DDR or RDRAM?

[NV30]

Which one's best for a P4 at 2.5-3.06GHz? RDRAM seems to be more expensive and harder to find, is it faster?

 

[iss]

RDRAMis still the fastest available memory for P4's particularly 1066 RDRAM. the problem is that it looks like RDRAM has little future.

 

[NV30]

Thanks. I think I'll stick with DDR for now, who know with DDR2 coming out as well.

 

[Rick]

RDRAM is pretty dead these days. It had a somewhat shortened existence thanks to Rambus' shady dealings and the sheer popularity of DDR for the consumers.

Other than being highly scalable and based on a more intelligent design than most traditional DRAMs, there is not much reason to choose RDRAM over DDR.

In my own system, I would trust DDR as the most solid choice for memory.

 

[NV30]

Thanks Rick, DDR it is.

 

[Darth Shiv]

"the problem is that it looks like RDRAM has little future"

How often do you buy a new motherboard WITH new ram anyway? PC1066 is much faster than DDR and it doesn't matter how much future it has because when you upgrade, you are going to get faster components across the board regardless. You have DDR now.... DDR2 requires a new motherboard anyway so this argument that "RAMBUS has no future" really is meaningless. DDR ain't going to go much faster than 3500 rated DDR which is still short of the PC1066 RAMBUS ram.

In short if you want performance and can afford PC1066, I say go for it. It performs far better. If you can only afford the PC800 then thats about the same level as DDR400, and in that case, DDR is the better choice.

 

[Ayasha]

.

Well I have to agree if you can afford 1066 RDRAM it does currently offer the best performance in a P4 system. As far as DDR and DDR 2 goes. They will have different sized memory sockets to input in. So either way if you are bound and determined to get DDR 2 when it comes out you will need a new motherboard. Of course DDR will still be around for a while, no one is going to ignore all those people with DDR ram. Then well RAMBUS will still be pushing RDRAM for a while so I would expect it to continue. It does have a niche market. RAMBUS will have to diversify in order to really be a player in the memory game again. But I do feel both RDRAM and DDR are here to stay for a while. Why you ask. Simple. Intel knows that RDRAM works best with the P4. Which makes them look better against good ol' AMD. I wouldn't be surprised anytime in the near future to have Intel come around some new memory type from RAMBUS, or another advanced version of RDRAM. As long as RAMBUS doesn't charge an arm and a leg for it. Of course we could always see Intel buy RAMBUS. Let us not forget that Intel was once in the memory business itself. Something to think about there.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Rambus do have a RDRAM 2 on the cards but whether Intel decides to support it or not is another matter. Same sort of thing as DDR 2 except that I think they are going for higher initial speeds. With graphics cards like the NV30 adopting DDR 2 though, AMD adopting DDR 2 and Intel with almost no support left for it, I'd be surprised if Rambus can get back into the market.

 

[Didou]

Granite Bay anyone ?

With a Granite Bay board ( E7205 ), you can get dual channel PC2100, which in thoery should be as fast as Dual Channel PC1066 RDRAM but is just a tiny bit slower in practice.

On the other hand, it's much cheaper, thanks to the low price of PC2100 modules. The board itself is a bit expensive but ti's the first Intel board to support AGP8X.

 

[Rick]

Originally posted by Darth Shiv
"the problem is that it looks like RDRAM has little future"

How often do you buy a new motherboard WITH new ram anyway? PC1066 is much faster than DDR and it doesn't matter how much future it has because when you upgrade, you are going to get faster components across the board regardless. You have DDR now.... DDR2 requires a new motherboard anyway so this argument that "RAMBUS has no future" really is meaningless. DDR ain't going to go much faster than 3500 rated DDR which is still short of the PC1066 RAMBUS ram.

In short if you want performance and can afford PC1066, I say go for it. It performs far better. If you can only afford the PC800 then thats about the same level as DDR400, and in that case, DDR is the better choice.

Good points. Perhaps it is more of my "play it safe" attitude than the "Gotta upgrade right away" feeling that is talking more in this case.

I'm the kind of person who would most likely get one of those "transitional" boards, where the switch to DDR2 is eased by compatibility with DDR-2 and DDR-1 modules. So choosing DDR would last longer than RDRAM in my case and I wouldn't have much regret in using "low bandwidth" memory in my next system.

Of course, with the invention of 64-bit systems, a hybrid may not be available. AND I suppose if your memory peformance is important enough that you ask about - Perhaps RDRAM is for you. It does offer more bandwidth. I have always doubted the noticable perfomance boost of more system bandwidth. Current DDR solutions provide bandwidth to burn the last time I checked.

RDRAM is useful in a server/workstation enviroment.. But at home I would still stick with DDR over RDRAM's higher bandwidth and cost.

 

[Darth Shiv]

I am intrigued by the dual channel DDR boards though... that looks to be a pretty nice setup for an P4 based system.