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Buy new motherboard now for DDR3 or wait for better boards?

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overclockerjames

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have a Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H board with a 1055T and 6gb (3x2gb) DDR2

I recently went from 4gb to 6gb by taking 2gb from the HTPC (it didn't need 4gb to play videos anyway!) just to see if it would make a difference and the difference was HUGE so I want to go to at least 8gb

My board supports 4x4gb DDR2 but 1x4gb DDR2 costs about 50% more than 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3, but I'd have to buy a new DDR3 board which would be around $100

So my options are this:
  • pay ~$20 for another 2gb DDR2, which is kinda a waste since I'll probably just end up upgrading to DDR3 in the next year anyway
  • spend $100 on a new mb (probably GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3) and another $50 on 8gb DDR3 ($100+$50 = $150 new mb & 8gb) and sell off the 6gb DDR2 and my current mb (~$100-$30 ebay/paypal fees ~= -$70) ($150 - ~$70 ~= $80 new mb & 8gb DDR3)
I don't think the DDR2 board or the DDR2 ram is going to resell much cheaper than it already is over the next year so I can hang on to it and wait and see what's coming out soon, is there any reason I should wait?

Is there any new motherboard technology I should wait for? Obviously there's the replacement of USB 2.0 by more USB 3.0 ports, but is there any other reason I should not make the ~$80 leap to DDR3?
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
oh one more thing I forgot to add: reason I stuck with DDR2 this long is because I got a combo deal with the 1055T that included the motherboard from Microcenter last July. I also already has a lot of DDR2 and at the time I couldn't afford to make the leap to DDR3
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by overclockerjames;14943142
oh one more thing I forgot to add: reason I stuck with DDR2 this long is because I got a combo deal with the 1055T that included the motherboard from Microcenter last July. I also already has a lot of DDR2 and at the time I couldn't afford to make the leap to DDR3
Click to expand...
See my HTPC specs in sig, very similar mobo to yours. I had my quad core in there before buying my 990xa. I can tell you the diff from DDR2 to DDR3 isn't huge but it is there, especially if you overclock the ram high with low latency.

Having a newer mobo with more features / better overclocking / better VRM is most important, I have no regrets.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
#6 ·
I would hold off for a few more months,
New things are coming what with the soon to be released Bulldozer cores aswell it would seem a bit silly paying out again now,

Plus the prices will drop with the new hardware being released to the masses so try and hold on, also another point as soon as you buy something now guarenteed something will come out that you want just after you have made a purchase,
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinf;14945381
See my HTPC specs in sig, very similar mobo to yours. I had my quad core in there before buying my 990xa. I can tell you the diff from DDR2 to DDR3 isn't huge but it is there, especially if you overclock the ram high with low latency.

Having a newer mobo with more features / better overclocking / better VRM is most important, I have no regrets.
Click to expand...
DDR3 vs DDR2 is only a 0-2% difference, there's no need to upgrade for performance
http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/ddr2-800-vs-ddr3-1333-does-speed-matter/
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1782/amd_phenom_ii_ddr2_vs_ddr3_performance/index11.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/ddr3_8.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-955,2278-3.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2232/7

perhaps when all DDR3 is at 2000mhz+ we'll see a significant difference vs DDR2 800mhz, but it's not enough right now to even consider
 
#8 ·
I recommend you wait until Bulldozer is released in Early October. Why? Because that is when LOTS more AM3+ motherboards will be released. There is limited choice for AM3+ motherboards right now so wait until a lot more release.

You can probably overclock DDR3 1866 memory to 2000 with little effort once you have the motherboard for it. Not to mention it is rather cheap.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by macca_dj;14947025
I would hold off for a few more months,
New things are coming what with the soon to be released Bulldozer cores aswell it would seem a bit silly paying out again now,

Plus the prices will drop with the new hardware being released to the masses so try and hold on, also another point as soon as you buy something now guarenteed something will come out that you want just after you have made a purchase,
Click to expand...
ok, that's what i was thinking, with Bulldozer right around the corner there's no sense in buying a new board now just to upgrade again in a year.

I'll just pay $20 for a bit more ram and hold out until the Bulldozer boards are out.
 
#10 ·
Theres also the point of waiting because Phenom II cant reach the memory bandwidth of the new BD core so you are at a wall with the DDR3 with a Phenom II anyway,

Once the new cores are out then you will see a higher throughput with DDR3 compared to DDR2 because of the ondie memory controller.
 
#12 ·
Bulldozer boards are out now but none of us are able to utilize the DDR3 bandwidth due to the restrictions of the Phenom II's on die memory controller,
Even though Phenoms have a DDR2 and DDR3 controller intergrated DDR3 memory stretches beyond the capabilities of the Phenoms core controller making OC hard with DDR3 above certain bandwidths 1600 and above,
 
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