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Upgrading my Ram, 2 or 4 gigs ?

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  • 07-12-2007 7:47pm
    #1
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭


    upgrading from pc5300 to pc6400, I currently have 4 gigs and am debating whether to go with 4 again or whether 2 is plenty, what do you think ?
    I'll be using this rig for gaming, do you think 2 gigs is plenty ? I'm leaning towards
    going with four gigs again, the pc just feels complete with all 4 ram slots filled :)


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    #2
    uberpixie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,864 ✭✭✭uberpixie


    MooseJam wrote: »
    upgrading from pc5300 to pc6400, I currently have 4 gigs and am debating whether to go with 4 again or whether 2 is plenty, what do you think ?
    I'll be using this rig for gaming, do you think 2 gigs is plenty ? I'm leaning towards
    going with four gigs again, the pc just feels complete with all 4 ram slots filled :)

    If you already have 4 gig why bother?

    Unless you are overclocking, there is no real reason to upgrade especially if you have a core2duo.

    The switch will make sod all difference to performance in games etc...

    Unless you are a 3dmark whore I wouldn't bother :D.


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    #3
    astrofool
    Registered Users Posts: 16,681 ✭✭✭✭astrofool


    2 x 2Gig but:

    1) You're mad to go the expense because the difference is very littkle

    2) You're mad to even consider 4 x 1Gig when there's 2 x 2Gig kits availalable, you lose performance due to the overhead of having all slots populated, as the timings have to be relaxed a lot more, + having all slots filled won't overclock as far, or be as compatible (a lot of boards don't boot with 4 slots full, though can be RAM dependent)


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    #4
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭MooseJam


    well I just upgraded to Q6700 and 8800gt so I was looking at the ram as the weak link in the chain and thought I may as well upgrade it too, I would have thought I'd get a worthwhile performance increase going from pc5300 to pc6400 if thats not the case maybe I won't bother, I was planning to bench it with 3dmark and wanted to get the best score possible obviously but I wouldn't call myself a whore :)


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    #5
    astrofool
    Registered Users Posts: 16,681 ✭✭✭✭astrofool


    You're on a 1066mhz bus, so the 800mhzX2 RAM will do very little. Even your PC5300 is delivering more bandwidth than the CPU can use (667mhzX2).


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    #6
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭MooseJam


    astrofool wrote: »
    You're on a 1066mhz bus, so the 800mhzX2 RAM will do very little. Even your PC5300 is delivering more bandwidth than the CPU can use (667mhzX2).

    Ah I see, thanks, I'm planning to overclock my system to 1333 and above if possible, does that change anything ? will I be able to get a higher overclock with higher frequency ram or does it not make a difference ?


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    #7
    astrofool
    Registered Users Posts: 16,681 ✭✭✭✭astrofool


    can't you set the RAM speed to be very low compared to bus speed?

    So, if you're running at 1066mhz (266x2) at the moment, and RAM is at 533mhz (266ddr), then the multiplier is 1:1 (FSB:RAM). If you set the RAM to 800 (400ddr), then FSB:RAM is 2:3 and so on. So when you're overclocking you're FSB, just make sure the base rate is set to a level your RAM multiplier can handle.

    At 1333, your base rate is 333, so if you set it in the BIOS as pc4200 (533mhz) RAM, you should be fine when overclocked.

    Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    Depending on your system, it may be cheaper to buy a faster chip and not overclock as much then to buy lots more RAM. The fact you're using 4 sticks of RAM will also hinder your overclock.


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