DDR vs. DDR2

[SnakeEyez]

I was just wondering if DDR2 has any advantages over DDR, it seems like the DDR has the lower latencys heres what my system plans will consist of.

Case- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-119-023&depa=1
Cooler Master Wave Master Case without Power Supply, Model "TAC-T01-E1C"
Case Type: Mid-Tower
Color: Silver
Material: Aluminum Alloy
Drive Bays: 4x5.25" & 5x3.5"
Expansion Slots: 7
Power Supply: No
Cooling System: 2x80mm Fans
Mainboard Compatibility: ATX,12"x9.6"(30.5x24.5mm)
Dimensions: 540x198x458mm
Special Features: Stylish curved front plate design;Sophisticated machine processing for exotic smooth finish;Removable motherboard tray for fast and easy assembly.

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PSU- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-150&depa=1
OCZ PowerStream 420W Power Supply With Adjustable Power Rails With LED Indicators, SATA Connector, Model "OCZ420ADJ"
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 420W
Input Voltage: 100-120V AC/200-240V AC
Input Frequency Range: 60/50Hz
Input Current: 10/6A
Output: +3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V@30A, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Approvals: TUV, UL, CSA, CE, CB, FCC
Features: OCZ PowerWhisper Technology, OCZ PowerFlex™ individually adjustable power rails with LED indicators. OCZ ConnectAll universal connector. (ATX, BTX, SATA, P4 and EPS12V), OCZ PowerShield power leads for VGA and HD. 5 year warranty backed by OCZ's exclusive PowerSwap replacement program.

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CPU- http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=19-116-197&DEPA=1
Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 640 3.2GHz 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache Processor w/ Hyper Threading Technology
Model: Intel Pentium 4 640
Core: Prescott
Operating Frequency: 3.2GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+16K; L2/2MB
Process: 90 nm
Socket: LGA 775
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Features: Support Intel EM64T, XD Bit, Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology
Manufacturer Warranty: 3-year MFG
Packaging: Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan)

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MOTHERBOARD- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-188&depa=0
ABIT "AA8XE" 925XE Chipset Motherboard For Intel LGA 775 CPU - Retail
Supported CPU: LGA775 Pentium 4 EE(HT) Processors
Chipset: i925XE + ICH6R
FSB: 1066/800MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM for Dual Channel DDR2 400/533 Max 4GB
Slots: 1x PCI-E x16, 3x PCI-E x1, 2x PCI
Ports: 2x PS/2, 1x COM, 1x LPT, 8x USB2.0(Rear 4), 1x RJ45, 1x IEEE1394, 1x S/PDIF IN/OUT, Audio Ports
IDE: 1x ATA 100 up to 2 Devices by ICH6R
SATA/RAID: 4x SATA with Matrix RAID 0/1
Onboard Audio: Intel High Definition 7.1 Channels
Onboard LAN: Gigabit Ethernet
Onboard 1394: 3x 1394a 400 Mbps
Form Factor: ATX

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Memory- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-227-010&depa=1
OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel Kit 240-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR2 PC-5400, Model OCZ26671024PFDC-K -RETAIL
Manufacturer: OCZ Technology
Speed: DDR2-667(PC2-5400)
Type: 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 4-4-4-8
Support Voltage: 1.8V
Bandwidth: 5.4GB/s
Special Features: 2.2V EVP
Warranty: Lifetime

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DVDr/w;CDr/w Drive- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-131-338&depa=1
Plextor 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Burner with s/w and Black and Beige Bezels, Model PX-716A/SW
Write Speed: 4X DVD+R DL, 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 8 MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Features: Intelligent Recording technology supported for recording at high-quality and optimum speed
Packaging: Retail box (see pictures for details)

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Hard Drive- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-069&depa=1
Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.7 7200RPM SATA with NCQ Hard Drive, Model ST3160827AS-RK
Capacity: 160GB
Average Seek Time: 8.5ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7,200RPM
Interface: Serial SATA 150
Features: Up to 20 percent performance improvement over previous SATA, 100 percent software compatible with existing PCs
Manufacturer Warranty: 5 years
Packaging: RETAIL

