Crysis and speed: 2x2GB or 4x1GB?

Voted 4x1 GB, but you may want 8GB down the line, so it'd be safer to go 2x2GB.

why make the CPU access 4 sticks of ram when it can access two instead. It may make only a minute diff, but a diff nonetheless.

No way is it gonna take a minute more with 4 sticks. But if you want to have 8 down the road that would be awesome. I am gonna vote 4 sticks. Since it is much cheaper. If you have the money spend the extra 100 dollars.

2x2 for upgradabillity

4x1 for timings

2gb modules cant get good timings like the 1gb models..because 1gb is the sweet spot for ddr2

personally i'd get 2x2gb of ram because 1 more clock isn't that big a difference to me or anyone else, but i voted for 4x1 because this post just talks about speed

not a minute difference as in time, but a minute difference as in a small measurement (not sure if minute is the correct spelling...)

HTH

I don't think speed will be that differenct between the diiferent ram sets. I went for 2x2 mainly because I anticipate have to go to 8 gig of ram before the Vista cycle is complete and we're on to a new OS. Maybe not, who knows? But I went for two sticks anyway. Maybe its just habit of having only two ram sticks in the computer.

I went from 2x1gb to 4x1gb and noticed almost no difference at all in increased speed in any games, including bioshock. Running vista 64 bit. I think by the time we really need 8gb, ddr2 will be obsolete, and ddr3 will become more afforable and mainstream by the second half of 2008. I mean really I don't know what you would need 8gb for if your just playing games lol.

What everyone is dancing around is the fact that running 4 sticks of RAM will usually force them to be run at a Command Rate of 2T rather than 1T. This adds additional latency. Command Rate is hidden on many BIOS's, so other utilities such as CPU-Z can be used to determine what Command Rate your RAM is running. Most memory controllers are unable to run at 1T with 4 slots populated.

I honestly don't think it will make any difference..

Edit: any NOTICABLE difference.

I got 4x1GB of DDRII which are labelled to run at 800, but under windows xp, 3.12 of RAM detected which is normal, but they're running at 667. is there anyway to change that? can anyone please brief me on that. a few years back i remeber having problems with some mobos when using all the 4 channels, they were automatically running one step slower.
MOBO: Asus p5k
4x1GB Kingston DDRII 800 (dont remember, PC6400 i think is it for 800?)
Thanks you guys

Get 2X2 cause you never know when you will need 8gb (holy crap, i wish).

Yeah, I give it about three years and there will be games and apps that demand 8 gig of ram. I may be wrong, but who knows for sure? Then again, I've been using computers long enough to remember increasing the the ram to 2 megabytes and wondering if I would ever use all of it. And the Vram of the time was all of 128k. Man how times have changed. Even ten years ago, who would have thought that anyone would even be thinking of, much less discussing, the thought of 4 or 8 gig of ram?

You will always have a higher latency over 4 dimms to 2. If you're talking about speed than 2gb x 2 will be allot faster even though timmings and such will be rated slower. Bcchardware did a good review on this.

So no one agrees that ddr3 will be the standard by the second half of next year? I don't see the point in saving to upgrade to 8gb of ddr2. I dont think any gamer will need 8gb of ram for at least two years.