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DDR3 RAM memory for desktops and laptops - MemoryStock

22. April 2016

DDR3 RAM Memory for laptops and desktops were introducted to market during 2007 and has been in use since then to the present.

Sucessor to the DDR2 memory, these are all based on SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory). DDR stands for Double Data Rate - meaning data is transferred twice the time. The actual clock rate at which a memory under DDR3 design works is double, to the speed at which it can operate. A PC3-8500 1066 MHz memory is double the speed of the actual speed at which it works, 533 MHz and so they are labeled as 1066MHz speed rather than the real maximum clock which is 400 MHz.

If a certain system was designed to acess memory system at 1066 MHz, then a 1333 MHz Ram memory will not work at 1333 MHz, it will instead read at 1066 MHz, and in some cases, the system will remain incompatible to due to the higher speed, unsupported by the system.

The naming system of DDR3 memory is PC3-*****. ***** stands for the maximum bandwidth of that memory. Maximum bandwidth or throughput is the number of bytes transferred in a second between the memory controller and the memory module. Note that, the maximum bandwidth is a theoretical value, and it may never transfer data at such lengths.

Alternatively, DDR3 memory is also labeled by memory speed, labeled at MHz. DDR3 PC3-10600 has the memory speed of 1333 MHz,

Some commonly used DDR3 RAM memory are:

PC3-8500 1066 MHz

PC3-10600 1333 MHz and

PC3-12800 1600 MHz

There are other faster speeds as well, designed specically for systems that support the faster memory though overclocking. DDR3 memory operates twice the speed of the DDR2 and they have a 8 Bit Prefetch. All memory designed to be DDR3 will only fit on DDR3 Slot. 

As DDR3 RAM memory came into prominence, an even low voltage consuming RAM was released in the last few years, the speeds remained the same, except for the low voltage consumption - DDR3L.The usual DDR3 consumes 1.5v, lower than it's predeccessor DDR2, while the DDR3L RAM consumes at 1.35v. The lower voltage memory will work on both DDR3 and DDR3L slot, but not the other way around. 

DDR3 memory for laptop can be identified by the size of the memory, as well as the number of pins present in a DDR3 SODIMM memory  - 204 Pin. And,

DDR3 memory for the desktop has 240 pins and is usually reffered as DIMM. They both are non-interchangeable due to the physical dimension difference.

DIMM is for Desktops and SODIMMs for laptops / All-in-One PC's and some motherboards.

There are other terms related to DDR3, GDDR3 is for the Graphics DDR3 Video memory; LPDDR3 for the mobile DDR3 RAM.

To find memory for your laptop or dekstop supporting DDR3, check out our website www.memorystock.com or contact our live chat support with the model number and we shall assint to a relevant, compatibe speed recommended by the manufacturer of your system.

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