dual ddr mb vs memory upgrade

[Freakhead_5]

I have a question. I want to get a new cpu. The amd cpus that are faster than mine require faster memory than I currently have to run properly. pc2700 vs the pc2100 that I have now.

Can I just buy a dual ddr mb and take advantage of the dual ddr setup using my old pc2100 in order to get a faster cpu (say a barton 3000) to run at it's proper specs?

 

[Coyote]

I think there are two issues here 1. Dual Channel ram and 2. Running the cpu and ram in sync.

Dual channel offers only a small increase in performance on AMD ysytems (bigger increase for intel cpu's running in dual channel). Running the ram and cpu at different FSB speeds hinders performance in AMD systems. If you're thinking of getting, say a Barton cpu it's FSB is 166. Then you're going to want ram that's at least pc2700 (FSB at 166), better still is pc3200 (FSB at 200).

If you get pc3200 and good mobo (e.g., Abit nf7-S) you can increase the FSB of the Barton cpu to 200. The ram and the cpu are in sync (this also is sort of an overclock for the cpu).

So if you get a faster cpu, you should get the faster ram. The dual channel thingy is relatively unimportant.

Hope this helps.

XP 2000+
MSI KT3 ULTRA-2 KT333
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB PC2700
ABIT G4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB
Win98SE

 

[Snaggle]

'
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ "Barton", 400 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM

Specification
Model: AMD Athlon XP 3000+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 2.1GHz
FSB: 400MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: OEM(Chip Only)"-newegg $208

The newest 3000+bartons have 200(aka amd 400)fsb.

 

[Prof133]

Dual ddr mode can't make up for the performance hit suffered from async FSB:Memory Clock ratio.