Is it a good time to "stock up" on DDR memory also?...Will pricing for DDR SDRAM increase as demand for it increases with eventual arrival of more and more DDR motherboards at lower prices? The pricing reductions in PC133 memory (at Crucial, a manufacturer's outlet) could be heralding an industry transition to DDR SDRAM, for which demand is still limited by widespread non-availability of a variety of DDR motherboards, with prices high for the few of those currently available (only 3 -- no Abit, yet -- listed in Anandtech's Weekly Memory & Motherboard Price Guide, priced $196 to $150). Can prices for DDR SDRAM be expected to rise from here as demand for the product rises with the eventual appearance of more and more DDR motherboards at lower prices? Do the Crucial DDR prices that presently match falling PC133 SDRAM prices also represent a "Hot deal" now relative to (higher?) prices that could be coming "just around the corner"?
(Or will everything -- motherboards and memory -- just get cheaper?)
Review of the Crucial PC1600** DDR...02/10/01
Crucial was not only quick to the market with their line of PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM, they also offerred it at prices comparable to their PC100 SDRAM [exact PC133 price matches, actually]. With effectively twice the speed of PC100 SDRAM at the same price, Crucial's PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM is a great value.
Of course if you want to be able to use this new DDR technology you will have to upgrade, at the very least your motherboard [see below for DDR Motherboard current pricing for 3 entries]. So exactly what kind of performance gains can you expect from upgrading to Crucial's PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM?
From 3Drage.com..02/08/01
It won't be long now until Double Data Rate SDRAM becomes a mainstream solution to alleviating the memory bus bandwidth bottleneck that plagues the current high-end consumer market. Making the transition from the standard PC133 SDRAM to DDR SDRAM will be costly at the first implementation of the technology, with DDR SDRAM costing approximately twice the price of standard SDRAM [eh? see below...true, Crucial is not "standard"], not to mention the inflated price of motherboards with official DDR SDRAM implementation.
Pricing Table Sources:
Crucial 184-pin DIMM: DDR PC1600 Modules
<a target=new href="http://www.crucial.com/store/ListModule.asp?module=168-pin+DIMM&x=17&y=16">Crucial 168-pin DIMM: SDRAM, PC133 Modules
</a>
$32.39 64MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par 8M x 64 CT864Z202
$32.39 64MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par 8M x 64 CT8M64S4D7E
$38.69 64MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? ECC ? 2.5V ? 8Meg x 72 CT872Z202
$38.69 64MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? ECC ? 8M x 72 CT8M72S4D7E
$61.19 128MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 16M x 64 CT1664Z202
$61.19 128MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 16M x 64 CT16M64S4D7E
$118.79 256MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 2.5V ? 32Meg x 64 CT3264Z202
$118.79 256MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 32M x 64 CT32M64S4D7E
While Crucial's DDR memory seemingly represents a comparative "great value" now, the DDR motherboard market is just beginning to take shape, with prices relatively high compared to the non-DDR mb market...thus, possibly helping keep current demand for DDR memory low...and thus DDR memory prices low (temporarily?):
AnandTech Weekly Motherboard Prices - Socket-A DDR Motherboards...3 listed
($196) Asus A7M266 Review, socketa.com...2/10/01
Another Asus A7M266 Review, gotapex.com...02/05/01
($150) Iwill KA266 re-testing "new revision board" In progress...Original rev 12/19/00
Six comments after the original (tweaktown) 12/19/00 review
Iwill KA266 Preview (hardwarecentral)...02/11/01
Another Iwill KA266 Preview (sharkyextreme)...10/13/00
($179) Gigabyte GA-7DX Review by 3drage.com..."verdict" excerpted...02/08/01
Verdict
The performance advantages of the DDR SDRAM equipped system equate to an approximate gain of 5% over an equivalently clocked KT133A chipset based system, but is the 5-6% performance benefit worth the extra cash you'll have to shell out for the DDR SDRAM modules and $200 average price of a DDR SDRAM motherboard? That totally depends on the user, as those yearning for the best possible performance will undoubtedly go with a DDR SDRAM solution, whether it be the 7DX motherboard or a DDR SDRAM based motherboard from another manufacturer. The performance advantages of DDR SDRAM could have easily been higher than 5% provided that the board offered adequate overclocking options, as a 166Mhz FSB and memory bus coupled with DDR SDRAM would have blown away the competition, but the limitations of the Gigabyte 7DX prevented us from displaying such results. Should you go with this board for your DDR solution? If you're an overclocker, then absolutely not, as this board has no option to adjust the clock multiplier, and this, coupled with only 8 FSB setting renders this an overclocker's nightmare(just trying to give those of you who are interested in overclocking your processor with DDR SDRAM fair warning), although users looking for a basic, stable, and reliable solution would be completely satisfied with the Gigabyte 7DX.
