock solid stability, and high performance as well as overclocking. Other top of the line boards are made by Abit, Epox, Gigabyte,Shuttle and Soyo sometimes. Albatron is enw but I don't know much about theyre stuff. In my opinion for Athlon XP the A7V333 by Asus is the best and it runs on ddr333.
Have I stupified anyone yet? lol...
