Difference between DDR2 & DDR3 in a card.

[sheriff12]

I want to upgrade my graphics card from an nVidea GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i to a 9800GT. I notice that the 9800GT can be purchased with either DDR2 or DDR3. I need to know if it makes any difference which I select and why. I know I have to upgrade my PSU to handle the upgrade. My O/S is Windows 7 64bit. The CPU has been upgraded to an Intel E6600 and the RAM has been increased to 4GB's. Thanks for any suggestions or information you can supply!

 

[clutchc]

Are you sure it wasn't DDR3 or DDR5? I haven't seen DDR2 cards in ages. But to answer your question, yes it makes a difference. The higher the number after the DDR, the faster the memory. The faster the memory, the faster the card can render frames.

 

[sheriff12]

So, I should buy the 9800GT with the DDR3 rating. I know DDR2 is archaic but my machine has DDR2 RAM and as far as I know the card that is now installed is DDR2. I don't have to change my RAM to DDR3 do I?

 

[clutchc]

So, I should buy the 9800GT with the DDR3 rating. I know DDR2 is archaic but my machine has DDR2 RAM and as far as I know the card that is now installed is DDR2. I don't have to change my RAM to DDR3 do I?

Your PC's system RAM has no bearing on what VRAM is in the gfx card. They are totally different memories and do not affect each other. Here is a comparison of the difference the card will have between DDR2 and DDR3: http://www.hwcompare.com/3943/geforce-9500-gt-ddr2-vs-geforce-9800-gt-512mb/