DDR 266 or DDR 333?

[SOHK]

Hi!
I've got a AMD Athlon XP 1800+ running on a ASUS A7V 266-E and i'm planning to do a RAM upgrade.
I'm wondering what the best RAM is for this CPU and motherboard: is it DDR 266 or DDR 333?
Will i get any performance boost using the DDR 333 RAM or will it be just a waste of money?

Thanks for you help!

 

[MichaelD]

*looks at date joined and postcount* Wow...you don't come around often, huh? j/k

DDR266 runs at 133MHz (266 double data rate)
DDR333 runs at 166MHz (333 double data rate)

To take advantage of the faster memory, you have to run a faster FSB. On a KT266A board like your Asus, it's doubtful you'll be able to run a 166 FSB unless you unlock your CPU and lower the multiplier so you can raise the FSB.

Also, at 33MHz over (166 vs. 133) your AGP and PCI buses will be wacked-out of spec and you probably couldn't boot anyway.

Now, one advantage you will probably have if you use DDR333 memory and run it at DDR266 is that you'll be able to run very aggressive timings which will give you a small but noticeable performance increase.

If you're just planning on throwin DDR333 memory in your board and running it at 266 spec, don't waste your money. What kind of PC2100 (DDR266) do you have now? If it's good stuff like Crucial, then stick w/it.

 

[bgeh]

you will see a performance boost if you change to a 333mhz fsb athlon xp chip
if you don't, then i think you'll see little to none performance boost

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: bgeh
you will see a performance boost if you change to a 333mhz fsb athlon xp chip
if you don't, then i think you'll see little to none performance boost

Yes, and he'd also need at KT333/KT400 or NForce mobo. He said he's changing his memory, not the board AND CPU.

 

[thorin]

If you aren't going to run it @ 333MHz then it's of little to no use to you, unless by some chance the 333 you're looking at happens to be cheaper then the 266 due to supply/demand in your area.

Thorin

 

[CraigRT]

DDR333 will overclock better because it is running at less than it's designed speed on your board.

I would get DDR333 if price is similar.
hands down!

 

[microAmp]

Like MichaelD said,

Now, one advantage you will probably have if you use DDR333 memory and run it at DDR266 is that you'll be able to run very aggressive timings which will give you a small but noticeable performance increase.

That would be one good reason to get the DDR333. IMO, I would also get it for future upgradability, if you plan on down the road getting a new CPU that does 166 FSB it'll go in there w/o any problems.

 

[Bovinicus]

Do not bother buying DDR333 unless you want to do one of two things: overclock and/or run your memory at aggressive timings.

Running the FSB and memory synchronously is the best idea for performance purposes, unless you are using an application that does a lot of sequential read/writes from memory. Otherwise, latency is increased, which negates a lot of the advantages of getting more bandwidth.

Now, buying DDR333 and running it a DDR266 speeds with aggressive timings will yield some nice little all around performance boosts. I recommend doing this if you are a power user.

 

[Ilmater]

I just wanted to agree with everyone. 333 will cost more but won't get you anywhere, unless you buy 333 so that you can run it at 266 speeds with the most aggressive timing settings.

 

[SOHK]

Thanks for your help guys!
I will now head for the store and buy myself 512MB DDR 266 memory stick!
Ceya all later!

 

[CaptnKirk]

Late with this, but what the heck.

Since the Mobo is built on a KT266, the match/make for the DDR is 266. (PC2100)
Don't know how hard the Mobo will let you push on the tweak, but good quality
DDR of the PC2100 flavor should have no trouble getting to 150 or maybe to 155.
When the DDR is applied you end up with a range of 300 to 310.

Since the doubling of the 133 yields the 266, a boost to 150 is only 17 which is
barely over a 10% boost - most good electronic components have a 10% to 15%
upper margin to use as a cushion to garantee stability at their rating. (133 rating)
That's half way up to the 166 that DDR333 comes from.

Don't forget that a lot of the PC2700 - DDR333 is made by overclocking the DDR266.

Costwise and future considerations - there is a longer future for DDR333 than for DDR266,
But Computer-Years are a lot like Dog-Years, except backwards.