Newbie question on DDR memory

[agent]

What does the 333 mean after DDR333? Does it have anything to do with the FSB speed of the processor? If I have a 266 FSB do I need DDR266 memory or can I get performance improvement from DDR333 memory? Thanks!

Always remember, you are unique...just like everyone else. <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Agent on 09/03/04 09:40 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

DDR cycles data twice as fast as the clock speed. So DDR333 runs at 166MHz. Your 266 FSB processor also has a DDR bus and actually runs a bus clock of 133MHz. Since they both use a 64-bit wide DDR bus, DDR266 is a perfect match for your CPU.

DDR266 is also called PC2100. The only gain you could possibly get from running DDR333 is if both types of memory had the same Cas Latency, the faster RAM would have lower real-time response. But this also puts some added stress on the memory controller, which can actually result in decreased performance in some tests.

Now, you can run DDR333 at 266 if you like. Memory isn't fixed speed, DDR333 simply has a maximum garunteed speed of 166MHz (DDR333). So if DDR333 is cheaper, you can use it at the slower speed, or the faster speed it's rated at, you could even experiment with it to find out which setting gives you the best results.

Another nice thing about using DDR333 is that, if you set it at DDR266 speed (the same as your CPU), if you overclock the CPU the RAM will overclock synchronously, and you'd have a lot of room to overclock without pushing the memory past stability.

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[agent]

Cool. Thanks Crashman!

Always remember, you are unique...just like everyone else.