PC133 or DDR ?

[Mylar]

Hi
I'm in the process of upgrading and could use some advice on motherboard selection. I've decided to go with MSI. But I can't decide whether to go with the K7t Turbo2 or the K7T266 Pro2.It will be paired with an Xp1700. My main concern is if the extra cost of the DDR board and memory are worth it compared to getting the Turbo2 and using my existing ram.
I've researched alot, and seen alot of reviews, but would like some opinions on real world performance of PC133 VS. DDR.The system will be used for general internet, graphics creation(hobby not professional ie. Paint Shop Pro) and some gaming.
Any opinions are welcome and appreciated.

[spidey_joe80@hotmail.com]

sorry man this is a really tough call. from the benched i have seen the real world gain from ddr isnt that great and with the turbo 2 ( i tihnk thats is the board that supposed to be the ddr killer) the gap becomes real close i saw a review at toms hardware. they also said that application/games will be becoming more bandwith intensive and thats where ddr should shine. This is gonna really have to be your call if your one of those guys who just has to have the fastest (like me) youl go with ddr nomatter what But if you dont mind a little less performance and rather save the cash obviously youl go with sdram. Judging by the apps you will be using you prob wont need ddr. keep in mind ddr333 is just around the corner and that will make pc2100 low end and sdram oblosete you might not want to be stuck with sdram then.


good luck on whatever decision you make

[Rugor]

It is a tough choice, though I'd be tempted to say go with the DDR. A big part of it is that as CPUs increase in speed they need more memory bandwidth to feed them and DDR. In today's applications you probably dont' "need" DDR, but in tomorrows you may. Also a 1700+ runs at 1.466GHz which is fast enough that it may well be seeing a falloff from bandwidth starvation with PC133.

You can probably get away with PC133 with this CPU, but you won't be able to with one much faster.

[Ammok]

I have the K7t266 with ddr.

If you can afford it you gotta go for the DDR, IMHO.

I have a PIII with 512mb 133 and everything just feels better.

I think if you stick with 133 you will be putting your cpu and applications down to the bottom of their ability.

The pro2 is also a very good one if you want to oc.

[NDD]

With today's prices of RAM - DDR without questions.
SDRAM is simply not worth anymore, not with it's current price.

[Mylar]

Thanks that's the info I was looking for! I've decided to go for the K7T 266 Pro2 with the DDR. Can't wait till I get it! All the research starts to get frustrating as well as time consuming. As an inexperienced builder (I've built 2 systems) I guess I don't think of the computer as a complete system but as individual components, not realizing how each component effects the others performance. What a waste to get the K7T Turbo2 when the Pc 133 RAM will bottle neck anything above the 1700+ I want to get. Not to future proof huh?
Anyway, I have one more question. Is 128 megs of DDR equal to 256 megs of PC133 in performance? Perhaps I've misunderstood the whole explanation of DDR. But if a DDR FSB at 100 Mhz is equal to 200 mhz performance, wouldn't 128 megs of DDR be equal to 256 megs of PC133 RAM? Is it still a necessity to get 256 megs DDR like Pc133 or is 128 megs DDR OK.

[Ragefire]

DDR is not techically faster than PC133 SDRAM - it simply gives greater bandwidth. It activates output on both the rising and falling edge of the system clock rather than on just the rising edge, potentially doubling output. So to answer your question, no 128Mb of DDR is not the same as 256Mb of PC133. For OS's like Win2k and XP, you still ideally want 256Mb of either RAM type, if not 384Mb+

[cjh]

gigabyte 7dxr= beautifull install w/ 1800+ reccomend512 ddr -if two =matched
samsung maybe? ps nice system --xp runs very stable with it also

[InnovaZero]

Accually it is faster both in Nanoseconds and CAS length. In raw mhz tech. yes they are same.

[Ammok]

Go for as much DDR as you can afford. memory seems to be on the way up at the moment.

128mb is not enough.