DDR v SDRAM for Duron 900

[IanWorthington]

In http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=649484 people are saying that the DDR will perform *much* better than the SDRAM.

If I'm using a Duron 900 (with no overclocking) rather than a high-end Athlon, would I be right in thinking that I loose some of the advantage of the DDR?

In the month since Anand wrote his Nov 9th memory price guide (http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.html?i=1556&p=2), memory prices seem to have risen steeply: the 256MB for DDR RAM that was $32 then is now $53.

As I'm using the ECS K7S5A board, I've been advised to stick to quality memory to avoid problems, which seems to mean Crucial or Muskin. Are there any other brands I should look at?

I'm building 11 systems for a gaming/internet cafe, so price is a major factor for me. The pricing from Crucial is:

128MB: PC100 $22; PC2100 $27
256MB: PC100 $34; PC2100 $53


Can I get away with the $22 solution, or do I need to bite the bullet and spend the $53? Or will something in between suffice in reality?


Finally, in his price guide, Anand mentions "a coupon specifically for AnandTech Forum Members". Is this still available, and where would I find it?


Any and all thought/comments sincerly appreciated.

Ian
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[Wind]

DDR RAM ia about 10-15% faster under certain application. If u use Win2K, 256 MB recommended.

 

[IanWorthington]

I'll be under Win98, but one of the games we're thinking of providing (Dark Age of Camelot) suggests it needs 128MB. So on that basis I'm thinking I'm better off with 256MB, but of SDRAM to keep the price down. (Why have memory prices gone up *so* much?!)

Does that make sense?

ian
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[mboy]

Either spend the $53 now for the 256mb PC2100, or wait a month or 2 for it to drop in price. Either way, you would be CRAZY not to get the PC2100!