DDR Worth getting now?

[luckydragon]

its been awhile since i started reading about the new computer hardware that is out and i'm planning to upgrade from my celeron 366@550... so are the motherboards worth getting now? and whats the difference between the ddr 2100 and 1600?

 

[XRdirtHead]

Don't worry about setting a DDR system up just yet. It will be a while before anything will take advantage of it.

 

[Sunner]

The difference between PC1600 and PC2100 is in the rated speed.

PC1600 runs at 100/200 MHz, giving it a theoretical bandwidth of 1600 MB/Sec, while PC2100 runs at 133/266 MHz, giving it 2100 MB/Sec.

But I agree with the guy with the strange name, there's no point in getting a DDR system right now.

 

[limsandy]

IMHO, no

 

[Mael]

Not really, although that could change very rapidly.

The DDR motherboards are just becoming available... actually, im surprised at how many are listed as 'in stock' by retailers, yet there seems to be a bit of a shortage of reviews of them...

Due to not all manufacturers boards being available yet, its a bit hard to pick any winners. The main problem with DDR at the mo, imho, is the price of the RAM, its way to high to justify the cost, although not all RAM manufacturers have ramped up production yet, so that should change, the manufacturing cost of DDR is only about 5% greater than SDR (if you beleive the press releases).

And if you are not an overclocker, finding 133fsb tbirds is a bit hard

 

[mylam]

let sit back and wait a bit

 

[Imaginer]

I just wait until they come up with a 200FSB or above bus speed. (Not including the 100mhz DDR stuff.)

 

[Biggs]

Well, for a cheaper overall price, you can get yourself a KT133A system, tweak it to the max 🙂 and be only like 5 - 10% slower than an equivalently clocked DDR rig.

 

[IamDavid]

I'm waiting for a good dual processor DDR Mobo to be released.. I know I'll be waiting awhile but I think it'll be worth it..

 

[thorin]

IMHO you should never buy the first "incarnation" of any product.

ie: I won't buy a first gen DDR motherboard. Or a first gen MP AMD Motherboard. Or a first gen P4. Or a first gen of any of the 64bit processors.

It's just asking for compatability issues and disapointment when they get all the bugs ironed out for gen2. Consider the problem when RDRAM boards were just about to release. The problems Intel (and AMD) have each time they release a new processor (FPU issues, chipset issues, ugh).

If you are really interested in a DDR based system wait 6 to 9 months until the revised or totally redesigned models of chipsets, motherboards, processors, etc come out.

Thorin

 

[gzollinger1]

If you are OK to wait, then that is probably the best solution. However, if you are determined to build right away, then by all means, go the DDR route. This myth that DDR RAM is expensive is just being perpetuated in forums like these for no particular reason. PC1600 DDR RAM is almost exactly the same price as equal quatlity PC133 SDRAM. However people scream that it's not PC2100 DDR RAM and is somehow unworthy of our attention. To that I say the DDR RAM at 100 MHZ is still faster than the PC133 RAM, sure the PC2100 is faster than PC1600, but using that argument, why not just wait for PC2400 DDR or PC2600 or... The DDR motherboards are slightly more expensive (maybe $20-30) but that is a very small price to pay for the advantage of having support for the next several generations of RAM. The reviews I have read mention nothing about stability being a problem with the DDR boards. Sure Thorin had it right, it can be a good idea to wait and not jump in the first generation of a product, but if you are determined to build now, the advantage of going DDR now outweighs the risks (IMO).