1x8gb Vs. 2x4gb || CL11 Vs. CL9 || 1600MHz Vs. Higher

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Omga4000

Omga4000

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
211
0
10,710
Hey guys (and girls) :)

I have been building people system for quite some time, and know about parts.
Only thing I didn't quite pay attention to and learnt about is the RAM sticks
and the differences between each thing.

So I'm going to ask some questions in this threads, most probably noobs questions,
so if you can answer any of them (even one) with patience I will be greatfull!

1) In many of my builds I used a 2x4gb sticks just because they were cheaper
and I know that it works very well in this module because of the dual-channel function.
Lately, however, I noticed that the prices are getting closer and began advising people
to take a 1x8 stick instead, to save spots for future upgrades.

Questions:
- Is my way of thinking correct?
- How big is the difference in terms of performance when it comes to a single stick vs. dual?

2) I found out some CL9 are fairly cheap compared to CL11, such as this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540
compared to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231636

Questions:
- Are the 5$ worth it?
- Is there a big difference in performance here?
*If not - in what CL do you begin to feel the difference compared to CL11?

3) 1866MHz+ are a bit more expensive, about 10$-15$ more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455
But now even a 2400MHz (a much bigger jump) costs the same:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231667
Also, I found out that every 1866MHz+ RAM are taller than the 1600MHz one's,
and don't fit under all of the CPU Coolers. How come?

Questions:
- When does MHz comes into factor?
- What are the overall performance differences between them?
- The higher the MHz, the higher the Voltage (as I noticed). Does it matter much?
*If 1866MHz doesn't differ much from 1600MHz in terms of performance,
how much MHz is considered a big leap?

Overall Questions:
- Does all of the above factors have any difference in gaming?
- Does all of the above factors have any difference in video / music editing?

Thank you very much,
Omga4000 :)
 
Solution
Tradesman1
It can generally be up to 10-15%, depends on how the mobo or the user configures the DRAM for optimal performance

X58 runs tri-channel dram and X79 runs quad channel

2x8GB might be infinitesimally faster as it's only two devices to work with and less stress on the MC (memory controller)

Just used seconds as an example, actually talking milliseconds or nano-seconds

I only use performance DRAM for builds so to jusdge differences can look at it in a stair step fashion with each step up slightly faster/higher performance

1600/7 1866/8 2133/9 2400/10 2666/11 so basically +1 on the CL at any freq is basic DRAM and +2 or more is slow (and possibly weak ICs)

Yes, the DRAM performs as packaged and programmed speed is a combo of freq and...
Sort by date Sort by votes
Tradesman1

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Jun 5, 2013
67,883
40
126,960
A 2x set allows for the use of dual channel - which can provide increases of upp to 10-15% in performance so dual (or better) is better than single channel mode.

Whenever you look for DRAM, look for the lower, tighter CL, 9 much better than 11, think of it as how much time to perform and actions say 9 seconds vs 11

For performance DRAM look to 1600/8 1866/8 2133/9 2400/10 2666/11 (or lower tighter CL)

In the instance of 1866/2400 - yes, those are more mainstream now so it only makes sense to go with the higher freq - the Snipers are great sticks at 2400/11 - slightly better (and more OC room is the 2400/CL10 Tridents from GSkill (my choice for my Z77 - in sig)

The higher the freq, theoretically the higher max DRAM bandwidth that can be used at any given time i.e. 1866 14,900 MBs vs 2400 sticks 19,200 MBs

In gaming, will have faster initial load and load when changing scenarios, but otherwise not much, however in video/musin editing, much, much better with faster DRAM...have some clients that do video as their profession - they want fast DRAM and lots of it
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Omga4000

Omga4000

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
211
0
10,710

Dear Tradesman1,

Thank you for your fast and detailed answer!

Is there a chart of the differences between a dual channel compared to single stick?
Because I know if a much smaller difference, maybe 5%..
And when you said better - What did you mean? I don't remember there's more than dual channel.
Is using 4x4 it faster than 2x8 in video editing, for example?
I actually heard it puts the system under more stress.

Well thinking of it this way is nice, but the truth is it's not actually 2 seconds difference, but much much less.
So is it still much of a difference?
Is there a chart of the differences between the CLs?

So DRAM doesn't have anything to do with how fast it performs, but how much it can contain, right?

Also - I remember Intel had a strict 1.5V (+10%) recommendation for RAM.
All of the high end sticks use 1.65V.
Does it have any negative effect on the system?

Thanks again,
Omga4000.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Tradesman1

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Jun 5, 2013
67,883
40
126,960
It can generally be up to 10-15%, depends on how the mobo or the user configures the DRAM for optimal performance

X58 runs tri-channel dram and X79 runs quad channel

2x8GB might be infinitesimally faster as it's only two devices to work with and less stress on the MC (memory controller)

Just used seconds as an example, actually talking milliseconds or nano-seconds

I only use performance DRAM for builds so to jusdge differences can look at it in a stair step fashion with each step up slightly faster/higher performance

1600/7 1866/8 2133/9 2400/10 2666/11 so basically +1 on the CL at any freq is basic DRAM and +2 or more is slow (and possibly weak ICs)

Yes, the DRAM performs as packaged and programmed speed is a combo of freq and CL

The 1.5 recommendation is 1.5 (JEDEC Standard) for the Intel CPUs at stock speed and voltage as OCing is a no-no with Intel, though as you prob know as you OC the voltages (CPU and MC) go up so having the DRAM voltage up is also considered acceptable....

None I've ever seen and I've been OCing rigs for as long as I can remember, there's still a number of Q6600's out there I bult back in 2007 (I think it was) that were purported to be able to run up to 3 GHz, most of them I build are currently still running 3.6 to 4 and higher, and many 24/7. My 2500K has been going 24/7 since it was released primarily at 4.8
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Omga4000

Omga4000

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
211
0
10,710
Great, now I have a much better understanding of the way things work!

Problem is that this high-end RAMs are impossible to find + extremely expensive in my country (Israel)!

An 8gb (2x4) 1600MHz/CL11 RAM will cost 80$.
Exact model: Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz 1.5V CL11

An 8gb (2x4) 1600MHz/CL9 RAM will cost 105$.
Exact model: Corsair 8Gb Kit (4G X2) CMX8GX3M2B1600C9 CL-9-9-9-24

An 8gb (2x4) 2133MHz/CL11 RAM will cost 130$.
Exact model: Kingston 8GB KINGSTON KIT(4Gx2) PREDATOR XMP DDR3 2133

Yes you heard correctly. This are the prices.
So think about lower CLs combined with higher MHz.. Really worth it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Omga4000

Omga4000

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
211
0
10,710
Oh they don't go anywhere...
I'm just here to learn new general information to help me build people better PCs.

As I said in the beginning:
"I have been building people system for quite some time, and know about parts.
Only thing I didn't quite pay attention to and learnt about is the RAM sticks
and the differences between each thing."
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Omga4000

Omga4000

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
211
0
10,710
Forgot to ask..

I know games have zero use of more than 8gb of RAM, but editors do.

Maya, Cinema4D, 3DMax and such are high-end 3D Modeling program, so I bet this needs 16gb+.
But what about Photoshop and Lightroom? Do they need more than 8gb of RAM?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom