DDR2 or DDR3, how can you check?

Hi people. How can you check whether your video card is DDR2 or DDR3?

Thanks.

 

You can't really though programs like RivaTuner, because they aren't 100% compatible with the current mobile graphics cards yet.

Though checking your clock speeds may answer some questions.

 

You have to check the specs when you buy the laptop or search for the specs on the manufacturer's website or the reviews here. It should usually say what it is next to the gpu
Just for a note, DDR3 cards in laptops are the Geforce 8700m gt, and the 8600 gt from macbook pro and asus g1s and g2s. Not sure if there are more and what ati cards have.

 

The type of video ram that your GPU has has little to no effect on performance. Instead, you should check the clock speeds, as that's the issue that many are upset about. Typically DDR2 VRAM is clocked between 300 and 500 mhz, while GDDR3 VRAM is typically clocked between 600 and 800 mhz.

 

I thought video ram (DDR2 vs. DDR3) significantly affected the performance due to stability and overclocking limits of the dedicated videocards.

 

No, type of video ram does not affect performance. However, GDDR3 VRAM is able to be clocked higher than DDR2 VRAM, and the memory clock speed does affect performance.

 

Yeah listen to odin. The amount of video ram doesn't matter all that much.

 

So that would mean that GDDR3 ram would have an effect on performance. Thats like saying "that food doesn't taste better than this food, it's the ingredient in that food that tastes better"...

 

No, because some GDDR3 modules are clocked just as low as DDR2, because of voltage requirements or whatever. All that matters is the clock speed. Some people on these forums seems to think that having GDDR3 ram is inherently better, which is untrue.

 

which gddr3 models are downclocked to ddr2 levels?

 

The Asus F3SV models that do have GDDR3 video memory are clocked at DDR2 levels due to internal voltage requirements. There were were versions of the Go 7300 made for ultraportables that had GDDR3 memory because of heat requirements, but were voltage limited to lower clock speeds. The point is that it does not matter (very much) to the end consumer what kind of components the manufacturer uses in the GPU, it only matters how it performs. It's true that budget DDR2 memory usually performs poorly, and GDDR3 memory usually performs well, but in the end all that matters are the clock speeds: the stock clocks, and how far you can OC your memory.

 

oh wait. are we talking about the 8600m gt, or just ddr2 / gddr3 in general?

i agree with odin. type of memory doesn't matter directly.

 

I was just talking about video cards in general.

 

only reason a DDR3 would perform better than a ddr2 is because it is clocked higher. both clocked at the same speed perform identically

 

Do it the meaker way, open up the laptop and have a look at the codes on the chips , or not (no really please don't I have no money to be sued), GDDR3 requires lower voltages so is always better than GDDR2 btw. If its ATI then look in the CCC under adapter details IIRC.

Btw just to clear up confusion:

GDDR = DDR1 tech
GDDR2 = DDR1.5 tech (never released as system mem)
GDDR3 = DDR2 tech
GDDR4 = DDR3 tech

Reason its clocked faster is distance from core/memory controller and much higher latencies since GFX cards care more about bandwidth.

 

If the type of memory affects the max clock speed you can get on the card then yes type of memory does matter. Just because it can be downclocked doesn't mean that the mem type is irrelevant.

 

Also, to be clear, nvidia cards use only GDDR3 and DDR2 video memory on their current mobile offerings. DDR3 is not used, nor is GDDR2.