8GB over 4GB - Combination OK?

HDPete

HDPete

HDPete

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I have previously been advised to go with the G.Skill 4GB pack to go with the
Asus P5K mobo.

I have decided on 8GB.

Is it OK to simply get 2 x of the G.Skill memory kits and fit them into the P5K which has "Memory 4 x DDR2 1066*/800 / 667 MHz, Dual channel memory architecture".

The G.Skill is 800Mhz. The processor I am looking at (Q6600 / Q6700) has 1066 bus. Should I be matching processor and CPU speeds?

Cheers
Pete
 
bonus to 8gb is not really needing a paging file :) not just speed (especially as you'll rarely use all 8 gb) expanded HDD life from lack of disk write from page file (never a bad thing if you've paid raptor prices or need the stability)
 
The G.Skill is 800Mhz. The processor I am looking at (Q6600 / Q6700) has 1066 bus. Should I be matching processor and CPU speeds
Click to expand...
You should be matching your intended FSB to the RAM clock.

With a Q6600 (9x multi) you can hit 3.6 Ghz (400 x 9) without overclocking PC2-6400 (400 actual, 800 effective).
 
helmutcheese said:
Google for the most recent THG 8GB review (eye opener).
Click to expand...
Just did that and it confirms all i've found with using 8gb.

Assuming you get PC6400 (good for clocking a q6600 to 3.6ghz) you should be able to acquire 8gb for a round £110. I got my OCZ PC8000 (need it for the e8500) for about £15 more.

With the prices as they are and the added speed and performance with vista64 there's little reason not to go for it.

gt
 
THG post about 8GB

"Again, we conducted this test with RAM sizes ranging from 8 GB to 512 MB. While working without a paging file was possible without any problems with 8 GB, the situation quickly became critical with less memory installed.

With 8 GB and no swap file, the system was fine. Even in some memory intensive scenarios such as opening files in Photoshop CS3 with a total file size of 3 GB, the system remained very responsive and even snappy, never writing to disk once."

"Experienced users can give their systems another little performance boost by deactivating the paging file. However, you should always keep an eye on the system's status, as you may otherwise suddenly find yourself confronted with a system crash."
 
Photoshop etc will AXX the page file, and looks at Yellowbeards posts about page file usage with 8GB in APP's and even some Games.

Thats not the important aspect of the review and sometimes THG do talk crap.

The important part is bellow.

Quoted :

" Conclusion – 8 GB Improve Efficiency and Comfort
Ad
Our testing brought us to a clear conclusion. If you often use several memory hungry applications simultaneously, then there’s really no way around upgrading your system to 8 GB. Working and especially switching between applications is much more efficient than with a typical 2 GB configuration. Also, it would even be feasible to run a modern 3D game that already takes up more than 1 GB of memory by itself while having another application with a large memory footprint running in the background. Thus, load times in Windows are a thing of the past, as is the constant swapping of Windows components to hard drive. The best part – such an upgrade is not even overly expensive, as 8 GB of memory are already available for as little as €135. "



For me less activity from my Raptors is good, even though they are fast, Memory is faster and quieter. :)


http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Vista,review-30272.html
 
NO, unless you do me a favour and now hold your breath for 15 minutes. :)

WTF, has your waste of time post got to do with the Topic or helping the OP ?.
 
Last edited:
helmutcheese said:
NO, unless you do me a favour and now hold your breath for 15 minutes. :)

WTF, has your waste of time post got to do with the Topic or helping the OP ?.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

As I'm new to memory I think that I have gleaned from this that the PC2-6400 OCZ kit (2 kits of 2x2GB) are ideally suited to the Q6600 if I want to run it out the box, or with slight OC tweaks?
 
Sorry for the confusion above of OCZ where I meant G.Skill.

The G.Skill are out of stock. There are however, some Ballistix Tracers on special this weekend.

Can someone help me decide which are considered faster / better RAM, as I don't understand the CAS values and whether a higher or lower number is better for me (with a Q6600 in mind).

G.Skill: CAS Latency : 5-5-5-15
Ballistix: CAS Latency : 4-4-4-12
 
i dont see point getting 8 gig no game uses 8 gig 4 gig should be enough before u know u will be upgrading motherboard to 1366 socket and ddr3 ram
 
I would have agreed with that a few weeks ago but since getting another 4gb i can say that it does make a real difference to Vista64.

Not only that but 8gb of DDR2 costs way less than 4gb of DDR3.

I understand what you're saying regarding Nahalem and DDR3 but that's the way it goes... the very same happened when i moved from socket 939 to C2D's.

gt
 
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