My RAM upgrade options?

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15 Feb 2009
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Hi all,

I am looking into whether I can easily upgrade my RAM (or even need to:)

I have an ASUS P6TDeluxe v2 with a i7 920 @ stock speed, I currently have 6gb of RAM of the following type:

Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (TR3X6G1600C8D)

I bought this when I built back in March 2009. obviously I have the other 3 slots free so I was thinking I could get another 3 to populate those. But I dont know enough about RAM to know whether I need identical RAM sticks or just RAM of very similar specs.

& is it even worth it ? I mainly play games but do a bit of Video editing, Sound and 3D art. I do have a SSD since Friday so the PC does feel quicker.

I kind of want to wring maybe 2 more years out of this machine, unless it breaks or something groundbreaking comes along (or I win the lottery, which I wont as I dont do it).

My options as I see it, 3 more 2gb(but which ones), replace with 3x4gb or do nothing.

Opinions?

Thanks,

L.
 
Gaming wise it wont make much difference but if you feel it would be beneficial for your video/art work and you're happy to spend on it, go for it. Generally, matching timmings is all you need although some combinations just dont get along in particular configurations (and you won't know till you try).
In your shoes I would probably go for a cheap 3x2gb since you're leaving things at stock. There's this at ocuk for £30 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-015-AR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1389 with timings at 8-8-8-24 as your current set. It will work fine at the Dominator's 1.65v.

But if you can find some less pricey 3x4gb elsewhere and don't mind the hassle of selling on your old sticks, that would be my ideal path.
Alternatively you could run dual channel and get 8 or 16 gb if you can find them at a good price (it seems ram prices have gone up now, so perhaps not as attractive an option £ wise atm)
Either way works, depends whether you can be bothered with the selling really.

Oh and let that 920 out for some air :)
 
Gaming wise it wont make much difference but if you feel it would be beneficial for your video/art work and you're happy to spend on it, go for it. Generally, matching timmings is all you need although some combinations just dont get along in particular configurations (and you won't know till you try).
In your shoes I would probably go for a cheap 3x2gb since you're leaving things at stock. There's this at ocuk for £30 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-015-AR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1389 with timings at 8-8-8-24 as your current set. It will work fine at the Dominator's 1.65v.

But if you can find some less pricey 3x4gb elsewhere and don't mind the hassle of selling on your old sticks, that would be my ideal path.
Alternatively you could run dual channel and get 8 or 16 gb if you can find them at a good price (it seems ram prices have gone up now, so perhaps not as attractive an option £ wise atm)
Either way works, depends whether you can be bothered with the selling really.

I had a browse around and saw both the mention of ram prices on another thread and the other thread from someone asking about 6gb to 12gb (which descended into an argument about pagefiles).

So not too sure what to do right now, might leave it a while as I have gained a bit of performance from my SDD.

Oh and let that 920 out for some air :)

Not sure what you mean? Overclock him?
 
I had a browse around and saw both the mention of ram prices on another thread and the other thread from someone asking about 6gb to 12gb (which descended into an argument about pagefiles).

So not too sure what to do right now, might leave it a while as I have gained a bit of performance from my SDD.

Yeah, the pagefile (and pagefile on ramdisks) debate comes up a lot when upping ram. Its effectively spillway on the latest windows versions and I see no reason to need to disable it myself, just limit it (I leave 1GB) for the dump file. Plus some programs may throw tantrums without it present.

In the case of a ramdisk pagefile, it reduces the avilability of ram, triggering the usage/need of the pagefile sooner at lower mem usage. Which is a little circular and pointless. This is more so the less excess memory you have installed or closer to you ram limit you go. In the end all you have done is remove the spillway while keeping a pagefile visible to the OS.

Anyway I'm off on a tangent! I wouldn't let all that talk put you off. From a usage scenario pov you are on the edge of where a bit more could be helpful, just weigh the cost/affordability/benefit for you.


Not sure what you mean? Overclock him?

Yup :)
 
Last edited:
Yeah, the pagefile (and pagefile on ramdisks) debate comes up a lot when upping ram. Its effectively spillway on the latest windows versions and I see no reason to need to disable it myself, just limit it (I leave 1GB) for the dump file. Plus some programs may throw tantrums without it present.

In the case of a ramdisk pagefile, it reduces the avilability of ram, triggering the usage/need of the pagefile sooner at lower mem usage. Which is a little circular and pointless. This is more so the less excess memory you have installed or closer to you ram limit you go. In the end all you have done is remove the spillway while keeping a pagefile visible to the OS.

Anyway I'm off on a tangent! I wouldn't let all that talk put you off. From a usage scenario pov you are on the edge of where a bit more could be helpful, just weigh the cost/affordability/benefit for you.




Yup :)
I always said i would thats why i got it. Ill see what they say in the oc forum tomorrow.
 
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