Can you use both ddr and ddr2 memory on the same motherboard? is there much difference in performance between the 2?
You cant use ddr on a ddr2 motherboard or vice versa. DDR2 has 240 pins over DDR's 184 pins. As for the differances.... 2.5v for DDR and 1.8v for DDR2. DDR2 can clock much higher than DDR; it starts at an effective 400mhz, which is where DDR ended and goes up to 800mhz. Possibly higher? DDR2 has a higher latency though. DDR2 400 runs slower than DDR400 apparently, persumably because of the latency?
While some motherboards support DDR and DDR2, you cannot use them simutaneously, for the reasons zeus spelled out. These motherboards were there when Intel had the 915 chipset around, which could be paired with DDR or DDR2 to make it easier for people to move to LGA775 CPU's.
thanks for that... next question - i currently have 1.5Gb (3 x 512mb) of ddr400 (i think) ram - would i be better upgrading this or moving to ddr2 ram and starting fresh i am looking at getting a new motherboard anyway so which would be the best route? i have an asus k8v se deluxe now - any suggestions for a new board? I do alot of 3d modelling and rendering - dont know if this indicates whether i should go one route or the other
well i've noticed a difference. It really comes down to how much money you want to spend, if you want to shell out an extra $200 or so then yeah i would say do it. Best advice would be to look around for prices and then make up your mind
Well, how much RAM are you looking to upgrade to? If it's up to 4GB, then I really wouldn't bother. However, if you're looking past that, then you're looking to go to a Xeon or Opteron-based motherboard. While you don't have to go for a dual-CPU box, you could have that option, depending on the motherboard. Given the general area you're in, this could be a help as well. The downside is that both of these options, because of the higher memory limit, require Registered RAM, ECC optional. How much are you looking to spend as well?
