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    8600GT 512MB DDR2 vs 8600GT 256MB DDR3

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Blemish, Nov 21, 2007.

  1. Blemish

    Blemish Notebook Consultant

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    I'm quite interested in which of the two would perform better for gaming. Does anyone have any benchmarks/ experience/ or just technical expertise that can tell me which of the two is actually better? Also, would it only be a slight or quite a large difference? I personally have no idea how big of a difference DDR3 would make over DDR2.

    Thanks in advance.
     
    Blemish, Nov 21, 2007
    #1
  2. tygtyg

    tygtyg Notebook Enthusiast

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    256mb gddr3 would be better
     
    tygtyg, Nov 21, 2007
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  3. 72hundred

    72hundred Revolutions-Per-Millennia

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    interesting question - don't know myself but always wondered about the % increase in performance when the video ram is upped....
     
    72hundred, Nov 21, 2007
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  4. Charr

    Charr Notebook Deity

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    8600GT doesn't address fast enough to effectively use DDR2, so GDDR3 (DDR3 and GDDR3 are very different, so don't mix them up!) would be a better investment.
     
    Charr, Nov 21, 2007
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  5. Harleyquin07

    Harleyquin07 エミヤ

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    Perhaps it would be better to state that the 8600GT can't fully utilise 512MB of video memory at DDR2 RAM speeds, whereas an equivalent card with GDDR3 video memory would not have a problem due to the RAM speed.

    For the OP: Get the GDDR3 card if you can afford it. It gives a significant performance boost over the DDR2 variant.
     
    Harleyquin07, Nov 22, 2007
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  6. Beatsiz

    Beatsiz Life Enthusiast

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    whats the difference between:

    DDR3 and GDDR3 ?
     
    Beatsiz, Nov 22, 2007
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  7. Harleyquin07

    Harleyquin07 エミヤ

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    GDDR3 is a video memory type, it's based on DDR2 but it can be clocked much higher than the DDR2 RAM. DDR3 as a RAM type is not released yet though I'm not sure about this. Look up wikipedia for more information.
     
    Harleyquin07, Nov 22, 2007
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  8. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    GDDR3 is manufactured on a smaller process than DDR2, so it uses less power/produces less heat and can be clocked higher. Note that at the same speed, DDR2 will perform exactly the same as GDDR3.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Nov 22, 2007
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  9. Harleyquin07

    Harleyquin07 エミヤ

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    Does DDR3 system RAM exist at all Chaz? I'm quite certain that the fastest RAM possible for notebooks is currently the 800MHz DDR2 RAM.
     
    Harleyquin07, Nov 22, 2007
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  10. kowell

    kowell Notebook Evangelist

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    For notebook YES but Desktop DDR3 RAM is available
     
    kowell, Nov 22, 2007
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  11. Harleyquin07

    Harleyquin07 エミヤ

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    Thanks for the info. How fast does DDR3 RAM go up to?
     
    Harleyquin07, Nov 22, 2007
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  12. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    I was talking about video card RAM - GDDR3 is for graphics cards only.

    DDR3 RAM does exist though, but as noted for desktops only. It is prohibitively expensive and not worth it at the moment.

    Edit: Fastest DDR3 desktop RAM I can find is PC3 15000, which is 1.866GHz.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Nov 22, 2007
    #12