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s2a:
To FULLY answer your question (unlike every other post).
1) ...
SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the type used in PC's up to and including Pentium 3 / AMDK6-3 (roughly speaking, there is the odd exception).
SDRAM ran at speeds of 100 or 133MHz as standard which by today's standards is obviously very slow. 100/133MHz also used to be the speed of the FSB (Front Side Bus) which is what linked the CPU to everything else in the computer. Because the RAM was running at the same speed, it was called Synchronous.
DDR = Double Data Rate. Very simply, DDR RAM was attached to the computer much like SDRAM, with a speed of 100 or 133MHz. However, the speed was effectively doubled due to the new technology employed. Today, you can get DDR RAM rated to perform at 200MHz or even more (400MHz effective). Other enhancements include 'dual banking' which enables the use of 2 separate memory modules to act as one, further increasing data transfer speed.
2)
No. You have perhaps a slight misunderstanding based on a little knowledge of the way Windows works. Windows uses part of your HD as a storage area when your available RAM is low (it is more complex than that, but the point is valid). Considering every program you use runs ON Windows, these programs do not have to be specially aware of the the fact that they may actually be using your HD rather than main RAM at any given moment.
The Xbox OS is quite simplistic. It has only what it needs to run games. This means that 'virtual RAM' is not available at all. There's nothing stopping someone writing into their software a similar sort of function, but there's no way to encourage all your existing games/applications to use your HD as RAM.
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