128GDDR vs 256DDR

OneBadLT123 · 12-03-2005, 03:35 PM

Whats the diffrence in performance between a 128mb GDDR card to a regular DDR 256mb card?

IM looking at a new Geforce 6600gt agp card, and they are 128GDDR whereas some of the other series of cards are DDR

WHich usually performs better? Do the GDDR with lower memory run as well if not better then a 256 with only DDR? I am new to the diffrent types of cards

Tumbleweed36 · 12-03-2005, 04:41 PM

Hi,

Wow, you did ask a good one that is difficult to answer. This one might even be impossible to answer and be correct. My guess is that you will only get opinions on this query and nothing exactly solid based upon data.

Now, as you probably know GDDR is simply DDR2 that is made for graphics cards with some different voltges and cooling issues that are different. We all know that in a head to head test the different pipeline usages of the DDR2 is as a rule, just faster than simple DDR. The issue comes with how much faster when you compare it to twice as much memory in the DDR chip.

In a head to head test of 128 GDDR and 128 DDR, the GDDR would simply put the DDR under. The reduced cooling and more open pipelines of the GDDR, would enhance the performance beyond what the DDR can produce. So, head to head with the same memory size, no contest because DDR2 wins the day.

O.K., here is my opinon and it is simply that. The faster rate and possible cooler operation due to voltage differences and enhanced pipeline of the GDDR chip, would not be able to cope with the performance of doubling DDR from 128 to 256. There is quite a difference in a simple 128 DDR memory and 256 DDR memory in a graphics card.

So, there you have the opinion, the 128 GDDR could not exhibit more performance than the 258 DDR.

Do hope you get more comments on this one, because there is not a lot of head to head data to pull from so one must use experience as the measuring stick.

**UncleMacro** · 12-03-2005, 06:01 PM

If you're just asking about general video card performance then I wouldn't get too hung up on the different types of video RAM. There definitely are performance differences between them but the biggest difference is the available clock rates due to the different voltages. If you just care about general performance then I'd ignore the video RAM type and just look at the RAM's clock rate. The clock rate is the main thing which determines video RAM performance. Plus, you can't always depend on them listing the correct kind of RAM on the video card. The 6600GT, for example, actually has GDDR3 RAM although it is not always listed that way.

If you'd like to check general performance comparisons then it's best to stick with benchmarks like these AGP or PCI-Express comparisons. You'll get better speed info by comparing video cards running actual games then you can get by carefully comparing RAM kinds, clock rates, pixel and vertex pipe counts, etc.

Tumbleweed36 · 12-03-2005, 08:56 PM

Hi again,

I came across this great link comparing DDR to DDR2, so thought I would share it. Remember, when you read it to compare, remember the DDR is 400 and the DDR2 is 533 for this comparison, so in reality, the DDR2 should produce higher results easily, but there is not much differnce as you shall see. Most of the head to head benchmarks are very similar.

I thought you would enjoy this to better answer to your initial question. Oh, Uncle Macro does have some excellent points on comparison if you want to go into that area of comparison. You should also consider those areas.

My response did not cover those important areas, but just covered the question that I thought you had asked. Here is the link anyway:

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Articles/DDR_vs_DDR2/

OneBadLT123 · 12-03-2005, 10:27 PM

Ok, great! Ill look into the sites provided.

I was just curious because I am shopping around for a decent card to run a few games i want to purchase. I currently have a 9000pro, but that has long past its day with the games now.

The games I want to play are pretty demanding(battlefield 2, FEAR, Age of Empires III), therefore i want a optimum card at a decent price. But the ones Ii have been searching around have diffrent types of memory(GDDR, DDR)

But ill take the advice given, and continue to shop around to find a sutable card.