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Vid Card- http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-214&depa=1
EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, 128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "128-P2-N368-TX"
Chipset/Core Speed: nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT/500MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB GDDR3/1000MHz
BUS: PCI-Express x16
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub) + TV-Out (S-Video/Composite) + DVI
Support 3D API: DirectX 9(Shader Model 3.0), OpenGL 1.5
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz
RAMDACs: 400MHz
Cable/Accessories: HDTV Cable, DVI to VGA Adapter , Manual, Driver CD


I plan on running this setup stock for its 1st 6-12 months then overclock it just a little in the future (3.6-3.8 id be happy with)

Someone said the ram I chose was good because of the 5.4 bandwith but its rated at higher latencys as is most DDR2 ram over DDR. Will this ram be good enough for my needs?

 

[dicecca112]

subscribed. I woukd also like an answer to this, seeing I'm building a new rig

 

[Know Nuttin]

Currently, DDR2 has no real advantages at all. Maybe when the get the latencies down and the speeds up, it will.

 

[SnakeEyez]

It has to have atleast 1 advantage just like PCI-E x16 does over AGP their has to be something or why bother pushing it forward on higher end motherboards.

 

[futura2001]

Yeah, you're right. It does have one advantage:
It's NEW!
And thus it can be sold for more money than "archaic" DDR memory.
Frankly, we live in a world where enough of the people who buy dells would pay more for something labeled DDR2 just because they think it is better and what little information Dell provides them is engineered to make it sound like the end-all be-all of computing performance.
Don't get me wrong, DDR2 will get better in the future, it is just that right now it is not an improvement. Motherboard manufacturers realize this and are selling mobos with DDR2 on the basis that it will replace DDR, which basically means that you are going to have to buy a DDR2 motherboard now and get ram that will be outperformed later or buy a DDR motherboard now and replace ram and mobo later.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

Yeah, you're right. It does have one advantage:
It's NEW!
And thus it can be sold for more money than "archaic" DDR memory.
Frankly, we live in a world where enough of the people who buy dells would pay more for something labeled DDR2 just because they think it is better and what little information Dell provides them is engineered to make it sound like the end-all be-all of computing performance.
Don't get me wrong, DDR2 will get better in the future, it is just that right now it is not an improvement. Motherboard manufacturers realize this and are selling mobos with DDR2 on the basis that it will replace DDR, which basically means that you are going to have to buy a DDR2 motherboard now and get ram that will be outperformed later or buy a DDR motherboard now and replace ram and mobo later.

Futura is right on. It is new, and they NEED to market it to be successful. I switched from AGP to PCI-e and saw absolutely NO difference. But, with these ever changing machines, it will get better, and it WILL replace DDR. AMD doesn't plan to use DDR2 for at least a year, so I have nothing to worry about. But, if going Pentium 4, you have little choice but to use DDR2 as there are only a few DDR boards left for that series cpu. Also, you will be stuck with AGP if you choose DDR as well. If you ask me, it is a terrible cycle that cannot be won. But then again, it is what keeps us into it

-Collin-

 

[Rumrunner]

DDR2 Is Intel's answer to dual channel. They doubled the bits that can travel in each clock cycle to compete with AMD running dual channel. It is essentially the same performance as dual channel, but Intel gets their bandwidth a different way.

 

[Valk]

DDR2 Is Intel's answer to dual channel. They doubled the bits that can travel in each clock cycle to compete with AMD running dual channel. It is essentially the same performance as dual channel, but Intel gets their bandwidth a different way.

I would personally like to see the website you read this from , and then i would like to shoot them in the foot.. or face.. bleh.
Intel has had dual channel ddr support on their rigs for years. in fact, i belive intel was first in this field followed by nvidia later.

DDR 2 is a completly different animal to ddr. It is designed to run higher speeds on much less voltage than current ddr does. Ill agree on one thing though. latencies on pressent high end ddr is far superior. even cas 3 ddr 600 will run superior to ddr 2 733+ on cas 4 or 5. but i thikn there are ddr 2 memories coming out in cas 3 that will run that speed sooner or later.

