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LordMagus
12-28-2002, 01:57 AM
On my search for a new motherboard, I find that most good motherboards have DDR DIMM RAM slots. The DIMMs I have are SDRAM.
Will the SDR DIMMs fit and work in the DDR DIMM slots?

I've already asked people I know, but I've gotten different answers.
gdorf
12-28-2002, 02:28 AM
Nope, get some new RAM.
Breaker
12-28-2002, 04:30 AM
No... they will not... best bet is to get a dell and not bother even attempting to build a computer if you can't tell the difference between DDR and SDRAM.
War Lord
12-28-2002, 07:32 AM
Wouldn't want him to learn anything, so he may as well buy pre-built right?

Dell's are crap too.
DukenukemX
12-28-2002, 09:24 AM
The ECS K7S5A motherboard has 2 slots each for both DDR and SDRAM. So for now you can build a Athlon XP system with SDRAM and in the future you can always install DDR. ECS may have better motherboards by now but I never really look into them.
LordMagus
12-28-2002, 12:35 PM
I know enough about computers that I already built my own, Breaker. :angry:

I'm just a bit sketchy on RAM because I didn't anything about DDR.

Btw, thanks DukeNukemX, I'll check into that.
DukenukemX
12-28-2002, 12:54 PM
LordMagus DDR and SDRAM are both physically different as well as electrically. DDR has 1 notch and SDRAM has 2. So you wouldn't be able to install the memory even if you tried. Also DDR has many speeds like DDR266 = PC2100 DDR memory. They also have DDR333 and DDR400 memory. Depending on the motherboard chipset you get determines what type of memory you can use. Nvidia produced a chipset called Nforce which allows you to put two DDR memory sticks together to produce 6 gigs of memory bandwidth. Thats another option for you.

I'm against anyone buying a PC. Most of the time your given a super fast CPU but with a crap video chip and sound chip that is usually built into the motherboard. Since most people who don't know much about computers usually only look for the main CPU when they buy a PC.
gdorf
12-28-2002, 04:45 PM
The ECS K7S5A motherboard has 2 slots each for both DDR and SDRAM

The ECS K7S5A is also one of the most frequently returned Mobo's. They often don't work and are built poorly.

You might as well just make the switch to DDR. Its gonna happen, so your gonna have to buy it sooner or later.
DukenukemX
12-28-2002, 07:00 PM
Originally posted by gdorf


The ECS K7S5A is also one of the most frequently returned Mobo's. They often don't work and are built poorly.

You might as well just make the switch to DDR. Its gonna happen, so your gonna have to buy it sooner or later.

I have built people many PCs with this motherboard and for what you get at the price you pay for it's very good. It even gets a Toms Hardware aproved sticker. If you ever visit Toms Hardware (http://tomshardware.com). It got a very high performance rating.
LordMagus
12-28-2002, 11:59 PM
I've decided to just switch to DDR RAM. Thanks for your help, guys.

Btw, gdorf, was is a good motherbaord in your opinion? It needs to be a Socket A motherboard.
gdorf
12-29-2002, 01:03 AM
Btw, gdorf, was is a good motherbaord in your opinion? It needs to be a Socket A motherboard.

I'm not an expert. Don't ask me. :shrug:
DukenukemX
12-29-2002, 01:41 AM
I'm a fan of the Soyo Dragon motherboards. Look for the Soyo Dragon Ultra. The MSI K7N415Pro is a big performer with the Nforce chipset. Abit makes a nice lagacy free motherboard called the AB-IT-7. It's a good choice if you don't need ps2 ports, com ports, and a printer port. Instead it has firewire and USB 2.0 ports.

When choosing a motherboard make sure you get a Asus, Abit, Soyo, MSI, and Aopen board as they are the top best. Have fun shopping for a board.