Waste of a Pentium 4?

[Aldaris2002]

Hi,

I'm looking to upgrade now and picked the P4 2.26Ghz w/ 533 FSB as my new processor. The only thing I can't decide on is RAM! My first intention was to buy 512 of PC2100 DDR RAM because it seemed cheap, but better than the PC133 RAM I have now, but after reading a little on AnandTech and other places, it seems to me that if I don't use RDRAM, I'll be "underusing" my P4. Is this true? It will cost me an additional $98 CAN ($61 US) to upgrade the motherboard and RAM to 512 PC800 RDRAM instead of the PC2100. Is it worth it or should I stick with the DDR RAM? In terms of what I'm using the computer for, it's just Internet, and the occasional gaming.

Thanks!

 

[Soulkeeper]

It's up to you if a few percent in the benchmarks will make a difference to you
the latest ddr boards seem to be pretty fast
you wouldn't notice the difference coming from yur slower system whatever it might be
and plus you'll have more money in yur pocket

 

[Mikki]

Soulkeeper is right, either way the performance is going to be better than what you have. There isn't anything wrong with DDR, in fact, with the right ddr and overclocked you can run faster than PC800. And it's cheaper. I would get at least PC2700 (ddr333).
HTH

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Go with the ddr and overclock. The slight performance gain while not overclocked is not worth it and when overclocking you should do better with ddr then rdram.

 

[AkumaX]

get pc3200 and you wont be wasting that p4 or o/c to really high speeds

lets see.. pc2100 = ddr266, so you'd want at least ddr400... get corsair xms or something.. have fun!

 

[CrazySaint]

Originally posted by: AkumaX
get pc3200 and you wont be wasting that p4 or o/c to really high speeds

lets see.. pc2100 = ddr266, so you'd want at least ddr400... get corsair xms or something.. have fun!

Shouldn't that "or" be an "and"? AFAIK, there's no way to run your RAM at PC3200 speeds w/o overclocking.

 

[PaveGuy]

I?ll have to agree with Mikki, I think DDR will give you the potential to OC to a higher level. However if you just plan on running at stock speed then I think RDRam might yield higher benchmarks. Then there is the price difference to work out, generic pc-800 256mg will run you around $90 and Corsair pc3200 is about $120 for 256mg.

It comes down to what you want to do with your machine and how much money you have to get there.

PG

 

[Mikki]

Welcome back......

 

[PaveGuy]

Thanks Mik,

Hey, you got a link to that thread where you and the other guys were testing out the memory scores? It might help out Aldaris2002 on his upgrade decision.

 

[Mikki]

There's this one and this one, and check out this one (off-topic) for a total hoot...

 

[xroyal]

When you're describing casual use and "worth" in the same breath, it seems AMD XP route the most effective. Top speed and $ - go Intel. Good luck either way!

 

[Duvie]

Again as I just mentioned in another thread I believe the sis645dx mobo allows a 4:6 ratio so if you have an p4b chip (533fsb) you can get pc3200 at default speed...no oc required....

Go look at tomshardware review and you will see in the athlon 2200+ review that in quite a few apps difference from pc800-pc1066 is 8 percent or less...though sandra will show you near 20percent difference in bandwidth...don't get caught up in the numbers hype... pc2700 with a 533fsb will be right there with a pc800 system and pc3200 with 150fsb can be right there with the pc1066rdram in sandra numbers...so in real world it is even closer...

 

[dexvx]

PC3200 DDR memory isnt exactly cheap either (definitely more expensive than your run of the mill PC2100). Samsung PC800 memory is a sure bet (and it overclocks good).

Cannot overclock with RDram is a myth. If you have a motherboard that can go up to 175FSB and run your RDram at 3x mulitplier, it'd still be PC1050.

But if you're using it for Internet and occasional gaming, I highly doubt you'll see a difference anyways.

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Originally posted by: dexvxBut if you're using it for Internet and occasional gaming, I highly doubt you'll see a difference anyways.

I have to agree.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Use DDR and you'll be fine.