In the future, ddr2 WILL phase out "arcaic" ddr, not online in desktops, but laptops as well. In fact, ddr2 in laptops is a wonderful idea, drawing less power.

with intel, you have no choice... you get it unless you go with one of the lga775 865's but its not really a bad thing. a lot of the ddr2 667 is running higher than 733 mhz which intel rigs really really like. On amd side, i dont thinkw ew ill see any ddr2 support for quite some time because it would require a new socket to emply. remember that the memory controller is on chip, and its 2x184 pins. this means they have to engineer a new memory controller and add the extra pins *ddr2 is 240 pins* which would make a socket with like... 1100 pins.
Socket 939 just came out, and amd plans to use it for a while i think.


thats an expensive rig you got planned there. I tihnk you would be much better to get a athlon 64 3500+ like so many others are doing. the money you save could be used to get yourself MUCH better other stuff.
Lanparty ut, sli or dual graphics, better displays, more storage.
whats better?

 

[SnakeEyez]

Ill be doing multi tasking mostly with just a little gameing so im wanting to go with an Intel setup me building this setup on my own is already saving me tons of dollars compared to buying some insanely priced alienware.

 

[Valk]

I maintain my comment, even when confronted with massive multitasking. but if your dead set on intel, its not a bad build at all. ddr2 wont be a bad thing, its just not nessisarily a thing most people would buy given the choice. intel did'nt give you a choice which is the bs. but... hey, neither did amd ha ha.

 

[Rumrunner]

I would personally like to see the website you read this from , and then i would like to shoot them in the foot.. or face.. bleh.
Intel has had dual channel ddr support on their rigs for years. in fact, i belive intel was first in this field followed by nvidia later.

DDR 2 is a completly different animal to ddr. It is designed to run higher speeds on much less voltage than current ddr does. Ill agree on one thing though. latencies on pressent high end ddr is far superior. even cas 3 ddr 600 will run superior to ddr 2 733+ on cas 4 or 5. but i thikn there are ddr 2 memories coming out in cas 3 that will run that speed sooner or later.

In the future, ddr2 WILL phase out "arcaic" ddr, not online in desktops, but laptops as well. In fact, ddr2 in laptops is a wonderful idea, drawing less power.

with intel, you have no choice... you get it unless you go with one of the lga775 865's but its not really a bad thing. a lot of the ddr2 667 is running higher than 733 mhz which intel rigs really really like. On amd side, i dont thinkw ew ill see any ddr2 support for quite some time because it would require a new socket to emply. remember that the memory controller is on chip, and its 2x184 pins. this means they have to engineer a new memory controller and add the extra pins *ddr2 is 240 pins* which would make a socket with like... 1100 pins.
Socket 939 just came out, and amd plans to use it for a while i think.


thats an expensive rig you got planned there. I tihnk you would be much better to get a athlon 64 3500+ like so many others are doing. the money you save could be used to get yourself MUCH better other stuff.
Lanparty ut, sli or dual graphics, better displays, more storage.
whats better?

What I mean is that when A64 went dual channel, they were out performing intel with thier memory bandwidth. A64 utilizes dual channel better than intel.

http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=9092

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1977

 

[Know Nuttin]

Futura is right on. It is new, and they NEED to market it to be successful. I switched from AGP to PCI-e and saw absolutely NO difference. But, with these ever changing machines, it will get better, and it WILL replace DDR. AMD doesn't plan to use DDR2 for at least a year, so I have nothing to worry about. But, if going Pentium 4, you have little choice but to use DDR2 as there are only a few DDR boards left for that series cpu. Also, you will be stuck with AGP if you choose DDR as well. If you ask me, it is a terrible cycle that cannot be won. But then again, it is what keeps us into it

-Collin-

Eventually, it will get better, once they get the latencies lower.

Asus P5GD1 uses DDR and offers PCI-E as well. Many of the 915 boards give this option, for DDR and PCI-E. They are not completely linked together. For the 925 chipsets, DDR2 and PCI-E are mandatory.