Going for RDRAM

[Pavelow]

Been reading everything I can on RDRAM. I'm planning to buy SamSung, either 2x256mb for about $200 or 2x512mb for $490. Got politely flamed on another thread for considering spending so much on RAM. But, with my P4 i850e chipset MB, the RDRAM is required to take full advantage of the CPU as said by THG in 2002.

"But, here's what we want to talk about, beyond the politics, it must be said that Intel's flagship, the Pentium 4, only performs at full potential only when used in conjunction with Rambus memory."

Now I might be trying to talk myself into the $490 purchase which would bring my RAM to the limit of 1.5gb for this Dell 8250 MB. But, given all the OCing performed here and hi-end video card purchases for OMG $500, why is it beyond everyone's thinking to spend that kind of cash on the fastest RAM ever made?

I know the answer of course and it comes down to bang for buck and what you're going to use the system for. Well I do some gaming but not in the realm of Halo2 or Doom3. I'll be doing video editing and audio cleaning. I also burn a lot of DVD backups (although quite nicely with my current 512mb of RDRAM). I'm anticipating future games that may put a tax on my system in the coming two years, like future DX9 racing games and RPGs like Myst 5,6 or 7. (Oh, and I'm already considering the GeForce 6800GT next summer).

So, I'm asking for your humble opinion or polite flame. Should I buy the $200 upgrade (512mb) or the $490 upgrade (1024mb)?

Pavelow

Dell 8250, mother board i850e chipset w/ 4xAGP slot, 2.4ghzCPU, 512 RDRAM, 120gbATA/100, GeForce4 MX 420, SBLive5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Pavelow on 12/01/04 06:07 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[sobelizard]

The question really is: What do you need the memory for? If your needs require it, and you aren't investing in a newer system in the near future, AND you have the $$$, buy it. Otherwise, you may be better served if you considered building a new system. I still have a socket 423 p4 with a GB of RAMBUS and don't regret the $$$ I had to spend on it when it first became available. It still serves it's purpose (Apache Server)and will not be replaced anytime soon.

<font color=green><b><i>Lizards</font color=green></b> do <b>not</b> taste like <b><font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b>,<b> <font color=yellow>chicken</font color=yellow></b> tastes like <font color=green><b>lizard.</b></font color=green></i>

 

[Crashman]

The problem: In 2002 there were NOT any Dual Channel DDR motherboards. So Dual Channel RDRAM was of course better in most circumstances. But with the advent of Dual Channel DDR, RDRAM became obsolete. DDR can now outperform it.

YOUR particular problem is that you have a Dell, with a proprietary board. So you can't just slap in a cheap board and a pair of cheap DDR modules to save money, you'd have to revamp the entire system.

I would NEVER spend $490 on that thing, but I MIGHT spend $200 if I were in your position.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Pavelow]

Would you direct me to the articles that show dual channel DDR outperforming RDRAM? I did not find it on TH site.

And thanks for the advice.

Pavelow

Dell 8250, mother board i850e chipset w/ 4xAGP slot, 2.4ghzCPU, 512 RDRAM, 120gbATA/100, GeForce4 MX 420, SBLive5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW

 

[jammydodger]

You could buy a new board and 1GB of DDR ram for $490!

 

[Pavelow]

Yeah, I realize that. But to complete the build with all the stuff I want would still bring me to $2000. You have to factor in the cost of NOT using the system I just paid off. I'm in the UPGRADE decision tree, not a rebuild decision tree. I'll stick with the Dell for the time being, like the next 3 years. And likely, go with the $200 option.

Pavelow

Dell 8250, mother board i850e chipset w/ 4xAGP slot, 2.4ghzCPU, 512 RDRAM, 120gbATA/100, GeForce4 MX 420, SBLive5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW

 

[Crashman]

Did you find the article that shows DDR400 (PC3200) in single channel outperforming RDRAM (PC800) in dual channel?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Pavelow]

No I didn't find the article, but found some articles on DDR. Found the following table:

Name TypeName: Effective Clock Speed Data Bus Bandwidth
PC66 SDRAM 66 MHz 64 Bit 0.5 GB/s
PC100 SDRAM 100 MHz 64 Bit 0.8 GB/s
PC133 SDRAM 133 MHz 64 Bit 1.06 GB/s
PC1600 DDR200 100 MHz 64 Bit 1.6 GB/s
PC1600 Dual-DDR200 100 MHz 2 x 64 Bit 3.2 GB/s
PC2100 DDR266 133 MHz 64 Bit 2.1 GB/s
PC2100 Dual-DDR266 133 MHz 2 x 64 Bit 4.2 GB/s
PC2700 DDR333 166 MHz 64 Bit 2.7 GB/s
PC2700 Dual-DDR333 166 MHz 2 x 64 Bit 5.4 GB/s
PC3200 DDR400 200 MHz 64 Bit 3.2 GB/s
PC3200 Dual-DDR400 200 MHz 2x 64 Bit 6.4 GB/s
PC4200 DDR533 266 MHz 64 Bit 4.2 GB/s
PC4200 Dual-DDR533 266 MHz 2 x 64 Bit 8.4 GB/s
PC800 RDRAM Dual 400 MHz 2 x 16 Bit 3.2 GB/s
PC1066 RDRAM Dual 533 MHz 2 x 16 Bit 4.2 GB/s
PC1200 RDRAM Dual 600 MHz 2 x 16 Bit 4.8 GB/s
PC800 RDRAM Dual 400 MHz 2 x 32 Bit 6.4 GB/s
PC1066 RDRAM Dual 533 MHz 2 x 32 Bit 8.4 GB/s


