DDR2: Is it worth it?

[perdomot]

Been reading about the changes coming in 2006 with AMD finally using DDR2 ram at 667 speeds and was wondering how much and where would I see performance gains. Currently, I can run my Venice 939 cpu at 240 X 10=2400mhz and am happy with the performance. Will DDR2 be justifiable at this point?

 

[SlitheryDee]

Doesn't look like it. Current benchmarks show equal or slightly below performance of s939 systems. There's still time to tweak before AM2 launches but I doubt it'll be anything spectacular, or worth upgrading to for a while.

 

[kmrivers]

actually as far as I understand we will be seeing DDR2 800 instead. If you looking to upgrade or do a new build soon it will surely be worth it.

 

[kmrivers]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
Doesn't look like it. Current benchmarks show equal or slightly below performance of s939 systems. There's still time to tweak before AM2 launches but I doubt it'll be anything spectacular, or worth upgrading to for a while.

If you are speaking of the tom's hardware benchmarks here is some food for thought:

A: They were using a engineering sample that was outdated(memory controller i think)
B: They were using DDR2 400, which explains why they were so close.

So, there will be performance gains to be had, considering you can use DDR2 800. If it costs the same as current hardware, it will definetly be worth it. But don't chuck out your current stuff if you are happy with it. But if you are building a new system soon or coming to your upgrade cycle then go for it. Wait for REAL benchmarks before you start flapping off SlitheryDee.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: kmrivers

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
Doesn't look like it. Current benchmarks show equal or slightly below performance of s939 systems. There's still time to tweak before AM2 launches but I doubt it'll be anything spectacular, or worth upgrading to for a while.

If you are speaking of the tom's hardware benchmarks here is some food for thought:

A: They were using a engineering sample that was outdated(memory controller i think)
B: They were using DDR2 400, which explains why they were so close.

So, there will be performance gains to be had, considering you can use DDR2 800. If it costs the same as current hardware, it will definetly be worth it. But don't chuck out your current stuff if you are happy with it. But if you are building a new system soon or coming to your upgrade cycle then go for it. Wait for REAL benchmarks before you start flapping off SlitheryDee.

Oh I'd definitely recommend AM2 for a new system build simply because it will offer more future upgrade options.

As for DDR2 800, it will offer some performance benefits, I'm thinking in the order of 3-5%, but that's certainly not worth upgrading from a comparable s939 system to AM2. Think about current s939 AMD cpus which are not starved for bandwidth even now with DDR memory. I beleive that AM2 will bring performance enhancements similar to what we saw in the transition to s939 with dual channel memory. Doubling the bandwidth didn't help very much then, so I can't believe it will help now.

While I cited current benchmarks my thoughts in this matter were formed independently from anything I saw in pre-production hardware benches. They simply helped to confirm my initial theory, that A64 simply does not need that much bandwidth currently.

Edit: Well it's not JUST my theory, it seems to be the general consensus around these forums.

 

[kmrivers]

Also, the new boards will support AMD 65nm process. To further add to the new system and potential upgrade options.