pc800 and pc1066 RDRAM

[TeABaG88]

can i mix these two memory speeds in the same system? For example two of the 1066 modules and 2 of the pc800 modules?

 

[Krk3561]

Yes, but they will all run at PC800.

 

[sean2002]

Originally posted by: Krk3561
Yes, but they will all run at PC800.

Unless you have some good PC-800 that will run @PC-1066

 

[TeABaG88]

ok so what do you think would give better performance for a machine that will do some gaming?

(1) 256 MB of PC1066 RDRAM or
(2) 256 MB of PC1066 RDRAM + 128 MB PC800 RDRAM. Thereby making this 384 MB of PC800 RDRAM

This will be in a 2.40 Ghz P4 system.

 

[Krk3561]

Just go with the 256MB of PC1066 for now, you can always upgrade to more later.

 

[HokieESM]

Keep in mind that you MUST run RDRAM in PAIRS. So if you want 256MB of PC1066, you must buy 2 sticks of 128 and put them in the appropriate slots (see your manual). I have 4x256MB of PC1066 on a Asus P4T533-C.... and used to have just 2x256... and trust me, if you don't install it in pairs, you're in a world of trouble.

I would also second getting 256MB of PC1066 and upgrading later..... things don't use as much RAM as people like to think. The fast speed of the PC1066 will really open up the performance of the P4.

Best of luck!

 

[PCMarine]

Originally posted by: HokieESM
I would also second getting 256MB of PC1066 and upgrading later..... things don't use as much RAM as people like to think. The fast speed of the PC1066 will really open up the performance of the P4.

I agree

 

[FishTankX]

One cavaet is that the RDRAM will run at the speed of the slowest module. That means that if you paired up PC1066 and PC600, the whole rig would run at PC600.

Then again, if you need alot of RAM.. it might be more economical to get a better CPU and some DDR. As the faster speed of the CPU will offset the performance benefit of DDR in most situations, and it's cheaper too.

 

[HokieESM]

FishTankX has a good point.... or raises one that a LOT of computer users don't think about. You must make your computer for what you NEED--there are a lot of inherent tradeoffs. He's exactly right, if you NEED a lot of memory, DDR is absolutely the way to go--its cheaper, and its bandwidth is approaching that of RDRAM. So, for video editing, DDR is a wise choice. I've even seen P3s with 4GB of PC133 outperform P4s with 512MB of PC1066 in the right setting. However, if you do a LOT of serial-execution programming (as I do), the speed (and the prefetch in the P4) lets RDRAM outperform DDR by a significant margin (I've seen as much as 20% increase in computational time for my finite element models). But its pricey. So, consider what you're doing. If you're like most computer users--you browse the web, write a paper or two, do some photo-editing, and play a few games, I would recommend a good 845PE board and some PC2700.

 

[TeABaG88]

thanks everyone. you were very helpful

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: FishTankX
One cavaet is that the RDRAM will run at the speed of the slowest module. That means that if you paired up PC1066 and PC600, the whole rig would run at PC600.

Then again, if you need alot of RAM.. it might be more economical to get a better CPU and some DDR. As the faster speed of the CPU will offset the performance benefit of DDR in most situations, and it's cheaper too.

PC600