DDR3 vs. DDR5?

[SiHawk]

To get my BEST Gaming Performance would a 2GB Card with DDR3 Memory be better than a 1GB Card with DDR5 Memory?

TKS michael

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Can't say just from this in of but a card which doesn't use gddr5 can't even use 512mb properly. So I guess 1gb with gddr5 may be better.

 

[Jimzz]

No, I don't know of any game that can use 2gb of DDR3 over 1Gb of DDR5.

That and the only cards that come with DDR3 are lower than the DDR5 versions.

The GT640 and GTX650 are the same GPU but the 650 has DDR5 and the 640 has DDR3.

 

[Denithor]

Welcome to the forums!

Some games (with high texture mods added) can use >1GB of VRAM. In those cases, in theory, the 2GB DDR3 would be better than the 1GB GDDR5.

However, as mentioned above, they really only put DDR3 memory on the crappy low end cards - which aren't going to have the muscle to push games with a high texture package. So the GDDR5 card will win either way.

That said, what cards are you comparing and what does the rest of your system look like? We can make a better suggestion if you provide more detail.

 

[Red Hawk]

DDR3 memory is not fast enough to properly use 2 GB of memory. It's not even enough to use 1 GB. So you would definitely be better off with 1 GB of GDDR5 rather than 2 GB of DDR3 (technically DDR5 memory does not yet exist, only GDDR5).

 

[Tuna-Fish]

To get my BEST Gaming Performance would a 2GB Card with DDR3 Memory be better than a 1GB Card with DDR5 Memory?

Just a nitpick, it's DDR3 and GDDR5. The G is significant. GDDR3 is not the same thing as DDR3.

But the answer is absolutely not. Memory bandwidth is much more important than memory amount -- and GDDR5 has typically well more than double the bandwidth. It's also much more expensive, whereas DDR3 is dirt cheap, so cheapo graphics card manufacturers tend to stuff huge amounts of slow DDR3 on cheap, crappy cards to try and sell them with big numbers that consumers don't understand.

Are you looking at some specific cards? I strongly suggest posting the name of the cards you are looking at here, because there are some really atrocious models out there in the price category where DDR3/GDDR5 is relevant. A lot of people here would be happy to help in getting the best card.

 

[tweakboy]

DDR3 is for budget cards and it gives much less memory bandwidth. Its for normal people, not a hard core gamer, DDR5 all the way...

 

[SiHawk]

THANKS for the GREAT responnses, glad I asked for sure, now know much more about this and can make an informed decision.
The reason I was asking [as some of you point out that DDR 3 is "old hat"] I needed to know because I am buying everything to build a new 'puter; researching and trying tod decide between AMD' APU A10 5800K which with it I can add in an HD6670 [ddr3 or GDDR5] for "crossfire" effect with the on board 7760D. OR......am I going with an Ivy Bridge Mobo and probably an i3 CPU [$] then I'd have to immediately purchase a separate Video Card - but with the 5800K I can wait and live with it's abilities alone for a tad.
So far have purchased a Rosewill Blackhawk Case; 500GB WD VeloiRaptor SATA HDD; 500w Rosewill PSU; and 16GB 1866 DDR RAM............now been going bonkers reviewing and re-reviewing Z77\1155 and FM2 Mobos.

TKS for you help, michael

 

[taltamir]

The reason I was asking [as some of you point out that DDR 3 is "old hat"]

DDR3 is not old hat, it is the fastest most advanced form of system memory (what you put in the motherboard) available at the moment

the G in GDDR5 stands for "graphics"; it is based on DDR3 technology with slight modifications which benefit GPUs combined with higher mhz for that extra bandwidth which adds further performance to the video card. GDDR4 is the same thing only with lower mhz then GDDR5 and higher then DDR3. GDDR3 and GDDR2 are based on DDR2 and GDDR1 is based on DDR1.

DDR3 is cheap due to massive production, it being a commodity, and vicious competition.

The reason to avoid DDR3 video cards is that such video cards are always crap GPUs with a misleadingly impressively large amount of cheap ram. The most important thing in video card's performance is the GPU not the RAM.

 

[Denithor]

Let us help you out of your quandary.

First, what's your total remaining budget? I'll give some general advice below but if you provide your budget we can point you to specific gear to finish out your build.

Most people here will suggest an i3 over an A10 if you plan to run a discrete video card. The i3 uses less power and offers better gaming performance (http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/675?vs=677) at the same price point. If you are getting an i3 there's zero reason to get a Z77 motherboard - the i3 chips cannot be overclocked. Save the bucks and grab a B75 or H77 motherboard instead.

