DDR2 vs DDR3

[kg648]

Should i still be buying DDR2 or should i just upgrade the motherboard to something DDR3? will i see a big benefit in speed?

I don't play games as often as i should a few times a week, the rest of the time i just use it for general web browsing so on.

 

[cmndr_andi]

It really depends on your current system and what you use it for. In almost all cases - just upgrading from DDR2 to DDR3 does not provide much of a real-world performance boost as most applications are not memory limited and the extra memory bandwidth offered by DDR3.

The main reason to upgrade to DDR3 RAM is because the newer, higher performance platforms require it.

 

[Nickson]

As above.

Dependant on the platform you are buying it for and what applications you will be using.

As for real world performance, in Windows etc there will be next to no difference.

 

[Probrian]

It really depends on your current system and what you use it for. In almost all cases - just upgrading from DDR2 to DDR3 does not provide much of a real-world performance boost as most applications are not memory limited and the extra memory bandwidth offered by DDR3.

The main reason to upgrade to DDR3 RAM is because the newer, higher performance platforms require it.

Following on from the original question, is there more headroom for overclocking in DDR3 or is it exactly the same as DDR2 in this respect also?

 

[MooMoo444]

Percentage wise, DDR3 overclocks the same as DDR2, however it highly depends on the kit you buy.

eg an 800 ddr2 kit might OC to 1000 and be fine, and a DDR3 1600 kit may clock to 2000 and be fine, it works out pretty much the same.