Is there any reason to have more than 8 GB of Ram?

[Jeremy_Tos]

Im doing a Sandybridge build and need some Ram to use with it.

The most demanding things I do is:
Games: WOW/Starcraft 2
Programs: A little bit of Adobe Photoshop
Internet: Downloading

I've decided (after reading a lot of old posts) that I want to go G. Skill

The question I have is which is the best option for what I want to do?

2x2 GB
2x4 GB
4x4 GB

also i'm assuming with a Sandybridge build that I should be using
DDR3 1600. Is that a correct assumption?

 

[AzNPinkTuv]

for real word usage, 8gigs is pretty overkill unless you start doing some serious 3d modeling in Cadd or video editing.

for Wow, Photoshop and SC2, I've only ever gone past about 3 gigs usage at 1080p with my rig.

for Sandy Bridge, Ive heard 1.5v ddr 1333 or 1600. for my SB build, ive prepped 2x4 gig g.skill 9-9-9-24n ripjaws that i got on newegg for 99

hope that helps

 

[Jeremy_Tos]

that did help....

this G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL Ripjaws 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 240PIN DIMM Memory is the exact set I was thinking of purchasing. So you made my decision easier

i'm guessing the 1600 isn't worth paying more for?

These are the 3 deals i was debating between...


DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 1.5v

DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 1.5v

DDR3-1333 7-7-7-21 1.5v

 

[MrCoyote]

1600 is only really needed if you plan to overclock. 1333 is the standard speed. 8GB will be enough for doing most things. Unless you work with large photos and keep tons of editing windows open or work with video, you won't need any more memory.

 

[StinkyPinky]

that did help....

this G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL Ripjaws 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 240PIN DIMM Memory is the exact set I was thinking of purchasing. So you made my decision easier

i'm guessing the 1600 isn't worth paying more for?

These are the 3 deals i was debating between...


DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 1.5v

DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 1.5v

DDR3-1333 7-7-7-21 1.5v

I got the first one in your list. I don't think 1600 is needed but for such a small amount I'd rather have the option in case something like bulldozer or future ivy bridge is a beast and needs 1600 to work to potential.

 

[SickBeast]

For the sake of $14, I would probably get the 1600 stuff. It's more future-proof, plus you will gain ~1-2% in terms of performance if you set your memory to the higher speed in your bios.

 

[Jeremy_Tos]

Thanks guys. I will not be overclocking to answer your question. I think im going to go with the top option, but two more question i have before i pull the trigger.

1) 7-7-7-21 is not an important thing to consider right?

2) This ram will DEFINITELY work with the sandybridge right?

3) Any brands that are better then g.skill, that I should get instead of the options listed above?

 

[Emulex]

i'd bet the ddr3-1333 7-7-7-21 is the same lot of ram as the 9-9-9-24 ddr3-1600

 

[imaheadcase]

For those games you don't need a sandybridge setup. Any current system will be overkill.

 

[Blain]

Is there any reason to have more than 8 GB of Ram?

yes

 

[TemjinGold]

E-Peen for one.

 

[sub.mesa]

RAM are used for three things:
- kernel memory
- userland memory (for your applications)
- filecache

Usually programs are 32-bit so limited to 2GiB of memory usage. That means that 4GB+ systems would have a surplus of available memory. What happens to that memory?

Well, memory that is not actively used by the kernel of applications, will be used as filecache. This is crucial to disk performance. If you start firefox and close it, the files will still be in RAM due to filecaching. The next time you start Firefox, it will thus be very fast compared to the first time you start Firefox and the data has to be pulled from HDD instead.

Filecache thus accelerates your disk I/O subsystem, and the more the better. If you have 64GiB memory and you read a 40GB file, then that entire file will be in RAM and will have such I/O speeds when read by an application. RAM thus can reduce the slowness of mechanical harddrives in particular.

 

[Jeremy_Tos]

For those games you don't need a sandybridge setup. Any current system will be overkill.

I know that it may be overkill... but I have the itch and some x-mas money to blow. I was going to get an i5 but decided to wait for an Sandybridge. I'm currently using an E8400 and 4Gb of DDR2.

 

[tweakboy]

Im using pretty much 8GB when I do certain projects on my DAW ,, so for someone with digital audio workstation or a heavy video editing wouldn't mind 16GB for some nice breathing room.

or multi tasking gaming while doing that...

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I know that it may be overkill... but I have the itch and some x-mas money to blow. I was going to get an i5 but decided to wait for an Sandybridge. I'm currently using an E8400 and 4Gb of DDR2.

Not overkill. Upgrading from a C2D to a quad SB is just good sense. I doubt 4gb will become a bottleneck for games anytime soon. 8gb would be cool, but if you'd rather save some cash just go with 4. Probably won't notice a difference anyhow.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

<6 gb of ram (4 GB can be small in certain situations, like heavy multitasking or lots of apps/windows open like I do) is only needed if:

You run VM's
You edit photos/video
Content creation
CAD/CAM/design work
and a few other rarely used by most people activities

in other words, only go with <6 gb ram if you can afford it and/or have a need for it. That said, Newegg has had 3x4 gb sticks (12 gb) for <$150 and 2x4 gb sticks for ~$75 recently.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Not overkill. Upgrading from a C2D to a quad SB is just good sense. I doubt 4gb will become a bottleneck for games anytime soon. 8gb would be cool, but if you'd rather save some cash just go with 4. Probably won't notice a difference anyhow.

+1

But 8GB when RAM is so cheap is probably worth it anyway.

 

[Hacp]

If you can afford 16, get 16. If you can afford more, get more.

 

[Jeremy_Tos]

Its not a question of what I can afford.... but rather am I paying for something I will never use. For example I can afford to buy 20 burgers at McDonalds but I would never eat half of that so why bother.

 

[steve wilson]

I would get the 8gb, since RAM is cheap atm and as the poster above mentioned about your page file it will make things snappier. Also the longer you keep the system the more chance you have of needing extra RAM. Hell it's not that long ago 2GB of RAM was overkill.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I would get the 8gb, since RAM is cheap atm and as the poster above mentioned about your page file it will make things snappier. Also the longer you keep the system the more chance you have of needing extra RAM. Hell it's not that long ago 2GB of RAM was overkill.

2GB was never overkill for Windows XP and wouldn't consider it as such until we start talking about the pre-XP days, ie nearly 10 years ago, which was forever ago in computer time

I really wouldn't want to use less than 2GB for XP just as I wouldn't want to use less than 4GB for 32bit Vista or 7 or less than 6-8GB for 64 bit Vista or 7.

Although I would agree, get RAM while its cheap. 8GB should easily last through Windows 8.

 

[Hacp]

Its not a question of what I can afford.... but rather am I paying for something I will never use. For example I can afford to buy 20 burgers at McDonalds but I would never eat half of that so why bother.

The more ram you have, the snappier your operating system will feel. Windows stores highly used files in the ram when you're not using it for anything else so you have quick access to it. If you have 16gb, chances are windows will find a way to use 16gb.

 

[Jeremy_Tos]

The more ram you have, the snappier your operating system will feel. Windows stores highly used files in the ram when you're not using it for anything else so you have quick access to it. If you have 16gb, chances are windows will find a way to use 16gb.

Thank you! That's more or less what I was trying to understand.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Thank you! That's more or less what I was trying to understand.

Well it probably depends.

http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/windows-7-4gb-vs-8gb-performance/

This dude's memory usage was 63% with 4gb. Dropped to 23% when using 8gb. Personally I'm at 4gb and my usage is 32% so YMMV.

 

[hclarkjr]

real simple, if you can afford it do it.