Differences Between Gddr2/gddr3

Hello guys. After going from Dell rep to Dell rep, I finally have just decided to find a high position person, and to e-mail him. I will show you guys the following email below, and this should help you guys understand the differences between GDDR2/GDDR3, so that you guys can show the Dell reps who's boss. I'm kind of PO'ed right now because I just talked to a Dell rep who said she would give a $100 coupon and that I should receive a confirmation e-mail, but that hasn't been sent to me yet, so this should be fun!

***E-Mail Begins***
Hello Anant, I contacted you earlier today about this problem. I will try and explain it the best I can.

On the Inspiron 1520 Notebook, you are able to choose 3 video cards...
1) Intel x3100 Onboard
2) GeForce 8400m GS 128 MB
3) GeForce 8600m GT 256 MB

I went with #3, the GeForce 8600m GT 256 MB. Why, do you ask? I went with this video card simply because if you look at this (your dell website), you can see that the one I chose has the highest "Graphics Memory Bandwidth" which shows at 22.4 GB/s. This then means that the graphic memory type has to be "GDDR3". Now, this is where the false advertisement comes into place. It really only runs at 12.8 GB/s, which is only "GDDR2". This is because this video card has 2 ways of clocking, meaning two different speeds. If you look here (its Wikipedia) and you look at the 8600m GT 256 (the one that I got) it shows that you are able to run this card in two different speeds. If you look at that chart, under the column "Bus Type", you will see that the card has two options, "GDDR2/GDDR3". Also if you look at the "Bandwidth Max" column, you will see that it will take 12.8 / 22.4. And then one last thing, if you look at the "Clock" column, you will see "400/700 mhz". Now I'm going to list which specifications go with what video card, although it might seem obvious.

***REMEMBER THIS IS STILL ALL BASED JUST ON THE GRAPHICS CARD, NOTHING TO DO WITH SYSTEM RAM***
For the one with a GDDR2 memory type:

* 400 mhz Clock speed
* 12.8 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Max


Now for the GDDR3 memory type:

* 700 mhz Clock speed
* 22.4 GB/ms Memory Bandwidth Max


Now, this is where I hope everything will fall into place. In your new Dell Inspiron Systems, you guys have put in the GDDR2 version of the GeForce 8600m GT, aka "the underclocked version". Now at that first link I have given ( here it is again), this link provides the details on your website. In order to get to this website with this information, one has to be customizing their new notebook, and have to click on the "Help Me Choose" link provided by the Dell site, then you have to click on the "Compare Side-By-Side" tab in order to get to this site. Now as I have said before, you guys state that if you choose the 8600m GT 256 MB, you will be receiving a 22.4 GB/s Memory Bandwidth, which then means that we will be receiving the 700 mhz clock speed, AKA the GDDR3 memory type for the video card. Now, since I play games, having this extra Clock speed, and memory bandwidth max can make a big difference. If I were to just surf the web, use e-mail, etc. this would not make a difference.

I hope I have explained everything throughly enough. If you have any more questions, just e-mail me back.


*This was not included in the e-mail, although I probably should have added it*

I will now explain how to achieve these Bandwidths for the Memory Types.

Okay, so the things that take into place in order to get these bandwidths are:

• Clock Speed
• Bus Width

Ok so, for the GDDR2 memory type, we have:
A clock speed of 400 mhz
A Bus Width of 128 bits
Now, since DDR stands for "Double Data Rate", you first multiply the clock speed by 2.
400 mhz x 2 = 800 mhz

Now the Bus Width is 128 bits, but you need to first convert that to bytes. Since 8 bits = 1 bytes, you do 128/8 and you get 16 bytes. Now multiply 800 mhz x 16 bytes = 12,800 = 12.8 GB/s

Do the same thing for the GDDR3 memory type:
Clock speed: 700 mhz x 2 = 1400 mhz x 8 bytes = 22,400 = 22.4 GB/s

 

Very nice, I will use this.

 

Perfect! Quick Q though, ddr = double data rate but whats with the gddr?

 

Stands for "Graphics Double Data Rate 3". GDDR3 uses less battery power and is less prone to heat problems meaning you can OC them better. They are just more efficient.

 

I'm bumping this thread up so people can see it.

 

this topic should be pinned. I think the title should be changed to like Helpful Info for compensation or something

 

this is dumb, it's like buying a nice sports car with a downsized cylinder

dell should get sued

 

If it really is DDR2 in the systems, I think it's an honest (read: stupid) mistake, but it's unquestionably material. It's like claiming 2.4Ghz CPU and sending out a 2.0Ghz unit.

I hope they fix the references, own up to it, and compensate or offer to fully refund anyone who has purchased one.

 

All I have to say, is you don't want to cite Wikipedia as a source...

 

Actually the Dell sales guy said *that* is their source for info

 

great! thank u.
rep+

 

I know that, but I'm almost positive that this is correct information. I will try and find another source as soon as possible, but I'm at work right now.

No problem, no problem .

 

although this doesn't take away my 1520 disappointment,
thanks a bunch for this thread =)
very imformative

 

Seems I can't really do much until I actually get the laptop. Not enough to argue my side.

