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    Ram Ddr3

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by marcinz, Jan 12, 2009.

  1. marcinz

    marcinz Notebook Enthusiast

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    As I`m close to buy a laptop I~m trying to narrow the specifics and my question is. Should I get a laptop with DDR3 already in it or with DDR2 and replace it when DDR3 becomes cheaper ?
    Also, what are the minimum hardware requirements for DDR3 to work?

    Is DDR3 that much faster then DDR2 ?

    Thanks.
    :confused:
     
    marcinz, Jan 12, 2009
    #1
  2. PhoenixFx

    PhoenixFx Notebook Virtuoso

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    DDR3 and DDR2 are not compatible (physically different). Since you are buying a new laptop, buy with DDR3; not sure about the performance difference though. Most likely not a big deal in real life computing, at least not yet....
     
    PhoenixFx, Jan 12, 2009
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  3. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    DDR3 isnt significantly fast enough to justify the price tags. Though it does use less voltage (20%) meaning more battery life and runs cooler.
     
    flipfire, Jan 12, 2009
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  4. chikit

    chikit Notebook Guru

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    Buy a laptop with DDR3. If it runs DDR3 it usually means the other components are pretty up to date as well. DDR2 runs with last generation technology (cpus, chipset etc.)
     
    chikit, Jan 12, 2009
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  5. scythie

    scythie I died for your sins.

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    There are also "current generation technology" that runs DDR2. The current Intel chipsets support either DDR2 or DDR3 [of course not both].

    DDR3 isn't really faster, but as already mentioned, it uses less power, so better battery life. Personally, if it's DDR2-800 vs. DDR3-800, go with DDR2. If it's DDR3-1067, however, maybe you should give the more expensive DDR3 a try.
     
    scythie, Jan 12, 2009
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  6. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

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    DDR3 will not be noticeable faster in any way compared to DDR2 on a core2-system.

    Only the new core i7 will justify the benefits of DDR3 as the memory controller is inside the CPU instead of in the northbridge as in the core2systems. And core i7 notebooks doesn't exist today, so that's not what you're getting :)
    So no, even if you get a notebook with DDR2 and it does support DDR3 dimms also, there is no point in upgrading to DDR3 as it will not give you anything worth having.


    So i don't really see the point of getting DDR3 if it's not as cheap as ddr2. The batterylife, will it even be something noticeable that too? Does someone really know, or do you guys guess?
     
    Michel.K, Jan 12, 2009
    #6