So the band width on my PC1066 RDRAM Dual 533MHz 2x16bit = 4.2gb/sec, which is lower than Dual DDR-400 (PC3200) at 6.4gb/sec. Although I see if I waited a couple months to buy from Dell I might have seen the PC1066 RDRAM 2x32bit = 8.4gb/sec which is on par with PC4200 Dual DDR533 = 8.4gb/sec. Saw some additional articles talking about DDR2 at over 12gb/sec band width.

But bandwidth is one thing. Performance is another. I would like to know where that article is. I'm sure my 2 year-old technology is slower than what is out there now. I'm just glad that it was cutting edge at the time of my purchase...at least cutting edge for Dell.

Another article I found is here http://www20.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030414/index.html
It speaks to a new MB and chipset as well.

Pavelow

Dell 8250, i850e, 4xAGP, 2.4ghzCPU, 512RDRAM, 112gbATA, GeForce4MX420, SBLive5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW
RJ-45 to Compaq 9660, 233mhzCPU, 104mbFPRAM, 12mbVoodoo2, Win95a<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Pavelow on 12/02/04 03:15 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

No, Dell never did dual-32 bit RDRAM. In fact, that's not even supported by Intel's desktop chipsets. The i850/i850E supports RDRAM at 32-bits, so the choices were 16x2 or 32x1.

If you had 4 32-bit modules they'd be in series to each other, so you'd still have 32-bits x1.

If you were limitted to 16-bit modules you'd have 16x2 bits, and 4 modules would have 2 pairs in series with a bus width still at 16x2 bits.

Also there's the naming convention: There is no such thing as your listed PC1066 32-bit, that was renamed RIMM4200. A lot of people list it wrong because it's the same speed. The reason it was renamed, however, was so that people wouldn't confuse REAL PC1066 (16-bit) with RIMM4200 (32-bit) and buy the wrong thing.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Pavelow]

I'm educated everyday. So, what are the PC1066 32bit DIMMs I see on pricewatch.com?

Generic -
256MB PC1066 PC 1066MHZ RDRAM RAMBUS RIMM4200 232PIN RIMM 4200 32-BIT 32BIT RIM4200. #1 BRAND.
FOR THE ASUS P4T533 MBOARD RIMM4200 AND MB SUPPORT PC1066 232PIN RIMM.

Dealer # - R10-232P-256SAMX Digi4me.com

256MB Rambus RDRAM 1066MHz 32bit 232pin
256MB 32bit 232pin RIMM 4200 RDRAM 1066MHz Samsung Original Memory FOR ASUS P4T533 RAMB

Dealer # - PC1066/256MB/RI4200/SAM DIGI4ALL.COM



I assume they are what you are talking about. The 32-bit PC1066RDRAM was renamed RIMM4200? But vendors still list it as PC1066RDRAM. I just have to make sure I don't buy the 32-bit 232PIN stuff.

Pavelow

Dell 8250, i850e, 4xAGP, 2.4ghzCPU, 512mbPC1066RDRAM, 112gbATA, GeF4MX420, SBL5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW
RJ-45 to Compaq 9660, 233mhzCPU, 104mbFPRAM, 12mbVoodoo2, Win95a

 

[Crashman]

PC1066 32-bit RIMMS are mislabeled RIMM4200 modules, like I said the first time.

Mislabling is COMPLETELY COMMON in this market, you should see how sellers lable power supplies! SFX, PSIII, they label them both Micro ATX and let the buyer figure it out.

You listed 2 modules that are both RIMM4200. One's Samsung, the other is "who knows".

So venders call them by both names. All the 32-bit RDRAM modules you're looking at are 232-pin.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[fiveiron]

Dude for 490$ you could just take out your old motherboard and ram and replace it into your current system no problem, sell your rambus on ebay after that, and be les sin trouble with a better machine, heck id sell the machien you have now on ebay and build a better one, you can build a high quality machine pretty cheap with all this new stuff coming out the old stuff is cheap. I know in canada for 800$ I could build a p4 3.0 with a gig of crucial pc3200 ram the asus p4p800 e deluxe board, a 80 gb hard drive, dvdrw and case. and still get a radeon 9600.
You need to rethink your strategy.

 

[Pavelow]

Read my previous post. Upgrade ONLY for me. NOT interested in the hassle of building a system and transfering all my stuff over to it.

We can close this thread.

Pavelow

Dell 8250, i850e, 4xAGP, 2.4ghzCPU, 512mbPC1066RDRAM, 120gbATA, GeF4MX420, SBL5.1, SamSung 48xCDRW, LiteOn 851S DVDRW
RJ-45 to Compaq 9660, 233mhzCPU, 104mbFPRAM, 12mbVoodoo2, Win95a

 

[jammydodger]

You wont have to transfer anything if you get a new motherboard and RAM. We didnt say you had to change the hard drive.

 

[CrucialLabs]

I am moving to Canada, man those are some cheap prices...

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www.crucial.com
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