Pentium 4 upgrade: DDR SDRAM or RDRAM??

[JoshRtek]

Hello all,

I plan on upgrading my computer later this August from a Pentium III 1.0 GHz, 512 MBs SDRAM, Asus TUSL2-C to a Pentium 4. I am primarily doing this to get up to date with all the games coming out in the next year (specifically Half-Life 2 ;-)). My question is, is what choice for RAM would be better? I know RDRAM is expensive, but doesn't it perform better than DDR RAM? Is the price difference worth it? Also, aren't Pentium 4 DDR RAM motherboards cheaper than RDRAM motherboards? Thanks!

-Joshua

 

[Ionizer86]

RDRAM is pretty much toast. All the newer chipsets do dual channel DDR (ie intel i865).

Price difference = definitely not worth it. DDR3200 and an 800 bus P4 is what you need if you're getting the P4.

 

[JoshRtek]

Hello again,

Also, when choosing DDR motherboards from Asus, is the price difference between the P4P800 and the P4C800 worth it? I know there chipsets are different, but what's the main reason for the cost difference? What am I getting extra?

Thanks again,
Joshua

 

[JoshRtek]

Okay, one last thing, I promise,

Does dual channel DDR RAM have to be installed in pairs, a la, EDO RAM and RDRAM? So if I wanted a Gig of memory, I would buy two 512 MB chips? Thanks!

-Joshua

 

[luissantos]

I'm now also going to buy a P4 (with a Asus P4C800 deluxe) and I think you iwll really have to buy two 512MB simms...

Luis Santos

 

[DaveSimmons]

Wlecome to the forums. The main Anandtech website has a roundup of i865/i875 motherboards on the main page and under the motherboards tab. You might want to read it (and even the older i865 and i875 articles under the chipsets tab) to get a better understanding of features.

One part of the chipset articles that is out of date is speed differences. Asus, Abit and others (except intel) have figured out how to run the i865 at the same speed as the i875 so the main things to choose by are features and price.

And yes you need 2 sticks of memory to run in dual-channel mode.

 

[Curley]

I was a huge RDRAM fan, but I have to say that DDR with the 865/875 chipsets has made RDRAM history. I say go DDR memory.

"And yes you need 2 sticks of memory to run in dual-channel mode", I have to say I was confused about purchasing Dual Channel DDR memory. Although they come in pairs, they can be used independently in other boards unlike the RDRAM modules.