“We tested the Phenom II X4 810 back in February and wanted a bit more performance out of it. AMD’s baffling decision to release an entry-level CPU supporting DDR3 seemed rushed, coming on the heels of the Phenom II X4 940.We’re still scratching our heads, wondering why AMD simply didn’t wait until a more competitive DDR3 part is available. While DDR3 memory has dropped dramatically in price, it’s still more expensive than fast DDR2.
Of course, the 810 can run on DDR2 socket AM3 and AM3+ boards as well. But it still seems odd. AMD could have waited and launched a faster, DDR3-based part and made a much bigger splash.”
Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
- AMD Athlon X2 7750 @ iXBT
- NVIDIA Ion PC – Intel Atom Done Right? @ Legit Reviews
- The Intel Core i7 Installation Guide @ TechARP
- All Celeron Models @ Hardware Secrets
- All Phenom Models @ Hardware Secrets
DDR3 and the AM3
ExtremeTech dug out a slew of DDR2 and DDR3 memory and paired it with a Phenom X4 810, in order to determine at what point switching to DDR3 makes sense. DDR2 is cheap but the prices of DDR3 are plummeting for the lower frequency DIMMs. Drop by for a look at the impact overclocking the CPU and switching between DDR2-1066 and 1333 versus DDR3-1600. The answer isn’t completely clear, the advantages and disadvantages can change depending on what purpose you put the CPU to.
