DDR-2 vs. DDR-3 Memory - An exhaustive look at the Intel P35 platform

Introduction

DDR-3 memory is not exactly something new, we have been hearing about it for over a year thanks to the VGA market. Much was the same with DDR-2 and much will be the same with GDDR-4 as we are hearing it being mentioned on the latest graphics cards like the upcoming HD 2950 XTX from AMD.

The release of the P35 chipset from Intel has marked DDR-3 memory coming to the mainstream market. While pricey at the moment and not looking all that attractive when it comes to timings, we find ourselves in the same position as at the launch of DDR-2 which came with a high price tag and pretty ordinary looking specs out of the gate.

With a bunch of motherboards along with some DDR-3 memory from our friends at Corsair, we are going to dive in and have a look at exactly what an upgrade to DDR-3 is going to do for us at this point in time but is it worth jumping straight on the bandwagon right now? Maybe we should wait it out for a bit? Is the P35 a worthy upgrade from the P965? This and more will be answered as we look through a number of different setups and benchmarks in this article.

Let us have a closer look at what exactly DDR-3 is along with what is running what today.