Is DDR-2 the same as Dual-Channel DDR?

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 02:18:34 GMT, "Bradley" <bnorth1 DeleteThis @kc.rr.com> wrote:
 >My question is the subject of this message. Is DDR-2 the same thing as
 >Dual-Channel DDR? If not, what are the differences and which one should I go
 >with? Thank You.

In a word, no. They are not the same thing and they are definitely
NOT mutually exclusive. Dual-channel DDR means, quite simply, that
there are two memory channels working together. In a more traditional
single-channel setup you install a single memory module and the system
accesses only that module. In a dual-channel setup you need to
install memory modules in pairs and the system spreads memory access
across both channels. This doubles the rate at which your processor
can shuffle data in and out of memory.

Either DDR or DDR-2 (or even the older SDRAM or RDRAM) can operate in
dual-channel systems.

DDR-2 is just the next generation of DRAM interface. It can easily
work in single or dual channel setups (or any number of other setups
used in some high-end servers). It's really only a relatively minor
update to the DDR specification that will allow for higher speeds.
While current DDR memory is having trouble getting beyond 200MHz
(400MT/s, ie the stuff sold as DDR400 or PC3200 memory), DDR-2 should
easily clock up to 333MHz (666MT/s) and possibly beyond.

At this moment, the choice between DDR and DDR-2 is pretty clear. DDR
is here, DDR-2 is not, so go with DDR. In about 2 months time the
first DDR-2 systems will begin to appear, but they will probably
command a price premium in the beginning with little to no performance
advantage (the first batch of DDR-2 memory will probably only run at
the same 200MHz as existing DDR memory, or maybe up to 266MHz at the
high-end). Eventually though (6-8 months?) DDR-2 should reach
price-parity with DDR and offer higher performance.

-------------
Tony Hill
hilla <underscore> 20 <at> yahoo <dot> ca<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->