Question about my build

Nanostronghold · 11 Mar 2009 at 02:01

Hi guys,
I'm about to build my first PC and have the components on order. I was on a bit of a budget so went with some mid range stuff with the plann of slowly upgrading over time.
I bought the Abit IP35 Pro XE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard and I do get the impression that it is a very good motherboard with good overclock potential. My only question really is the fact that it is only DDR2 compatible. This obviously isn't a problem at the minute but is this going to be a problem in the near future? Is DDR2 being phased out for DDR3? or should I be alright for now? Obviously it's not a major problem as I can just upgrade it at some point if necessary, but i am going to be running 4gig DDR2 ram on it which i would like to increase at some point, so I just wanted to know whether it's going to be a problem pretty soon or if i will be fine for at least a few years yet.

Thanks guys

Bob

Joey1988 · 11 Mar 2009 at 15:25

I personally don't think you should worry about that, you've picked a really good motherboard which gives you nice upgrade potential for the future. (quad cores, 8gb ddr2 ram). I guess it depends on whether you want the latest and greatest technology, but ddr2 isn't disappearing anywhere anytime soon.

Nanostronghold · 11 Mar 2009 at 15:49

okay good thanks XD. I was planning on going up to quad core or i7 at some point, but as long as the memory slots don't suddenly become redundant then thats okay

thanks

Paul11 · 11 Mar 2009 at 15:50

as joey says.

no problem at all, i have same board with 8gb ddr2...

will last long time yet

Nanostronghold · 11 Mar 2009 at 16:23

Good stuff

Cheers guys. Is DDR3 just a bit faster or something then? On a budget I did get the impression that DDR2 was more than fine, but thinking back at it i was worried I wouldn't be able to thoroughly future-proof myself without replacing the mobo. Seems I shall be okay for a few years XD.

enigmo · 11 Mar 2009 at 21:22

From memory, DDR3 only gives you a 2-5% increase in speed at best, depending on what you're doing, of course. Stick with DDR2 for the time being.
Just one thing for consideration; I read recently that Abit is pulling out of the mobo market so I'd be wary of how long to expect BIOS updates and support.

Nanostronghold · 11 Mar 2009 at 22:14

Yeah I heard about Abit stopping mobo production, But I was recommended it because that would make their mobo's less valuable, so i could save some money on it. Also it was on offer. Well i'm just glad to know that DDR3 isn't quite good enough to warrant the halt of DDR2 so I should be able to stick with this mobo for quite some time no bother.
Thanks guys

deshepherd · 12 Mar 2009 at 11:35

Nanostronghold said:
okay good thanks XD. I was planning on going up to quad core or i7 at some point, but as long as the memory slots don't suddenly become redundant then thats okay

DDR3 has been around for a bit but has been more expensive than DDR2 and the added price may not have been worth the small added performance it supplies. However, the price is all a matter of supply and demand and from recent offers it looks as if the DDR3 is coming down to similar prices as DDR2 which will spur the adoption of DDR3 and move people away from DDR2. The result of this is that at some point the bulk of production will switch to DDR3 and DDR2 will become less available and get more expensive.

As a comparison see the situation with DDR now ... OcUK don't stock DDR any more but looking at another site 2x1GB of DDR2 is £30 while in DDR its £93.

So, if you think you need to upgrade RAM at some point make sure you don't leave it too late!