Mainstream-Ready? DDR3-1600 Shootout
Table of contents
How do you define mainstream in an enthusiast market dominated by value-seeking overclockers? Everyone loves performance. Yet, even in enthusiast circles the average buyer is looking for the best value. A memory budget limit of $200 should be reasonable for a mid-priced performance PC, and kits over $300 should be reserved for big-spenders, but that leaves a huge grey area in the middle.
Vendors and readers alike have been asking for a DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) shootout ever since our DDR3-1333 Comparison, but we waited for these parts to reach mainstream prices before obliging. By the time 2 GB kits finally reached out price point, the reality of living with Windows Vista and its huge memory demands had finally set in.
That left us in another tight spot. Should we compare the sub-$200 2 GB kits an average enthusiast can afford, or should we instead choose the 4 GB capacity that performance buyers really want? Capacity was the dominating factor for us.
The average buyer might instead choose a DDR2 configuration, but that would only be a short-term solution. Intel’s new socket is on the way, with mainstream parts following the high-end release by only a few short months. Today’s article comes in anticipation of tomorrow’s needs.
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mm, memory, how *interesting!*
wake me up when something substantial happens in this space..
or when the ATI 4850X2 is released..or a decent SSD.
zZzz..
Then don't read it, what a waste of your 2 minutes posting that message.
As a none enthusiastic DIY computer builder I'm interested in all components that I may use, as might be others, I want to know what are the recommeded components are.
I'm gonna build a computer around Intel's Nehalem/i7 next year sometime, I currently have an AMD 3200+ Barton/ASUS A7N8X platform, so it should be a pretty decent leap in performance.
mm, memory, how *interesting!*wake me up when something substantial happens in this space..or when the ATI 4850X2 is released..or a decent SSD.zZzz..
To be fair it's not hard to find a system that would offer a
sorry that doesn't read right lol, it should be "the E7200 will easily oc to 3ghz+ given the right chipset and yes, ram, for just over $100"