DDR2 and DDR3 Interchangeable?

[MasterG]

I've seen several motherboards out there advertising compatibility with DDR2 and DDR3 memory. My motherboard supports DDR2-1066. Could I overclock it and put say DDR3-1333 in it?

 

[EmAn]

No. Those motherboards have slots for ddr2 and ddr3. They are not backwards compatible.

 

[BossBorot]

when they drafted the specs for ddr3 they where thinking about using the same slot config as ddr2 however they decided against it to prevent people putting ddr3 on non compatable chipsets. Basically the notch in the stick is different but the pins themselves are the same. I would not be surprised if adaptors could be made to get ddr2 to work on ddr3 mobos and vice versa on chipsets that support both. However making such a device would be expensive to machine or require insane patience and soldering skills.

Basically they are incompatable memory formats

That being said you can overclock your ddr2 ram to stock ddr3 speeds provided that your ram can take it. However the best ddr2 cant touch ddr3 speed wise when both formats are overclocked

 

[HDCHOPPER]

only use 1 type at a time ddr2 or use ddr3 DONT use togather at the same time

 

[morphin1]

Dont worry about DDR3 right now.Just get DDR2 as DDR# apparently gives only 1-3% benefit over DDR2.
DDR2 and DDR3 are not interchangeable but some motherboards give youo the option of both modules where 2 slots are reserved for DDR2 and 2slots are reserved for DDR3.
So in case you need 4gb or 8GB ddr2 or ddr3 then you will have to fit that on 2slots.
Also dont buy motherbaords that are hybrid like this.
Just pick DDR2 and you will be set as you wont have nightmares with DDR3 lol

 

[MasterG]

Yeah that works for me. I want to get a higher clock out of my RAM, but it's not really crucial. I've got two stick of DDR2-1100 running at 1134 right now. I'm content with that.

 

[petteyg359]

morphin1, there's nothing wrong with motherboards supporting both types. I've had ASrock boards with DDR1/DDR2 slots and both worked fine. There are at least a few people on this forum who've used ASrock boards with multiple CPU sockets, and both sockets worked fine. The DDR2/DDR3 boards probably work just as well. Obviously, you can't use both at the same time, but that's beside the point.

 

[cynergyco]

Thank you for this clear up of the two types

For so long customers have asked me which memory sticks can be used in which and I've always gone with DDR2 because it's always the standard. Now I know the difference between the two types ddr2 and ddr3.

Thank you guys

 

[EarthDog]

Necro! 6 year old thread bumpage!

DDR2 was used a couple generations ago... Its been DDR3 as a standard for YEARS now.