"Is all Memory created equal?" he asked.

bytes2go · Apr 9, 2017

My current config:

Windows 7 Ultimate
64-bit
C: 239 GB
D: 360 GB
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 330MHz (5-5-5-15)
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+
AMD64 Family 15 Model 107 Stepping 1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760

I was some time back graciously advised by a knowledgeable fellow here to jack my system with this among other upgrades: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory.

My question is not the merit of his suggestion which I in no way doubt and appreciate he taking the interest and time, but a more basic inquiry about memory per se.

Is not 8GB, 8GB regardless of the confiq? In what way is 8GB in the Crucial Ballistix preferable to the 8GB in the 8GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 330MHz (5-5-5-15). I ask this in no way snide or arrogant, but in a genuine wish to understand.

derekullo · Apr 9, 2017

You cannot put DDR4 memory in a DDR2 motherboard.

Period it just will never work by design.

Your friend was mistaken when recommending a DDR4 module for you.

derekullo · Apr 9, 2017

Depending on the motherboard you have you may be able to add more DDR2 memory.

k1114 · Apr 9, 2017

You ram is 660 as ddr is doubled the actual clock, just to be on the same ground as ddr4-2400. The obvious spec is speed, it's 4x faster although latency plays a role, you get the idea. But that doesn't give 4x the performance as ram bandwidth typically is not an issue in most software so it doesn't help much for most tasks. You can't put ddr4 into ddr2 slot and the new cpus that use ddr4 will make all the difference but I'm going off topic a bit. Ddr4 also uses less power and that also means less heat. Besides these points, there's not much to care about.

"Among other upgrades," probably also included cpu+mobo so they might not have been wrong to suggest it. Ddr2 can't be reused and you don't want to re-use such old hdds, psu or other components so the upgrade should be more of a whole new pc.

Edit: yup found the thread. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3250197/suggest-200-graphic-card.html

I forgot to mention the 1x8gb is single channel since it's 1 stick which cuts the bandwidth in half. He did this since you are on a tight budget and can add another stick later for dual. As mentioned, bandwidth isn't an issue for most tasks. That thread is nearly 5 months old though and new stuff has come out so would no go with those. Even deals change per day so you have to look around the day of buying.

derekullo · Apr 9, 2017

Do note that if your motherboard only has 4 slots and you are using those 4, you can't add more ram without replacing a module with a bigger module.

It is possible you have 4 - 2 gigabyte modules for a total of 8 gigabytes.

If you bought an 8 gigabyte stick you would have to replace one giving you 3 - 2 gigabyte modules + 1 - 8 gigabyte module for a total of 14 gigabytes.

You get the idea.

Most motherboards support a minimum of 16 gigabytes of ram but with yours being so old the motherboard model would really help us.

It would also tell us how many ram modules your motherboard supports.

SinxarKnights · Apr 9, 2017

bytes2go :

In terms of pure space for memory, yes 8GB is 8GB.

Memory technology being used now in PCs is of the DDR type or Double Data Rate. Basically what this means is it can send two bits per clock tick instead of one, effectively doubling the bandwidth so your it can fill the CPU cache faster or the CPU can grab the data from RAM faster in case of a cache miss. This causes a lot of confusion because of the effective part. For example RAM rated at DDR2-800 actually runs at 400MHz but because it is DDR, it is effectively 800MHz.

Multi-Channel memory works by allowing more 'channels' for the memory controller to communicate with the memory. Today you will mainly see "Dual-Channel" on consumer computers. Although triple-channel and quad-channel does exist if the CPU memory controller and motherboard supports it.

Dual-Channel memory generally requires at least two RAM sticks placed into the correct memory slots on the motherboard. It is such a large increase in bandwidth that not doing it, you are seriously hurting performance for anything that needs fast access to the RAM (almost everything).

If you are looking to upgrade the PC you have listed, well IMHO don't do it. I have a similar rig in the closet and turns out DDR2 RAM is insanely expensive for 4GB sticks. 8GB DDR2 sticks are pretty much unheard of. Not sure they even exist at all. Sadly I did the stupid thing and used a micro-ATX board that only has two memory slots. 4GB x 2 for DDR2-800 sticks last I checked was in the $400 - $1500 range. So yeah... not smart to buy that.

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