Compare DDR3 and GDDR5 | Important differences

Video cards in computers are constantly evolving, and their evolution is in leaps and bounds. It would seem that even 10-15 years ago, even 128 megabytes of video memory and 560 megahertz of the clock frequency of the video processor was a top-end, unattainable solution for most «mere mortals». And now — out RTX, 1.6 GHz video processor, 4352 CUDA cores, 12 GB of memory …

However, there is something in common between the «new» top-end video cards and the «old» ones — they are also inaccessible to «mere mortals». Therefore, people who want to buy a gaming computer, but do not want to sell a kidney and a car, have to choose some kind of compromise solution. And finding the right model is not as easy as we would like.

Indeed, in the middle and lower price segments, the battle of technical characteristics begins. A lot of information is dumped on the user — about the cores, about the frequency, about the displays, about the video memory … What to pay attention to and what to ignore?

One of the most important characteristics that determine the performance of a video card is the type of video memory. And in this article we will analyze what is the difference between DDR3 and GDDR5, and also decide which graphics accelerator to choose.

DDR3 video memory

DDR3 video memory (also called GDDR3, Graphics DDR3) is now obsolete. Graphics accelerators equipped with it were produced from 2004 to 2015-2016. Then she lost her only advantage in comparison with the next generation — the price. GDDR5 video cards have become cheaper.

In general, DDR3 video memory is characterized as follows:

1. Maximum clock frequency — 2.5 GHz;

2. Power consumption — 2 V;

3. 2 transmitted bits per clock.

Thus, only low-performance video cards are equipped with DDR3 memory. Of course, in 2010 they were the height of power and perfection, but this date is a little different outside the window. On a computer equipped with a DDR3 video card, it will not be possible to “run” in modern games.

The only advantage of DDR3 is the relatively low price. Buying a configuration with 4 GB of video memory in 2019 for 60 $ is more than realistic. For a device with the same volume and a similar graphics accelerator, but on DDR5, you will have to pay twice as much at best.

So, let’s sum up.

Video cards with DDR3 video memory are a budget solution that is designed for office and home computers. They are «plugs» used exclusively for video output. It will be possible to play on computers with such video cards only in the old «titles» — projects that were released approximately before 2011-2012.

In addition, so-called professional video cards are also equipped with DDR3 memory. These graphics accelerators are used primarily for creating 3D models, calculating artificial intelligence and performing multi-threaded mathematical calculations. And they are also cheaper than GDDR5 models, so DDR3 configurations can be used in budget organizations and home servers that run artificial intelligence or something like that.

GDDR5 video memory

GDDR5 video memory is a new generation of media that is current at the time of writing this material (June 2019). It is she who is installed in the vast majority of graphics accelerators — from budget to top, from mobile to desktop. It is designed from the ground up specifically for use in graphics cards, resulting in high performance.

AMD has been releasing its GDDR5 graphics cards since 2008. NVIDIA delayed a little — the release of the first device on this memory took place in 2010.

In general, GDDR5 is characterized as follows:

1. The maximum clock frequency is 7 GHz (but in practice it practically does not occur, unlike 4-5 GHz);

2. Power consumption — 1.5 V;

3. 4 transmitted bits per clock.

All this makes the GDDR5 standard a very productive video memory. The speed of its work is also indicated by the fact that in some game consoles (in particular PS4) and server configurations that require maximum performance combined with fault tolerance, the GDDR5 module is used as a “RAM”.

So, let’s sum up.

Video cards with GDDR5 video memory are a modern solution that meets the current performance requirements. Double the speed of DDR3, you can quickly access any shaders, libraries, and objects stored on GDDR5 drives.

GDDR5 in 2019 is equipped with graphics accelerators of all classes — budget, mid-range, and top-end. The question is only in the volume and performance of the kernel. In addition, it is worth considering that the specific speed depends on the model of the video card, its manufacturer, and some other parameters.

Comparison

So, DRR3 is cheaper, and GDDR5 is more productive. But the difference between them is not limited to this.

Let’s compare two standards:

In general, the «budget» DDR3 does not justify the savings. Now it is better to take options on GDDR5.