DDR Memory vs GDDR Memory as Fast As Possible
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2014-05-07
·
817 words · ~4 min read
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One of the most common questions I receive is, "My computer uses DDR3 RAM,
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but all the new graphics cards come with GDDR5 RAM. Will they work in my system?"
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In a word, yes. In 74 words, yes,
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because the type of RAM your CPU can use, your system memory, doesn't impact
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the type of RAM that your graphics card can use. Because the CPU or central
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processing unit interacts directly with its own memory and the GPU or graphics
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processing unit interacts directly with its own memory. Those processors work
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together and communicate with each other through a PCI Express slot. So the type
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of RAM they're each using doesn't matter. So another common question then
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is this. Why is video card memory so far ahead of system memory? DDDR5 has been
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available for years, while DDR4 is still
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not available, and there's basically no mention of DDR5 at all. Can't we just
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use GDDR for our CPUs to take advantage
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of all those technology improvements? Well, this answer is a little bit more
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complicated. Well, each new generation of GDDR or DDR aims for similar
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improvements over the last one. higher capacities, reduced heat output and
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power consumption and higher performance, particularly with respect
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to maximum bandwidth. That doesn't mean that these technologies are the same. A
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common misconception is that there is a correlation between the generational
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numbers in GDDR and DDR, but actually
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they're independent of each other. GDDR2
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was somewhat related to DDR2, but the newer DDDR4 and DDDR5 standards are
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actually much more closely related to DDR3 than to DDR4 or a future DDR5
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standard. Okay, so if they're not really as different as they sound and they're
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just variations of similar technology, why do we need two different types of
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memory? Well, as the old saying goes, horses for courses, my friends. I mean,
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oh gross. I didn't mean meal courses. I
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meant race courses. Yuck. That's not even a tasteful joke. Sorry. Now that
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we're back on track, now that's a great joke. My point stands. You want memory
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that's specialized for your application. The way a typical person uses a
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computer, we don't actually need any more bandwidth for system memory. It's
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much more important for everyday tasks to have very low latency access to your
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RAM with better granularity. While a graphics card is typically moving
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massive chunks of data into and out of
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the frame buffer that is the RAM, things like high resolution game textures or
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large data sets for computer simulation work. The average desktop is being
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bombarded with a multitude of much smaller transfers like that instant
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message you just received or that virus scan that's picking through all your
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files in the background. Normal DDR is optimized for desktop use and GDDR just
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wouldn't be as suitable in spite of its impressive on paper performance numbers,
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to you guys for watching this video. Like it and share it if you liked it.
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Dislike it if you disliked it. Leave a comment and let me know, did this help
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clarify DDR versus GDDR for you, or did
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you already totally understand this and now it's just a convenient little
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resource for you to send to people whenever they ask about it? And uh
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right, don't forget to subscribe either.