Question about memory

locallyunscene

<div class="IPBDescription">the digital kind</div>I'll ask the question first then give a little background:

Given that the <a href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128048" target="_blank">mother board</a>[newegg.com] I purchased has 4 DDR2 slots and 2 DDR3 slots, but I can only use one xor the other; which type of RAM should I get?

Currently I'm only planning on getting 2 gigs of memory so the question really is about when I decide to upgrade whether I want to replace 2 DDR3 chips or add 2 DDR2 chips. Also would I be using the DDR3 to its fullest extent? What kind of chokepoints should I be looking for in my system?

TychoCelchuuu

As it stands now, DDR3 isn't really worth it unless you want lower power consumption or something. DDR2 is your best bet if you were to buy today. In the future DDR3 might be a better choice but there's no point in spending more money on it right now. More information can be found <a href="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/ddr3.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2989" target="_blank">here</a>.

Warrior

DDR2 all the way. Ram is not a bottleneck.

locallyunscene

Thanks for the help. I'm going with the DDR2

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> DDR2 all the way. Ram is not a bottleneck. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Not what I was thinking. *hypothetical*More like I was worried I could buy say 1066 but the motherboard only supported up to 800 */hypothetical* but I'm all set.

semipsychotic

RAM isn't a bottleneck in strict frames-per-second terms, but 2GB of it is really nice when all of those stutter-steps and loading pauses melt away.

SkulkBait

I've got a related question. Why does ram keep increasing in latency? Is the better throughout really worth it?

Drfuzzy

Just make sure you get *lots* of ram, not enough ram WILL bottleneck you system all to hell. Back when my 9800pro was a god card, i had 1 gig and it just destroyed my FPS with planetside because it used so much ram. Got another gig and it ran smooth as ice. Now days, i wouldn't get less than 1.5 gigs or your gonna stutter alot.

Soylent_green

<!--quoteo(post=1643219:date=Aug 10 2007, 06:30 PM:name=SkulkBait)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SkulkBait @ Aug 10 2007, 06:30 PM) [snapback]1643219[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I've got a relate question. Why does ram keep increasing in latency? Is the better throughout really worth it?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Latency has been remarkably constant, only the clock speeds have gone up(and latency is measured in clocks). When you crank up the clockspeeds or multiplex I/O to get higher data rates per pin(essentially what DDR2 does) you don't really do much for latency.