juventus

What is the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 as far as gaming computers are concerned?

Are desktops much faster than laptops. I'm looking at Alienware vs Gateway. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Anzafin

I can' tell much about the DDR2 vs. DDR3 memory, and it would be very difficult to say, which would be better, Alienware vs. Gateway, until we know what parts they are built off. It's all about the parts. Both brands are just resellers, that put things together. I can guess both of them use parts from the same manufacturers.

I would prefer a desktop over the laptop when choosing a computer for gaming. They are MUCH easier and cheaper to update. GL.

fishindude

Here are my thoughts as a person who has worked in the computer industry for 10+ years.

As far as gaming is concerned you wouldn't get too much with DDR3 from DDR2.
You are better off making sure you have a fast CPU and good graphics card.
Unless you really need gaming MOBILITY, you should get a desktop.
Gaming laptops are quite expensive and you can get a much more powerful gaming desktop for a much cheaper price.
Here are some suggested places to look for a gaming computer if you don't plan on building one yourself:

http://www.falcon-nw.com/
http://www.alienware.com
http://www.velocitymicro.com
http://www.voodoopc.com/

Good Luck

Rizbel

Depends on what memory the motherboard supports. Desktops and Alienware FTW, but they're expensive.
I'm building one with two 9800 GX2 GPUs in LSI but can't decide on mobu and CPU(i7 940 or Q9650).

BetterMakeWay

From my personal experience, it's better to go with a vendor or reseller than to build your custom rig. I say this because even when you know what you are doing, and you do your homework about the components, there is still a big percentage of incompatibility.

When i did my gaming rig about a year ago (see here the pics) i made one of the biggest mistakes of my life (financial wise). It ended up costing me a fortune, money with which i would easily have gotten a ready built supercomputer or a Mac Pro and all would have been better. Also bare in mind that i'm seriously considering selling mine, if anyone would buy it, even for a fraction of the price i spent on it. Why? Because i realized that everything on it is just overkill. I mean really you can play all the games you like, on above average settings, on computers or laptops that are just a quarter of the price.

Here is my rig config:
EVGA 790i Ultra mobo
2 x EVGA 9800GX2 in SLI
Intel QX9770 @ 3.2 GHz (i tried over-clocking it but i realized i was doing it for nothing, aka only for benchmarks and testing)
2xWD Velociraptors RAID 0 (boot)
2xSamsug Spinpoint F1 RAID 0 (massive storage)
4GB of Mushkin DDR3 @ 1800 MHz
and a 1200W Thermaltake PSU
rest is less relevant...

DDR3 is the future compared to DDR2 because of the much higher frequency they work. As the Extreme editions of Intel run at 1600 MHz or more they need the same or at least equal frequency for RAM to address properly, otherwise that would be just a waste. Since DDR2 is stuck at around 1300 that would be almost plain waste of CPU frequency. The advantage of DDR2 however is that it works at much lower latencies as DDR3. You can't have both. The higher the frequency the higher the latency, so in the end something has got to give.

If i were you, and if i hadn't been stuck with this monstrosity of a PC, i would have gotten a Mac book pro and have also mobility or a Mac Pro if you don't need at all mobility. Just a thought though, a toped out Mac book Pro can run 99% of the games just as good as my gaming rig can.

hope that helps!

Rizbel

ShadeZeRO

Desktop > Laptop for gaming

Alienware and Gateway are FAIL.

specs (tho, my comp is pretty old)
Q6600 @ 3.6GHz with Xigmatech Dark Knight
Abit IP35 Pro
8GB DDR2 1066
2x Seagate 15k.5 73GB SAS Drives (Raid-0) --> Dell Perc 5/i with tape mod
1x Western Digital RE3 1Terabyte drive
2x Western Digital Green Power 1Terabyte Drive (raid 0) --> Intel Matrix Raid
1x Seagate 750GB Drive
Antec Twelve Hundred Case
PC Power & Cooling PSU


My 0.02, build your own. We'll guide you through it. If you're not handy, get a dell XPS.

As for DD2 vs DD3 , you WILL notice a difference on memory intensive apps.
Are you planning on doing any video editing?

I bought Adobe Master Suite CS4 from our campus store and I'm so thankful for the RAM i have right now.