Assalamualaikum to all tech noob~ Just joking~! xD

I think it's kinda a trend to upgrade their own laptop, especially to add more RAM. But wait, I think most of us didn't know what's the usage of RAM. In this entry, I'll explain about RAM, DDR and the difference between DDR3 and DDR2.

Alif, can you explain what is RAM?

Random Access Memory, is your computer’s short term memory. If your computer needs information and does not find the RAM, it then needs to journey to the hard drive to try and retrieve the data, which is far more time consuming. Many older computers that feel sluggish can be given new life if upgraded with additional RAM.

However, capacity is only one specification. RAM is also available in a variety of versions and speeds. A 2GB stick of DDR2 800 RAM is not the same thing as a 2GB stick of DDR3 1333 RAM. Understanding the difference is important because computers will generally accept only certain types of RAM.

Okay, so what is DDR?

The term “DDR” stands for Double Data Rate RAM. This term came into use at the turn of the century when the first Double Data Rate RAM modules arrived. Double Data Rate RAM was capable of two data transfers per clock cycle, giving it twice the theoretical peak bandwidth of previous SDRAM while running at the same clock speed. 

It means that DDR is much more reliable than regular RAM, since the transfer speed and the size were significantly outstanding.

What's the different between DDR2 and DDR3 anyway?

In late 2008, Intel released the first Core i7 processors. These processors were paired with a new motherboard chipset called X58. This chipset introduced the need for a new type of memory called DDR3.

In the last two years the entire industry has converted over to DDR3. All of Intel’s new processors can only be used with a motherboard that requires DDR3. Recent AMD motherboards are also changing over to DDR3.

DDR2 and DDR3 are improvements on the same technology and further increase the number of data transfers per clock cycle. DDR2 RAM provides 4 data transfers per cycle, while DDR3 increases the number to 8. Assuming a base clock speed of 100Mhz, DDR RAM will provide 1600 MB/s of Bandwidth, DDR2 provides 3200 MB/s, and DDR3 provides 6400 MB/s. More is always better!

However, purchasing DDR2 or DDR3 RAM isn’t usually a matter of preference. DDR2 and DDR3 RAM are not compatible. If your motherboard uses DDR2, you cannot upgrade to DDR3 without upgrading your motherboard. This means that if you currently own a computer with DDR2 RAM and you want to upgrade to a brand new processor and motherboard you have to throw your your perfectly good DDR2 RAM and buy new DDR3 RAM.

There are a few motherboards which are exceptions to this rule, but they are exceptions only because they provide both DDR2 and DDR3 RAM slots, and these exceptions are available only on older chipsets.

I know – it’s a bummer, but there isn’t much you can do about it. Both Intel and AMD have committed to DDR3 RAM for future products, so you’ll be forced to either buy new RAM and deal with your computer becoming a dinosaur.

Conclusion:

The bad news is that the invention of DDR3 is making DDR2 obsolete by force. The good news is that new RAM technology is at least several years off, so DDR3 purchased today should be good for a while. Just be sure to check the type of RAM a new motherboard requires before purchasing RAM to go with it!

But Alif, I don't know how to determine the type of RAM.

Well, it's an easy question. Usually when you brought a new PC, you can refer to the catalog or check into your manufacture website. As for laptop user, there's usually a sticker at the lower right of your laptop. Their always have it in Acer, Asus and HP. I don't know about the other model, but usually they have a sticker which provide information about your laptop specification. But some people still not satisfied with the infomation they gain and want to go step ahead. So here's a nice piece of freeware software that I found from the Internet called CPU-Z. It gives you every detail about the hardware profile of your system, from processor to graphic to RAM to etc. You can download it from here.

That's it for now. The reason why I post about this because most of the guys asked me about this issue, so I hope this piece of information would help you guys to decide about adding more RAM to your PC / Laptop. Till then, good luck~! ^_^

Assalamualaikum to all tech noob~ Just joking~! xD

I think it's kinda a trend to upgrade their own laptop, especially to add more RAM. But wait, I think most of us didn't know what's the usage of RAM. In this entry, I'll explain about RAM, DDR and the difference between DDR3 and DDR2.

Alif, can you explain what is RAM?

Random Access Memory, is your computer’s short term memory. If your computer needs information and does not find the RAM, it then needs to journey to the hard drive to try and retrieve the data, which is far more time consuming. Many older computers that feel sluggish can be given new life if upgraded with additional RAM.

However, capacity is only one specification. RAM is also available in a variety of versions and speeds. A 2GB stick of DDR2 800 RAM is not the same thing as a 2GB stick of DDR3 1333 RAM. Understanding the difference is important because computers will generally accept only certain types of RAM.

Okay, so what is DDR?

The term “DDR” stands for Double Data Rate RAM. This term came into use at the turn of the century when the first Double Data Rate RAM modules arrived. Double Data Rate RAM was capable of two data transfers per clock cycle, giving it twice the theoretical peak bandwidth of previous SDRAM while running at the same clock speed. 

It means that DDR is much more reliable than regular RAM, since the transfer speed and the size were significantly outstanding.

What's the different between DDR2 and DDR3 anyway?

In late 2008, Intel released the first Core i7 processors. These processors were paired with a new motherboard chipset called X58. This chipset introduced the need for a new type of memory called DDR3.

In the last two years the entire industry has converted over to DDR3. All of Intel’s new processors can only be used with a motherboard that requires DDR3. Recent AMD motherboards are also changing over to DDR3.

DDR2 and DDR3 are improvements on the same technology and further increase the number of data transfers per clock cycle. DDR2 RAM provides 4 data transfers per cycle, while DDR3 increases the number to 8. Assuming a base clock speed of 100Mhz, DDR RAM will provide 1600 MB/s of Bandwidth, DDR2 provides 3200 MB/s, and DDR3 provides 6400 MB/s. More is always better!

However, purchasing DDR2 or DDR3 RAM isn’t usually a matter of preference. DDR2 and DDR3 RAM are not compatible. If your motherboard uses DDR2, you cannot upgrade to DDR3 without upgrading your motherboard. This means that if you currently own a computer with DDR2 RAM and you want to upgrade to a brand new processor and motherboard you have to throw your your perfectly good DDR2 RAM and buy new DDR3 RAM.

There are a few motherboards which are exceptions to this rule, but they are exceptions only because they provide both DDR2 and DDR3 RAM slots, and these exceptions are available only on older chipsets.

I know – it’s a bummer, but there isn’t much you can do about it. Both Intel and AMD have committed to DDR3 RAM for future products, so you’ll be forced to either buy new RAM and deal with your computer becoming a dinosaur.

Conclusion:

The bad news is that the invention of DDR3 is making DDR2 obsolete by force. The good news is that new RAM technology is at least several years off, so DDR3 purchased today should be good for a while. Just be sure to check the type of RAM a new motherboard requires before purchasing RAM to go with it!

But Alif, I don't know how to determine the type of RAM.

Well, it's an easy question. Usually when you brought a new PC, you can refer to the catalog or check into your manufacture website. As for laptop user, there's usually a sticker at the lower right of your laptop. Their always have it in Acer, Asus and HP. I don't know about the other model, but usually they have a sticker which provide information about your laptop specification. But some people still not satisfied with the infomation they gain and want to go step ahead. So here's a nice piece of freeware software that I found from the Internet called CPU-Z. It gives you every detail about the hardware profile of your system, from processor to graphic to RAM to etc. You can download it from here.

That's it for now. The reason why I post about this because most of the guys asked me about this issue, so I hope this piece of information would help you guys to decide about adding more RAM to your PC / Laptop. Till then, good luck~! ^_^