Any reason not to switch to DDR3 ?

[mactronix]

Ok so i have a system which consists of the following.

E4600 @3.0GHz (800FSB)
2GB Patriot extreme RAM
HD 4770
2X HDD one XP one W7
And a 4Core1600Twins -P35 motherboard.

I'm looking at an incremental upgrade path that will sooner or later include most of the computer but thought i would start with upping the Ram to 4 GB ready for the intended move to W7 64 when its released.
Is there any reason why i cant use DDR3 now with this sett up ?

Any sugestions welcome as far as the upgrade goes also, I realise this is the memory forum but maybe you would change the CPU first to a 1066 or 1333 FSB ? would this benefit the DDR3 ?

Thanks in advance
Mactronix

 

[cjl]

You couldn't change to DDR3 without changing out the motherboard - the slot is physically different.

 

[MaDMagik]

4Core1600Twins supports both, but IMHO switching to ddr3 without switching to core i7 or phenom is a bit pointless, as it will hardly bring any improvement in said PCs overall performance while still being significantly more expensive. On your system adding another 2gb of ddr2(for total of 4) will be as good as switching to 4gb ddr3, and 2gb ddr2 kits are dirt cheap now.

Your machine is no slouch, and i believe this CPU can go a bit higher than 3ghz. If you dont have funds ready to be spent than just add 2gb of ram and save for a new system or a total upgrade, but that really depends on what you do on your PC and what sort of performance you need/want from it.

 

[mactronix]

Thanks for the replies
@ MaDMagik

I thought about sticking in another 2GB kit but would that still run in Dual Channel mode or is that a suck it and see question ?
Thanks

Mactronix

 

[MaDMagik]

For dual channel you need memory modules in pairs(2 or 4), so if you add another kit like the one you already have than I dont see a reason why dual channel wouldnt work. But if youre thinking about adding a different kit with the same parameters I will be perfectly honest with you: Ive never attempted it myself so I dont know.

Another option is to sell that 2x1gb kit you have now and simply buy 2x2gb kit - dual channel guaranteed and less stress on mobo, but thats just an idea.