Is now the time to buy ddr3?

[Eddie3dfx]

Well my motherboard died, so I sent it back to gigabyte for rma. I am sitting here going over my three loops and was considering upgrading to ddr3 and switching over my ddr2 into the other computer.

Is it worth it at this time? Newegg has a fairly good deal on ocz platinum 1600 for $169 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227256

Now I know a lot of people are saying wait on it, but are prices really going to drop below the $120 mark anytime soon? Not like anyone here can predict the future, but outside opinions do help in choices.
Also, what kind of performance increases am I likely to see from upgrading to ballistix 1066 to 1600 ddr3, specifically in gaming.

[Star_Hunter]

I don't think you would see much of gain with DDR3 if any. Other than in bandwidth benchmarks you wont see much of a gain compared to DDR2, my guess is prices wont start to come down more until the end of the year when Nehalem shows up, but who knows by how much.

[3lfk1ng]

What you gain in that "slight bandwidth advantage" over DDR2 you lose in a "slight latency disadvantage".

In the end, DDR2 wins the price:performance crown for now. You can purchase 4gigs of decent DDR2 for under $80 or 8gigs for $160 (same price as 2gigs of DDR3)

Like Star_hunter, I too think that DDR3 prices will begin to drop immensely once Nehalem comes out. Prices should begin to drop late this year, or early next year.

In the end, the choice is entirely up to you.

[xMrBunglex]

i have DDR3 running at 1600 with 7-7-7-18 2T timings. aside from synthetic benchmarks, the only thing my computer does faster now is compile video. if you do that sort of thing regularly, you'll be very happy with DDR3. if you don't, it's just a waste of money for now.

with my CPU at 3.6 (400*9) and my memory at DDR 1600 (1:2 ratio) i can recode a 700 MB .avi file into DVD format in nine minutes. that is extremely impressive, but not worth the $270 i paid for it unless you do that sort of thing every day. game performance and everyday apps are unaffected.

[3lfk1ng]

Thanks for your honesty xMrBunglex.

Also for people that plan on using Vista, it isn't worth owning unless you have at least 4gigs of ram. This can be a big hit on your pocketbook depending on what you choose.

Purchasing 4gigs of DDR2 or purchasing 4gigs of DDR3 will clearly be the deciding factor when it comes to your pocketbook.

4gigs of DDR2 for $80
-or-
8 gigs of DDR2 for $160
-or-
4gigs of DDR3 for $340

Your choice.

[Eddie3dfx]

I checked the benchmarks and you guys are correct
The difference between ddr3 and ddr2 in games, is almost little to nothing.
I'll wait for sure.