 

Hey guys, I found this on Dell's Community Forums, Click Here. Maybe we should all register and post our thoughts .

 

Unfortunately Dell has emphasized over the last few years that they do not look at their forums to interact with the community, much less get feedback.

They've got one more day from me and then I'm canceling the order.

 

This is horrendous. G1S anybody?

 

Very informative. Thanks a lot man.

Vote for Pinning this topic.

 

No problem .

 

What does the 1420 come with GDDR2 or GDDR3? And how would one go about measuring this speed?

 

So, what tools do you use to check the clock speed?

 

BUMP THIS THREAD for good info.

 

I believe it comes with GDDR3, but at 500MHz instead of 600MHz as expected.

You can check the speed using programs like RivaTuner, nTune, or Nibitor, which will allow you to check the BIOS directly.

 

bump, as well as a thank you for an informative thread. I will be using a slightly modified copy of your OP to email my case manager in my quest for my $100 credit And definitely a rep for you.

As for pinning this, I think this is a short lived issue and is not worth pinning. Dell has already removed the bandwidth numbers from their site, thus eliminating any one that ordered after that date's argument for the credit. As my order was done on June 28th, I do have a argument with them that should be valid.

 

Thanks a bunch. As for me though, I still have not gotten an e-mail back from my Dell rep. I've been sending him many e-mails asking what the deal is. But he is still yet to respond.

Please keep in touch with me, I want to know if you get a compensation.

 

Keep in touch with the thread. I want to know too because I originally ordered back in June and did a cancel/reorder later on, and should get my 1520 on friday. I should be eligible for the compensation and think my chances are best if I wait until I get it.

 

Nicely done, rep up! The memory bandwidth stuff finally makes sense to me.

 

I will keep you guys up to date. My case manager has been good to me so far...

 

Kein Problem! No problem!

 

It's nice to see that you've put the information that I (and a few other people) have spread throughout the forum in the previous month into good use. I'll look forward to the dell guy's reply.

 

Yeah, after seeing lots, and lots, and lots of threads about this issue, I just thought, "Why not just explain it to everyone?"

 

I emailed my case manager about this today, I hope everything comes through ok. I asked for a $100 coupon instead of the credit so I can use it towards buying a new digi cam. Plus I have the 15% off coupon from them as well as it will just make things easier. hehe, might even be able to get her to bump my shipping to next day...lol.

 

If a graphics card is gddr2/gddr3 is there any way you can switch between the two? Or is there a gddr2 version of the card and a gddr3 version of the card.

 

Here's a pretty interesting thread on it:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=147708

The ASUS G1s, ASUS G2s and the Macbook Pro are the only notebooks with the GDDR3 8600GT, the 1500, 1520, Compal IFL90, ASUS C90s all have the DDR2 8600GT.

 

how much of a difference should i expect between the nvidia 8600M GT 128mb gddr3 and nvidia 8600M GT 256mb gddr3

 

I was lucky enough to have gddr3 memory on my 8600m gt, too bad I have to return this 1520 because it shipped with the wrong screen.

 

I'm almost 100% positive that the graphics card that came with your 1520 was DDR2. If you were using RivaTuner, then it was inaccurate. That program only applies to desktops computers.

 

NICE WORK, Thanks,
I will try my luck on it!

 

AGH!!! Even more reason to make a page about it on wikipedia. Everyone automatically assumes that everything on it is false, no matter what the subject. Most people have something better to do than sit around and screw with other peoples wiki pages. That's why im going to make a page about it, and say things like: Since everything on wikipedia is false, the year on the American calendar is 2008, therefore it is not 2008, because everything on wikipedia is false
steal my idea and....um...something bad will happen.....
rant over, didnt mean that as a flame

 

Way to revive a dead thread...

 

I've never seen anyone claim everything on Wikipedia is false. Making up this argument about the calendar that is not similar to any argument anyone else has made is just silly. Many people claim that it is unreliable, and I would agree. This does not imply that the only reason for the unreliability is mal intent.

If you want to cite a source, you should cite an authority on the topic. Wikepedia is not an authority on anything. It is basically an internet forum. This does not mean it is not a useful resource. It just should not be considered an authoritative source, and you can't say "I'm right because Wikipedia says so"

Way to derail a dead thread. Even more impressive.

 

I didn't really like the previous poster's train of thought

 

Actually, I was agreeing with you

 

Forgive my ignorance but where does one go to check if the memory is GDDR2 or GDDR3. I just got a vostro 1400 (e1420) and installed ntune on it. I could not find either ddr2 or ddr3 in any section. I do see that mine is clocked at 400 / 500 and temperature is around 49 c according to ntune at idle with power mizer enabled. I have Win Xp and powermizer throttles down the core and mem speed according to the NV Monitor display.
I think i read in another thread that all dell 8400 are GDDR3 but where do i need to look in ntune to find this out.

 

I'm in school; although I know you can't reallyl cite wiki as a source, a lot of it is true. Most of the teachers have the stance that everything on wiki has been tampered with and if you see something on there it can't be true
I don't use it as a source but it still annoys me.

 

Just to note. Wikipedia was found to be more accurate then Encyclopedia Britanica.