P4 1.8GHz discussion/question.

[edro13]

I was thinking about getting the P4 1.8 and the Asus P4B motherboard. I would like to keep my existing SDRAM and the P4B also does not require a new power supply (P4 12v one).

At most place, I can get them both together for >$400.

Do you think this is a good buy? Anything wrong with either one of these?

I am upgrading from a P3 800, and Asus P3V4X.

How much do you think I could overclock this with the stock fan?

Thanks for any help.

[TranceBear]

Using SDRAM is going to bottleneck that CPU. I would at least try to put a DDR system together for that chip.

[edro13]

Really?

How much better would a DDR Asus board be than the SDRAM?

All the reviews I have seen look like DDR is just a TINY bit better than SDRAM.

This could turn into a DDR discussion, so don't get mad.

[TranceBear]

Originally posted by edro13
Really?

How much better would a DDR Asus board be than the SDRAM?

All the reviews I have seen look like DDR is just a TINY bit better than SDRAM.

This could turn into a DDR discussion, so don't get mad.

I guess the first thing to do is to do some research on DDR and SDRAM to know the differences. Basicly SDRAM runs at 133mhz and DDR can run as high as 333mhz. A sis645 board can be as low as $80 and memory can be had for under $100. I would go to tomshardware and read up on this chipset. I like the Asus P4S personaly, or maybe the MSI 645 Ultra.

[edro13]

I understand the differences of DDR and SDRAM, but that doesn't change the fact that DDR barely out performs SDRAM.

This is because the capacitors inside the RAM take the same ammount of time to charge and discharge. The only performance increase, is in the way the information is sent.

What I am asking for, is some reviews or comparison shootouts, between SDRAM and DDR.

My SDRAM is Kingmax PC-150.

Thanks.

[TranceBear]

I do not agree with the "little" difference in the 2 types. I have run both and I see a large difference. I build many P4 systems at work and I see a big change when you use the 845 chipset and the 645. This is just my informed opinion. Like I said go to tomshardware and see for yourself.

[edro13]

Do you have a particular link?

All I can find there are reviews of DDR and reviews of SDRAM, no real comparisons.

Thanks.

[Grande Juan]

It's more than a little difference, check the reviews they all agree. Personaly a new mobo and memory are my next upgrade, probaly an ASUS with DDR. Then a Geforce 4, and a northwood, yum yum. Check for reviews on the Homepage or the memory forums.:beer:

[Yodums]

Hmm listen to Trance hes a memory expert.

But all I can say for the older Williamette P4 to not run Rambus on a P4 you don't get the full benefit of the chip as lots of CPU benchmark depend on memory bandwidth and the SDRam doesn't run fast at all not as fast as DDR or Rambus.

The newer P4 Northwood's will be able to run on either RDRam or DDR so really shows how SDRAm is old technology and not to be ran on the newer chips.

Yodums

[Burning Phoenix]

I myself perfer the high bandwidth provided by the RDRAM!

[Yodums]

Originally posted by Burning Phoenix
I myself perfer the high bandwidth provided by the RDRAM!

And a good selection that is.

[flagreen]

Ditto the remarks about RDRAM's bandwidth. The price of RDRAM has really dropped to level of being reasonable at long last.

[jazztrumpet216]

Yodums, to a certain extent that's true. On the Northwood, you'll see a performance increase. But it's not because of the RAM, it's becuase of the larger cache and newer engineering processes used in it's construction. The Willamette P4 and the Northwood P4 use memory bandwidth all the same, and they will both be hampered to the same extent when using SDRAM. You just notice the performance with a Northwood because of the fact it's a better processor.

Personally, I wouldn't run a P4 with anything but RDRAM... maybe DDR with some convincing and some benchies.

[batboy]

TC has gotten good results recently with DDR. With a mobo like the Abit BD7, I think DDR would be a nice way to go. Personally, I went with RDRAM and the Abit TH7-II for my Northwood system I'm building. All the P-4 comparasions I've seen have SDRAM way back in dead last with DDR a close second and RDRAM being the fastest in most benchmarks. I was thinking both Tom's Hardware and Anandtech websites have the types of reviews that edro13 is looking for.

[jazztrumpet216]

Yep, since then I saw TC's DDR benchies... pretty impressive. I gotta eat my words on that one, DDR is a good solution for the P4, though RDRAM is just a tad better. Not bad though, not bad indeed.