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January 6th 2008
File under: Hardware, Memory
It is not long ago that we wrote a comparison between DDR2 and DDR RAM. Now, with the
launch of the new DDR3 technology, it is high time that we carry out another comparison
between DDR3 and DDR2 and decide if it really worth the upgrade from your existing system.

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On the appearance, both DDR3 and DDR2 use 240 pins and you can hardly see any differences
between them. The only difference is the position of the key notch that prevents users from
inserting the wrong type of RAM into their motherboards. The shift in the position of the key
notch also means that DDR3 is not compatible with DDR2 and a separate DIMM slot has to be
used.

Other than the difference in key notch position, DDR3 RAM is also due to run at a higher
frequency than DDR2 RAM. The specification provided by JEDEC provides more insight to its
performance.
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 400 ± 800 Mbps 800 ± 1600 Mbps

 1.8V +/- 0.1V 1.5V +/- 0.075V

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&'% 3±5 6 ± 10

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When JEDEC set the standard for DDR2 RAM, it never intends to make it run beyond 800MHz.
The official specification states that DDR speeds ran to DDR-400, DDR2 from 400 to 800, and
DDR3 800 to 1600. Due to the fact that DDR2 800 and 1066 (an overclock version of DDR2
800) exist, DDR3 800 and 1066 will become an overlap speed with that of DDR2. As such, it
will only be 1333 that is the first DDR3 speed to have better frequency/speed performance over
the DDR2 RAM.

While the difference between DDR and DDR2 RAM lies in the doubling of the frequency bus,
the DDR3 works by doubling the prefetch data. This is achieved by doubling the internal bank to
8. Each internal bank can process 1 bit of data. DDR2 SDRAM have only 4 internal banks and
process 4-bit samples, DDR3 SDRAM uses 8 internal banks to carry out 8-bit prefetch. The
impact of the additional internal banks means that the DDR3 SDRAM could double the data
transfer rate without having to make modifications to the original design.

Another advantage of DDR3 is the reduced voltage requirement. The required voltage for DDR3
is 1.5V, a 16% reduction of the DDR2 1.8V. This could translate to a 30% reduction in power
consumption compared with DDR2 RAM operating at the same speed. Additional built-in power
conservation features with DDR3 include partial refresh and thermal sensor that could allow the
system to save further power by providing minimum refresh cycles when the system is not in
high performance mode.

A point that requires attention and that brings DDR2 RAM back to the game is the price of the
DDR3 RAM. A 1GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM is currently selling at over $200, which is double
the price of a 1GB DDR2 1066MHz RAM. While there is no significant improvement of the
DDR3-1066 RAM over DDR2-1066 RAM, there really isn¶t any compelling reason to upgrade
your current DDR2 RAM.


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In the near future, it is inevitable that DDR3 is going to replace DDR2 as the standard for
memory RAM. At this current moment, the hefty price hardly make it a µmust-upgrade¶
component, considering that you can get a DDR2 RAM operating at the same speed for under
$150. Until the time when higher speed DDR3 RAM are more readily available and the price fall
to a reasonable range that is comparable to DDR2, it is better to remain with your DDR2 RAM.