|
No, you dont have to use ddr ram w/ athlon processors. The fsb of the processor (133 at ddr = 266) operates independently of the memory bus (133 at single rate or ddr) so the slower memory will not "hamper" the cpu per se.
If you really want to impress him w/ a high performance PC at a dirt cheap price, you might want to go with the sdram insted of the ddr. I think sdram boards are cheaper and the ddr ram only boots performance 10-20% on average. So I suppose if it were a question of 512mb sdram vs. 256mb ddr ram, choose the larger quantity of sdram hands down.
|