RAM Choices - DDR2 or DDR3 ?
The memory market is in the process of transitioning from DDR2 memory to the more efficient and higher density DDR3 technology; this process will be underway until the end of the year. DDR2 is available at 800 and 1066 speeds, while DDR3 reaches from 800 to 1333. Faster products are still enthusiast-class premium products, as no platform offers official support for 1600+ speeds yet. Both technologies are based on the double data rate principle, which means that they transfer data twice per clock cycle: during the rising and falling edge of the clock signal. Each new DDR memory generation is based on smaller transistors, decreased voltage levels and higher memory density. While the internal clock speeds don’t change, the clock speed at the interface (I/O buffer) has been increasing due to an increasing level of what is called prefetch. DDR3-1600 memory works on a physical memory clock of 200 MHz, but at a prefetch of eight. The interface runs at 800 MHz, but thanks to double data rate m