====
**NOTE (as of 02/11/01): "At this time, Crucial does not offer PC2100 DDR memory upgrades. But we do expect to have it in stock soon. If you'd like us to let you know when PC2100 DDR is available, please enter your e-mail address in the field below."
===
Interesting Notes by Hardwarecentral's Dan Mephim re ALi MAGiK 1 DDR Chipset Memory Support:
To go along with the 200/266 MHz FSB support, the MAGiK 1 supports 200 and 266 MHz (100/133 MHz DDR) SDRAM. These types of DDR memory will be termed PC1600 and PC2100, as they provide 1600 MB/s and 2100 MB/s of bandwidth, respectively. The MAGiK1 does not support asynchronous operation of the memory and processor busses, so PC2100 is necessary for 266 MHz Athlons, and PC1600 necessary for 200 MHz parts. The reason for this is likely performance (and possibly stability) -related. Asynchronous system and memory bus clocks are tricky, and can cause quite a noticeable performance hit due to mismatched timings. So it?s quite likely that, even if it were allowed, PC2100 memory with a 200 MHz Athlon would hardly be any faster than PC1600, and stability would likely suffer as well.
The MAGiK 1 supports DDR memories with CAS latencies of 2 and 2.5 clock cycles. PC1600 will be widely available in both CAS 2 and CAS 2.5, but we?ve been informed that PC2100 will be extremely difficult to find in the CAS 2 variety, at least at first (so difficult, in fact, that we couldn?t even get hold of any for testing). We?re sure it will become more available later, as process technologies improve, but for now. PC2100 CAS 2.5 is about the best you?ll find.
An interesting, and very attractive, feature offered by the MAGiK1 is its support for SDRAM as well. The M1647 Northbridge can support both DDR and SDR SDRAM, without addition of any other devices (like Intel?s MTH), although not concurrently. That is, while it can support both DDR and SDR SDRAM on the same board, both types of memory cannot be used simultaneously.
This presents motherboard manufacturers with some very interesting options. We will undoubtedly see quite a few motherboards available with both 168-pin SDRAM slots and 184-pin DDR slots. This will also help to ease users? upgrade costs as well. For example, someone who currently owns a Socket-A Athlon could simply upgrade their board, while keeping their current PC100/PC133 SDRAM, and upgrade to DDR memory later, when it?s more feasible. As well, OEMs can now use a single design, and add DDR or regular SDRAM, depending on the system, which will greatly reduce costs as well.
PC133, PC100, and, oddly, PC66 SDRAM, are all supported, although we doubt you?d see many boards coupled with PC66 memory. The MAGiK 1 supports up to 3 GB of DDR SDRAM.
(Full Article with Chipset Discussion "Iwill KA266-R/ALi MAGiK DDR Preview" by Dan Mepham)
(Or will everything -- motherboards and memory -- just get cheaper?)
Review of the Crucial PC1600** DDR...02/10/01
Crucial was not only quick to the market with their line of PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM, they also offerred it at prices comparable to their PC100 SDRAM [exact PC133 price matches, actually]. With effectively twice the speed of PC100 SDRAM at the same price, Crucial's PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM is a great value.
Of course if you want to be able to use this new DDR technology you will have to upgrade, at the very least your motherboard [see below for DDR Motherboard current pricing for 3 entries]. So exactly what kind of performance gains can you expect from upgrading to Crucial's PC1600 CAS 2 DDR SDRAM?
From 3Drage.com..02/08/01
It won't be long now until Double Data Rate SDRAM becomes a mainstream solution to alleviating the memory bus bandwidth bottleneck that plagues the current high-end consumer market. Making the transition from the standard PC133 SDRAM to DDR SDRAM will be costly at the first implementation of the technology, with DDR SDRAM costing approximately twice the price of standard SDRAM [eh? see below...true, Crucial is not "standard"], not to mention the inflated price of motherboards with official DDR SDRAM implementation.
