So there we have it. RDRAM is faster then DDR RAM in all the benchmarks we performed, but the differences were quite small and would be unnoticeable to most people (except maybe gamers) unless of course they're benchmarking! Die hard gamers should be able to tell the differences between RDRAM and DDR RAM in some FPS games like QIII.

Since the performance of RDRAM and DDR are so close, it begs the question of which system is "best?" Memory prices can no longer be used as an excuse for not going with RDRAM since it's priced about the same as DDR, however RDRAM based motherboards are still somewhat more expensive and not as plentiful as their DDR counterparts, in numbers or in features (for the most part).

Of course for the extreme performance person (such as yours truly) where speed is number 1, RDRAM is the only way to go. It has the little extra "umph" and it's good for peace of mind!

One thing to keep in mind; we're using a 400 MHz based Pentium 4 Williamette which only requires 3.2 GB/s worth of memory bandwidth. The 533 MHz based Pentium 4's need 4.2 GB/s worth of bandwidth would make them even more bandwidth limited if teamed up with PC2100, or even PC2700 DDR RAM so the performance difference at 533 MHz when using RDRAM VS DDR RAM would be greater!

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