Should this concern me? A RAM comparison

[rivethead]

My system specs are below in my signature.

I just build my son a system as well. He has:

Intel i3 2120 CPU
Biostar H67B Mobo
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

In my system I have: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

They're pretty much identical:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1-190^20-231-190-03#,20-231-425^20-231-425-TS

When I run the Windows Experience Index I get a 5.9 for RAM on my system.
When I run the Windows Experience Index I get a 7.1 for RAM on his system.

My system also shows "4.00 GB (3.75 GB usable)" for installed RAM.
His system shows "4.00 GB" for installed RAM

The disparity in WEI scores is puzzling. Should I be concerned?

Maybe I should just swap out the RAM and see what happens in each system.......still I think this is odd.

Thanks!

 

[Shmee]

weird, don't trust WEI. But, what OS is he running? You sure neither are 32 bit?

The cuprit might also be be a bios limitation, or is he using onboard graphics, which might "steal" some of the ram?

 

[taltamir]

My system also shows "4.00 GB (3.75 GB usable)" for installed RAM.
His system shows "4.00 GB" for installed RAM

What operating system are you running? Windows vista WEI is limited to a score of 5.9 in any category. Windows 7 to a score of 7.9

The quantity seems high for it to be a 32bit OS, I am thinking you have a 64bit OS but with a an IGP, the IGP takes up some of your RAM for itself hence the reduction. (EDIT: I looked up your mobo and it does have an IGP but supposedly with dedicated 128MB of sideport RAM...so this is odd)

If your OS are the same you should also be aware that WEI is total crud. It is stupid and arbitrary and wrong. Exact details are not released by MS but from what little they did release I know that the score is X.Y

Where X is based on features, Y is the performance for that feature level. It is quite possible that 5.Y is the highest first number score you may get with under 4GB of RAM (if 4GB+ is a feature of scores of 6.Y and 7.Y).

Y is a measure of your performance on a scale of X.0 to X.9 where 0 is worst and 9 is best. Doubling performance from a .9 would still leave you with a .9 score.

So it is quite possible that you have identical performance that is considered a .9 for those with the feature-set of a X=5. While the same performance garners .1 in a X=7 class.

Although features play heavily, some things do take performance into greater consideration and performance above a certain threshhold can be the difference between some X numbers. Hard to tell since MS provides limited info...

Bottom line is ditch WEI and run a proper memory bandwidth test software and tell us how the two compare.

 

[Shmee]

or just run CPUz lol.

 

[taltamir]

or just run CPUz lol.

CPUz doesn't have a benchmark AFAIK

 

[rivethead]

Both systems are running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OS

His system has a Radeon HD 5750 VC

My system is using the onboard VC (Radeon 4200 I think).

I should also note that I'm using optimized defaults on my mobo currently (so no overclocks - everything is stock).

 

[rivethead]

Ok. I just swapped the RAM between the two machines. And now:

My system stayed the same (showing 4.0 GB installed 3.75 GB usable) with a WEI of 5.9
His system improved!!! (showing 4.0 GB installed) with a WEI now of 7.5

Bizzare.

So this has to have something to do with either my motherboard OR my installation of W7 right?

 

[zCypher]

Your system has integrated graphics, that's why you have less available RAM - some of it is allocated to the integrated graphics to become the "video card RAM" so to speak. This *might* also explain why you have a lower WEI score, but could also be your motherboard. Might not handle the RAM as well as the other system. That, and you may want to have a look at the RAM timings in the BIOS to make sure they are set correctly. Also even though you have 1333 RAM installed doesn't mean it is necessarily running at 1333.

Edit: in my case running at 1600 instead of 1333 yielded no tangible benefit, and my WEI score actually went down.

 

[DarkRogue]

I wouldn't put too much stock into the WEI score. As long as it's high enough to enable Aero effects, you're fine. I believe the current "limit" is 7.9, but it's simple enough to hack the file and give yourself 9.9's across the board.