12-03-2005, 03:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
OneBadLT123 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 50 OS: Win XP SP2/Vista RC1	128GDDR vs 256DDR Whats the diffrence in performance between a 128mb GDDR card to a regular DDR 256mb card? IM looking at a new Geforce 6600gt agp card, and they are 128GDDR whereas some of the other series of cards are DDR WHich usually performs better? Do the GDDR with lower memory run as well if not better then a 256 with only DDR? I am new to the diffrent types of cards __________________ AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.2GHz 1.5 gb DDR400 (3 X 512) 128GDDR GeForce 6600GT GfxCard GIGABYTE GA-K8U Motherboard

12-03-2005, 04:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,655 OS: XP Professional	Hi, Wow, you did ask a good one that is difficult to answer. This one might even be impossible to answer and be correct. My guess is that you will only get opinions on this query and nothing exactly solid based upon data. Now, as you probably know GDDR is simply DDR2 that is made for graphics cards with some different voltges and cooling issues that are different. We all know that in a head to head test the different pipeline usages of the DDR2 is as a rule, just faster than simple DDR. The issue comes with how much faster when you compare it to twice as much memory in the DDR chip. In a head to head test of 128 GDDR and 128 DDR, the GDDR would simply put the DDR under. The reduced cooling and more open pipelines of the GDDR, would enhance the performance beyond what the DDR can produce. So, head to head with the same memory size, no contest because DDR2 wins the day. O.K., here is my opinon and it is simply that. The faster rate and possible cooler operation due to voltage differences and enhanced pipeline of the GDDR chip, would not be able to cope with the performance of doubling DDR from 128 to 256. There is quite a difference in a simple 128 DDR memory and 256 DDR memory in a graphics card. So, there you have the opinion, the 128 GDDR could not exhibit more performance than the 258 DDR. Do hope you get more comments on this one, because there is not a lot of head to head data to pull from so one must use experience as the measuring stick. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 12-03-2005 at 04:45 PM.

12-03-2005, 08:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,655 OS: XP Professional	Hi again, I came across this great link comparing DDR to DDR2, so thought I would share it. Remember, when you read it to compare, remember the DDR is 400 and the DDR2 is 533 for this comparison, so in reality, the DDR2 should produce higher results easily, but there is not much differnce as you shall see. Most of the head to head benchmarks are very similar. I thought you would enjoy this to better answer to your initial question. Oh, Uncle Macro does have some excellent points on comparison if you want to go into that area of comparison. You should also consider those areas. My response did not cover those important areas, but just covered the question that I thought you had asked. Here is the link anyway: http://www.overclockercafe.com/Articles/DDR_vs_DDR2/ __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

12-03-2005, 10:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
OneBadLT123 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 50 OS: Win XP SP2/Vista RC1	Ok, great! Ill look into the sites provided. I was just curious because I am shopping around for a decent card to run a few games i want to purchase. I currently have a 9000pro, but that has long past its day with the games now. The games I want to play are pretty demanding(battlefield 2, FEAR, Age of Empires III), therefore i want a optimum card at a decent price. But the ones Ii have been searching around have diffrent types of memory(GDDR, DDR) But ill take the advice given, and continue to shop around to find a sutable card. __________________ AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.2GHz 1.5 gb DDR400 (3 X 512) 128GDDR GeForce 6600GT GfxCard GIGABYTE GA-K8U Motherboard

12-03-2005, 06:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	If you're just asking about general video card performance then I wouldn't get too hung up on the different types of video RAM. There definitely are performance differences between them but the biggest difference is the available clock rates due to the different voltages. If you just care about general performance then I'd ignore the video RAM type and just look at the RAM's clock rate. The clock rate is the main thing which determines video RAM performance. Plus, you can't always depend on them listing the correct kind of RAM on the video card. The 6600GT, for example, actually has GDDR3 RAM although it is not always listed that way. If you'd like to check general performance comparisons then it's best to stick with benchmarks like these AGP or PCI-Express comparisons. You'll get better speed info by comparing video cards running actual games then you can get by carefully comparing RAM kinds, clock rates, pixel and vertex pipe counts, etc.