Not too sure why you opted for a VelociRaptor, those are definitely old technology. You would be much better off with a small SSD for boot drive (Windows + applications) and a larger slow spinner for storage.

What games do you plan to play? What resolution screen do you have or plan to buy? These, along with budget, will determine what video card you need. As a hint - the 6670 is not a good gaming card today. Heck, it wasn't very good at launch either.

 

[taltamir]

If you are getting an i3 there's zero reason to get a Z77 motherboard - the i3 chips cannot be overclocked. Save the bucks and grab a B75 or H77 motherboard instead.

While a good point, AFAIK the Z77 is only marginally more expensive chipset with the majority of the difference being the other higher end components on the mobo. So, while most z boards are overpriced I wouldn't outright rule finding one that offers good value.

Also, isn't intel SSD caching limited to Z mobos?

Not too sure why you opted for a VelociRaptor, those are definitely old technology. You would be much better off with a small SSD for boot drive (Windows + applications) and a larger slow spinner for storage.

Agreed.

 

[Erenhardt]

Can't say just from this in of but a card which doesn't use gddr5 can't even use 512mb properly. So I guess 1gb with gddr5 may be better.

ORLY?
You may want to reconsider that. Take a look at old 8800 GTX or HD2900 PRO. Both have gDDR3. But they have 86 and 102 GB/s memory bandwith. Compare this to this generation GPU with gDDR5 GTX650Ti which have 86 GB/s memory bandwith. Just as much as old 8800GTX with its gDDR3.

But there is more to it. 8800GTX's memory is faster than GTX650Ti's due to low freq and wide memory controller.

 

[toyota]

ORLY?
You may want to reconsider that. Take a look at old 8800 GTX or HD2900 PRO. Both have gDDR3. But they have 86 and 102 GB/s memory bandwith. Compare this to this generation GPU with gDDR5 GTX650Ti which have 86 GB/s memory bandwith. Just as much as old 8800GTX with its gDDR3.

But there is more to it. 8800GTX's memory is faster than GTX650Ti's due to low freq and wide memory controller.

wide bus with low frequency memory is no better than faster memory with more narrow bus. bandwidth is bandwidth for the most part.

 

[jimhsu]

Exactly, but wide buses take a lot more $ to manufacture (I think). There's an optimal cost/benefit ratio between bus width and memory speed^H^Hbandwidth.

Also, 650ti - midrange/value card
8800 GTX - world's fastest card at time of introduction. (I think it probably holds the record of being the world's fastest card for the most months, ever).

This in contrast is a proper comparison:

Model Fillrate Memory Configuration API support (version) GFLOPS (FMA) TDP (watts) GFLOPS/W Release Price (USD)
Memory (MHz) Pixel (GP/s) Texture (GT/s) Bandwidth (GB/s) DRAM type Bus width (bit) DirectX OpenGL OpenCL
GeForce GT 640 (GDDR5) 5000 15.2 30.4 80 GDDR5 128 11 4.3 1.2 729.6 75 9.73 OEM

GeForce GT 640 (DDR3) 1800 14.4 28.8 28.5 DDR3 128 11 4.3 1.2 691.2 65 10.63 $99

 

[SlowSpyder]

OP, the answer can vary depending on the resolution you game at and the game/settings you are playing. Generally speaking, 1GB cards, regardless of bandwith, are going to be limited at your typical resolutions (like 1080P) with today's games. Likewise, even if you have enough onboard memory, if it is too slow that can impact performance as well.

But, GDDR3 doesn't automatically mean slow or lacking bandwidth. There are GDDR3 cards that use a 512 bit bus (is 'bus' the correct term here, it's not really a bus, but more of a connection to the GPU... someone help me out here ) and there are GDDR5 cards that use a 128 bit, uh, bus/connection. Really what you want to look at is the total bandwidth, not what kind of memory the card has.

*edit - Meant "GDDRx"

 

[taltamir]

But, DDR3 doesn't automatically mean slow or lacking bandwidth. There are DDR3 cards that use a 512 bit bus (is 'bus' the correct term here, it's not really a bus, but more of a connection to the GPU... someone help me out here ) and there are DDR5 cards that use a 128 bit, uh, bus/connection. Really what you want to look at is the total bandwidth, not what kind of memory the card has.

There are no DDR3 cards that use 512bit bus.
There are GDDR3 cardss that use 512bit bus and are good. Those are older nvidia cards which are pretty solid. At the time they decided to go with GDDR3 and double sized bus because of a lack of GDDR5 chips.

