DDR2 is Intel technology?

I'm not so sure about that, but Intel's newer desktop mainboards support DDR2. It's just a natural step that they'd probably do even if they didn't switch to Intel.

Some video cards use DDR3. I don't know if it is related though.

grapes911 said:

Some video cards use DDR3. I don't know if it is related though.

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That might actually be GDDR3. I know some videocards use that.

dubbz said:

That might actually be GDDR3. I know some videocards use that.

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Just about all the high end video cards use that now.

dubbz said:

That might actually be GDDR3. I know some videocards use that.

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I'm confused about the difference. Even some articles seem to use the terms somewhat interchangeably. Anyone have more info?

grapes911 said:

I'm confused about the difference. Even some articles seem to use the terms somewhat interchangeably. Anyone have more info?

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GDDR3, if I'm not mistaken, is similar to DDR2 except that it's used for graphics cards. Use less power, and probably some other optimizations related to graphics.

DDR2 and DDR3 as mentioned in the article was for PCs, not graphics cards.

Memory technologies for PCs are expected to evolve this year with initial moves toward DDR2 system memory. DDR3 memory for systems is not expected to reach the market until 2006 or thereabouts, said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research, in an interview earlier this week.

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Its an age old trick to get you to buy all new memory when you upgrade. They have been doing it since the dawn of computers and I doubt the new stuff is ever really faster. I think its all the same memory. Speed tests always show it has no speed improvement. Almost every mac uses different memory every year or so.

Here is a list of the scam:

Standard Dimm
EDO Dimm
Fast Page Mode
SDRAM
PC66
PC100
PC133
PC266
DDR PC2700
DDR PC3200
DDR PC4000
DDR2 PC2-4200
DDR2 PC2-5300
DDR2 PC2-6400
DDR2 PC2-8000

More than just DDR2 under the hood

DDR2 is a step forward, but in terms of the Intel switch you should also notice that the Radeon uses PCI-E, not PCI-X or AGP on the new iMacs. Now that IS an Intel tech.

MacTruck said:

Its an age old trick to get you to buy all new memory when you upgrade. They have been doing it since the dawn of computers and I doubt the new stuff is ever really faster. I think its all the same memory. Speed tests always show it has no speed improvement.

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That's only true with the G4-based systems. For example, the move from PC-133 to DDR on the Power Mac G4 produced no speed improvement, because the G4's FSB operated at 133MHz.

The reason Apple switched to DDR was that DDR was becoming cheaper than PC-133 as volume production shifted to the faster memory. It was cheaper for Apple to buy large quantities of DDR memory than to stick with PC-133.

On a G5, increases in memory speed can be verified using XBench.

Big Jimmy C said:

...also notice that the Radeon uses PCI-E, not PCI-X...

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PCI-X isn't a technology for graphics cards.

Apple and Intel go way back, USB ring any bells

jon