RAM Question
 

OK, I'm looking at RAM for new sytem and I was curious, my research says to get DDR, but does DDR really make a difference? My card is an ATI RADEON 9700 Pro with an Athlon XP 2500, 333 FSB, Barton Core. If DDR is recommended can I get by with 512 or would you recommend 1GB. Thanks.

well...
 

since you have an AMD, my friend whos like an awesome computer wiz told me its dumb to put in RDram for an amd chip,lol dont know why....


Aka_Eshelmen

I would go with 512 mb of DDR RAM. It seems like 1 GB is too much of an overkill(not necessary). If your just in it for gaming don't waste the extra money on 1 GB because I easily get by with 256 MB of RAM. Go with 512 MB.

256 is enough yes.

But, if you are running Windows XP, 512 gives better peformance in games.

Take for instance C&C Generals. On my computer (640 MB RAM) it puts over 200 MB in the RAM.

I'd say 512 MB is enough nowadays.

The more relevant piece of information was left out: why DDR ?

I have a DDR video card and an SDR motherboard, meaning I really don't
get the performance I should from a GF4 Ti4600. Get my drift ? Try to go
for compatibility by getting the same type of RAM as in your video card OR
get better, like rambus: it all comes down to transfer speed... but you knew
that already, didn't you ?

remember ddr stands for double data rate. it picks up the imformation on both the up and the down. so if you went with the ddr and got the 512 youll really be lookin at over a gig of regular memory anyway. i myself went with the two sticks of 512 ddr. seemd to work fine for me.

go bigger, if you can afford it then why not

you may not need more than 512 now, but later on you'll be happy you got 1Gb

go for the bigs!

Re: well...
 

eek:

Maybe because afaik theres no such thing as an amd motherboard with rimm slots, as far as i know its intel only that uses rdram.

Re: well...
 

I was thinking the same thing.

Well, firstly, he owns a AMP XP 2500+. Big chance SD RAM (single data, 133 Mhz.) is not even supported by his motherboard. Secondly, the comparison is not correct. Double data transfer rates. Capacity is a different story.

My advice: One stick of 512 MB 333 Mhz. DDR (or two if it's cheap at the moment). You can also go for 400 Mhz. memory, if money is not an issue and your motherboard supports it. The difference in performance is minimal though.

Hmm, sorry, if your Athlon has a 333 Mhz. FSB, there's no need for you to buy 400 Mhz. memory obviously.

But depending on mobo support, he can put the newer AMDs with teh barton core

Money, unfortunately is an issue, being a student, but since the XP 2600 runs at 2.1ghz with the Barton core(Quatispeed)(I made a mistake calling it a 2500)that's more than enough for now. My motherboard is an ASUS A7N8X deluxe that maxes at 333 FSB, which is sufficient for now. Nothing in terms of applications is pushing the 3ghz processors so I can wait on those. I definitely get the 1GB (2x512MB) of DDR RAM.

the xp 2500 is not the barton core. I think barton starts with the xp3000. The asus a7n8x dekuxe motherboard will support 400 fsb. The latest amd xp3200 is 400 fsb. I would not only get ddr ram. I would get a matched set of dual channel ddr ram as this is what runs best in that mobo. Interesting that I am currently building a similar system myself. I would recomend reading the manual that came with your mobo as it will explain all of this.

AOBTC

256MB of DDR is good for today's gamer, but 512MB is recommended. 1024 is plently, more than enough.