Also, you are wrong about the statement that there are good DDR3 video cards. There are good GDDR3 video cards, there has never been a good DDR3 video card. This is because DDR3 is only paired with the worst GPUs available.

Also, DDR5 does not exist. GDDR5 does. GDDR and DDR are different things and your constant confusion of the two is the source of much of the mistakes you made in your post

Current existing memory technologies with DDR in the name:
DDR1
DDR2
DDR3
GDDR1
GDDR2
GDDR3
GDDR4
GDDR5

 

[Red Hawk]

I doubt any new DDR3 cards with 512 MB memory buses are being made, let alone ones with 2 GB of memory...

 

[SlowSpyder]

There are no DDR3 cards that use 512bit bus.
There are GDDR3 cardss that use 512bit bus and are good. Those are older nvidia cards which are pretty solid. At the time they decided to go with GDDR3 and double sized bus because of a lack of GDDR5 chips.

Also, you are wrong about the statement that there are good DDR3 video cards. There are good GDDR3 video cards, there has never been a good DDR3 video card. This is because DDR3 is only paired with the worst GPUs available.

Also, DDR5 does not exist. GDDR5 does. GDDR and DDR are different things and your constant confusion of the two is the source of much of the mistakes you made in your post

Current existing memory technologies with DDR in the name:
DDR1
DDR2
DDR3
GDDR1
GDDR2
GDDR3
GDDR4
GDDR5

I was talking hypothetically, as if such cards exist. You are correct, I meant "GDDR" in my post, not DDR. I'll edit that. I was just trying to point out that memory bandwidth, no matter how it is configured... wide bus with older/slower memory vs. very fast GDDR5 on a narrow bus isn't so much what is important, really you want to look at the bandwith, not the memory tech. X amount of bandwith is X amount of bandwidth either way.

 

[Red Hawk]

And the point that any DDR3 cards are going to be old behemoths that don't have 2 GB or scrawny recent cards that don't have the memory bus width to properly use a full 2 GB of DDR3 memory remains.

 

[taltamir]

I was talking hypothetically, as if such cards exist.

That's fine then. You are correct in the hypothetical, it is critical that this is clarified as a hypothetical.

"Could be done" and "exists on the market" are very different things.

At the moment the cards are only manufactures with either DDR3 (NOT G!) or GDDR5. And the DDR3 cards all suck.
The GTX280 (a fairly old card; June 17, 2008) had combined 512bit bus with GDDR3 ram btw (Since you asked earlier on).

 

[Smoblikat]

There are no DDR3 cards that use 512bit bus.
There are GDDR3 cardss that use 512bit bus and are good. Those are older nvidia cards which are pretty solid. At the time they decided to go with GDDR3 and double sized bus because of a lack of GDDR5 chips.

Also, you are wrong about the statement that there are good DDR3 video cards. There are good GDDR3 video cards, there has never been a good DDR3 video card. This is because DDR3 is only paired with the worst GPUs available.

Also, DDR5 does not exist. GDDR5 does. GDDR and DDR are different things and your constant confusion of the two is the source of much of the mistakes you made in your post

Current existing memory technologies with DDR in the name:
DDR1
DDR2
DDR3
GDDR1
GDDR2
GDDR3
GDDR4
GDDR5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130533

Dont be such a RAM nazi.

 

[taltamir]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130533

Dont be such a RAM nazi.

That is a mislabeled product. I assure you it does not have DDR5 ram in it.

Calling me a nazi is uncalled for.

 

[Rvenger]

I doubt any new DDR3 cards with 512 MB memory buses are being made, let alone ones with 2 GB of memory...

Gotta love BB selling nerfed cards at above premium prices.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/XFX+-+Co...=6819866&st=hd 7750&cp=1&lp=2

 

[taltamir]

Gotta love BB selling nerfed cards at above premium prices.

ouch... worst buy at it again.

 

[SlowSpyder]

That's fine then. You are correct in the hypothetical, it is critical that this is clarified as a hypothetical.

"Could be done" and "exists on the market" are very different things.

At the moment the cards are only manufactures with either DDR3 (NOT G!) or GDDR5. And the DDR3 cards all suck.
The GTX280 (a fairly old card; June 17, 2008) had combined 512bit bus with GDDR3 ram btw (Since you asked earlier on).

I don't think I asked that, must have phrased something wrongly... but at any rate, don't forget the 2900Pro/XT. Well, some modles of 2900Pro anyway.