Edit:
In fact, since I upgraded my Raptor to an SSD, WEI claims my CPU is my system's "bottleneck."
Processor: 6.9
RAM: 7.0
Graphics: 6.9
Gaming Graphics: 6.9
Primary Hard Disk: 7.8

 

[Brunnis]

Just because you use the same speed RAM in two systems doesn't mean you'll get the same performance. Intel has had better memory efficiency for several years now. So, I believe the difference your seeing between your Athlon II X4 and your son's dualcore Sandy is quite simply because the Intel CPU is much faster at this. Surprised no one has mentioned this yet...

 

[Crap Daddy]

Memory bandwidth on sandy bridge is waaay better than on the Athlon. In other words his CPU is using the same memory much better than your machine. There you have it.

 

[Coup27]

I don't know if this will help at all but my last system was an i3-530 with a Gigabyte H55 motherboard with 2x2GB Corsair XMS3 RAM. I used the iGPU with no dGPU connected and my computer displayed 4GB installed, 3.75GB usable. Later down the line I put in a Radeon HD5550 but it still displayed the same message.

My current PC is what is in my sig. I have BIOS set to disable lucid virtu features and also use dGPU as first and primary graphics. Nothing is connected to my iGPU nor do I have any drivers installed for it. My computer shows 8GB installed and no reduced amount as usable.

I don't know if it has anything to do with drivers? My last system had the Intel HD drivers installed before I added a dGPU. This system only has the AMD drivers.

 

[rivethead]

Interestingly enough, when I put in all 4 sticks of RAM into my system (8.00 GB installed 7.75 GB usable is the message I get), the WEI score jumps from 5.9 to 7.2. So that WEI score appears to factor in amount of RAM installed as well as RAM speed.

If I was really concerned about this, I guess I could spend $25 and buy me another 2x2GB RAM set......

 

[Coup27]

My RAM score for my sig system is 7.5

 

[rivethead]

zCypher pegged it. I installed a HD 6850 VC, and then started snooping around my BIOS. I found a setting to completely turn off the integrated graphics chip. Now I'm showing 4.00 GB installed (no message about usable) and my WEI is 7.3

Thanks eveyrone for your thoughts and suggestion. I learned a lot with this little experiment!

 

[Brunnis]

Interesting! Wouldn't have thought that disabling the integrated would have that kind of effect, but then again I also don't really know what goes on behind the scenes when the WEI is calculated...

 

[Soulkeeper]

Memory bandwidth on sandy bridge is waaay better than on the Athlon. In other words his CPU is using the same memory much better than your machine. There you have it.

^^ this

also, I saw no mention of the mem timings. Verify that they are set properly. From past experiences i've noticed that MSI motherboards tend to be conservative with mem timings.

 

[taltamir]

Interestingly enough, when I put in all 4 sticks of RAM into my system (8.00 GB installed 7.75 GB usable is the message I get), the WEI score jumps from 5.9 to 7.2. So that WEI score appears to factor in amount of RAM installed as well as RAM speed.

I guess I was right then. under 4GB is capped at 5.9
Glad to hear your issue has been resolved.

 

[KingFatty]

It's also possible that your integrated graphics can be used without using system RAM.

Another poster mentioned they checked your mobo and it has sideport memory dedicated to the integrated graphics. But your default BIOS settings may be to use not only the sideport memory, but also use some system ram.

So, see if you can set the bios to use *only* sideport memory, and not augment it with any system ram. I bet that will boost your score up to where it should be to match your son's scores - freeing up all 4 GB of ram and getting the higher score.

 

[VirtualLarry]

So in the end, WEI caused you to upgrade. Which is its primary purpose. Mission Succeeded.

 

[Coup27]

So in the end, WEI caused you to upgrade. Which is its primary purpose. Mission Succeeded.

The user was already running Windows 7.

So how has MS benefited from him buying some more RAM?