Pricing Table Sources:
Crucial 184-pin DIMM: DDR PC1600 Modules
<a target=new href="http://www.crucial.com/store/ListModule.asp?module=168-pin+DIMM&x=17&y=16">Crucial 168-pin DIMM: SDRAM, PC133 Modules
</a>
$32.39 64MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par 8M x 64 CT864Z202
$32.39 64MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par 8M x 64 CT8M64S4D7E
$38.69 64MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? ECC ? 2.5V ? 8Meg x 72 CT872Z202
$38.69 64MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? ECC ? 8M x 72 CT8M72S4D7E
$61.19 128MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 16M x 64 CT1664Z202
$61.19 128MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 16M x 64 CT16M64S4D7E
$118.79 256MB DDR PC1600 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 2.5V ? 32Meg x 64 CT3264Z202
$118.79 256MB SDRAM, PC133 ? CL=2 ? Unbuf ? Non-par ? 32M x 64 CT32M64S4D7E
While Crucial's DDR memory seemingly represents a comparative "great value" now, the DDR motherboard market is just beginning to take shape, with prices relatively high compared to the non-DDR mb market...thus, possibly helping keep current demand for DDR memory low...and thus DDR memory prices low (temporarily?):
AnandTech Weekly Motherboard Prices - Socket-A DDR Motherboards...3 listed
($196) Asus A7M266 Review, socketa.com...2/10/01
Another Asus A7M266 Review, gotapex.com...02/05/01
($150) Iwill KA266 re-testing "new revision board" In progress...Original rev 12/19/00
Six comments after the original (tweaktown) 12/19/00 review
Iwill KA266 Preview (hardwarecentral)...02/11/01
Another Iwill KA266 Preview (sharkyextreme)...10/13/00
($179) Gigabyte GA-7DX Review by 3drage.com..."verdict" excerpted...02/08/01
Verdict
The performance advantages of the DDR SDRAM equipped system equate to an approximate gain of 5% over an equivalently clocked KT133A chipset based system, but is the 5-6% performance benefit worth the extra cash you'll have to shell out for the DDR SDRAM modules and $200 average price of a DDR SDRAM motherboard? That totally depends on the user, as those yearning for the best possible performance will undoubtedly go with a DDR SDRAM solution, whether it be the 7DX motherboard or a DDR SDRAM based motherboard from another manufacturer. The performance advantages of DDR SDRAM could have easily been higher than 5% provided that the board offered adequate overclocking options, as a 166Mhz FSB and memory bus coupled with DDR SDRAM would have blown away the competition, but the limitations of the Gigabyte 7DX prevented us from displaying such results. Should you go with this board for your DDR solution? If you're an overclocker, then absolutely not, as this board has no option to adjust the clock multiplier, and this, coupled with only 8 FSB setting renders this an overclocker's nightmare(just trying to give those of you who are interested in overclocking your processor with DDR SDRAM fair warning), although users looking for a basic, stable, and reliable solution would be completely satisfied with the Gigabyte 7DX.
====
**NOTE (as of 02/11/01): "At this time, Crucial does not offer PC2100 DDR memory upgrades. But we do expect to have it in stock soon. If you'd like us to let you know when PC2100 DDR is available, please enter your e-mail address in the field below."
===
Interesting Notes by Hardwarecentral's Dan Mephim re ALi MAGiK 1 DDR Chipset Memory Support:
To go along with the 200/266 MHz FSB support, the MAGiK 1 supports 200 and 266 MHz (100/133 MHz DDR) SDRAM. These types of DDR memory will be termed PC1600 and PC2100, as they provide 1600 MB/s and 2100 MB/s of bandwidth, respectively. The MAGiK1 does not support asynchronous operation of the memory and processor busses, so PC2100 is necessary for 266 MHz Athlons, and PC1600 necessary for 200 MHz parts. The reason for this is likely performance (and possibly stability) -related. Asynchronous system and memory bus clocks are tricky, and can cause quite a noticeable performance hit due to mismatched timings. So it?s quite likely that, even if it were allowed, PC2100 memory with a 200 MHz Athlon would hardly be any faster than PC1600, and stability would likely suffer as well.
The MAGiK 1 supports DDR memories with CAS latencies of 2 and 2.5 clock cycles. PC1600 will be widely available in both CAS 2 and CAS 2.5, but we?ve been informed that PC2100 will be extremely difficult to find in the CAS 2 variety, at least at first (so difficult, in fact, that we couldn?t even get hold of any for testing). We?re sure it will become more available later, as process technologies improve, but for now. PC2100 CAS 2.5 is about the best you?ll find.
An interesting, and very attractive, feature offered by the MAGiK1 is its support for SDRAM as well. The M1647 Northbridge can support both DDR and SDR SDRAM, without addition of any other devices (like Intel?s MTH), although not concurrently. That is, while it can support both DDR and SDR SDRAM on the same board, both types of memory cannot be used simultaneously.
This presents motherboard manufacturers with some very interesting options. We will undoubtedly see quite a few motherboards available with both 168-pin SDRAM slots and 184-pin DDR slots. This will also help to ease users? upgrade costs as well. For example, someone who currently owns a Socket-A Athlon could simply upgrade their board, while keeping their current PC100/PC133 SDRAM, and upgrade to DDR memory later, when it?s more feasible. As well, OEMs can now use a single design, and add DDR or regular SDRAM, depending on the system, which will greatly reduce costs as well.
PC133, PC100, and, oddly, PC66 SDRAM, are all supported, although we doubt you?d see many boards coupled with PC66 memory. The MAGiK 1 supports up to 3 GB of DDR SDRAM.
(Full Article with Chipset Discussion "Iwill KA266-R/ALi MAGiK DDR Preview" by Dan Mepham)
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