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2x4gb or 4x2gb?? ++ Does RAM SPEED matter?

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this computer will mostly be for online FPS such as CS and im lookin into performance over anything else (up to a certain point... performance/price wise) ;)  my gears will prolly be core2duo E8500 (if its still the leading dual core out there when gf9 comes out) and 1x gf9 9800 and 1x barracuda 7200.11 all those wonderful things on Vista64 obviously!
i have no idea what mobo i ll be needing yet.... any idea? 780i?

1.
my question 1st is, should i get 1x4gb or 2x2gb?
im planning to get 8gb total later on, and also add a second gf9... id end up with either 4x2gb or 2x4gb
a few years ago, i was reading bout that matter, people had half&half opinion on if dual channel was better than single... some said it was faster single because it had only one chip to use, some said it was more stable with 2 chips... im not very knowledgable bout all those things, and i know things has changed... i guess some mobos support 4chips really well maybe?

2.
my other question is about the clock speed.. i think E8500 has a FSB of 1666mhz right? so should i take full advantage of it and take some kickass RAM which has 1666mhz clock speed? also from what i read, DDR3 is overpower for todays mobos and processors right? or shud i just stick with some 800mhz RAMs?

Tx a lot in advance for your expertise/opinions

More about : 2x4gb 4x2gb ram speed matter

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Memory Authority

Quote:
Dual channel is definately better than single. 2x2 would be your best bet because it leaves you more room to upgrade. I would go with DDR2-800 because its very cheap and the performance difference wouldnt be much.
The board you decide on depends on what features you want, whether you need SLI, etc.
Im still pimping these because its great ram at a great price, with no rebates to send :
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5470099?site=sr:SEARCH...


Yep. Exactly what she said. I run Patriot Memory as well. Not a good memory really for big overclockers, but at stock speeds it has great timings, runs solid and is cheap. Been very happy with mine.

ok so in the end l be better of with 4x2gb than 2x4gb?
and also bout the speeds of the RAM? should i stick with cheap 800mhz? or go with the faster one, up to the fastest my fsb can take?
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FwoGiZ said:
ok so in the end l be better of with 4x2gb than 2x4gb?
and also bout the speeds of the RAM? should i stick with cheap 800mhz? or go with the faster one, up to the fastest my fsb can take?


XP doesn't improve performance wise after about 1.5gb, vista perhaps 4gb, 8gb is over the top, not worth it.

lawl 8gig is soooo over kill , 4gig is future proof atm , i jsut upgraded to 4gig ram and i see minor improvments . just get DDR2 800mhz , **** anything over that , not really worth the extra money u pay for it

first, this computer isnt gonna be on XP... i said that at the beginning!
secondo, i know 8gb is overkill... just like sli gf9 would be >_>
but as i said, im PLANNING to upgrade later.. (2-3years)
maybe 800mhz is ok for now, but i dont like changing my whole **** every fckin year
so wut im thinkin of doin right now is buy 2x2gb running at like 1066mghz maybe... then in 2-3years i buy another identical kit (which will prolly be very cheap) and another gf9 to end up with 4x2gb and SLI Gf9 which shud kickass... might change the CPU too but i ll see... i think E8500 overclocked shud last me quite a time

are those good ideas? or am i complety off?

Tx for opinions once again!

FwoGiZ said:
first, this computer isnt gonna be on XP... i said that at the beginning!
secondo, i know 8gb is overkill... just like sli gf9 would be >_>
but as i said, im PLANNING to upgrade later.. (2-3years)
maybe 800mhz is ok for now, but i dont like changing my whole **** every fckin year
so wut im thinkin of doin right now is buy 2x2gb running at like 1066mghz maybe... then in 2-3years i buy another identical kit (which will prolly be very cheap) and another gf9 to end up with 4x2gb and SLI Gf9 which shud kickass... might change the CPU too but i ll see... i think E8500 overclocked shud last me quite a time

are those good ideas? or am i complety off?

Tx for opinions once again!


Better off with something like the Q6600, 4gb 800mhz ram (2x2gb) and an 8800GT for now - clock the Q6600 to 3.2/1600, run the ram 1:1 (800mhz*2 channel), and use the 8800GT till the 9 series maybe depending on if there any good, and wait for Intels new Nahlem before switching to DDR3, maybe then the geforce9 or SLI em or whatever and ~6gb DDR3 (tri channel memory?) - makes more sense?

I think it might be a bit better to get 2x4 in dual channel, but you always want to keep dual channel cuz you get double the speed. You'll want to have dual channel 2x2 GB for the next 2-3 years. I would just go with 2x2GB DDR-800, because in dual channel mode, its adds up to 1600MT/s, with is more that the 1066 FSB, so you have room for overclocking the processor. with only one 4GB with single channel because its FSB1066 and it has to wait for the slow DDR2-800

2x2GB in my opinion, and go with 800MHz, overclocked RAM is a waste of money, cuz in dual channel normal RAM faster than the FSB anyway

Question is sort of like the "chicken or the egg". It's nice having the extra memory advantage with a 64 bit system but......Need to know what memory your mobo will support. Just because you can buy 4 gig modules does not mean the mobo will support them. Your question regarding DDR2/DDR3 indicates that this is an open issue.
As to the whether over X gig's is overkill, my experience:
My main system is a IP35 Pro with 8 gigs and a Q6600 overclocked to 3.5. Run XP 64, Vista 32 and 64. Do the standard gaming, HF, COD, UT3 etc. The only time I see the "extra", meaning above about 3 gig, memory be used is when I am actually working, using 3DS Max, Maya etc. Then, sometimes, 8 gig is not enough. But my mobo only supports that much.
So IMO, 8 gig is nice, but for what you are going to do, it is really overkill. I'd take the extreme cost of the 4 gig modules and buy 2x2 of some kickass fast stuff.
You have really created a moving target for everyone to express their opinions, as in the computer world, what is the best today is obsolete tomorrow.
Memory Authority

Quote:
The memory I linked is specifically for overclocking. Im running it now, see my specs in signature.

Yes, but what speed are running the memory at? If find that Patriot memory won't run very far out spec.

mobo57 said:
So IMO, 8 gig is nice, but for what you are going to do, it is really overkill. I'd take the extreme cost of the 4 gig modules and buy 2x2 of some kickass fast stuff.

what do you mean by kickass fast stuff?? 2x2gb of 1066mhz?


paranoidmage said:
I would just go with 2x2GB DDR-800, because in dual channel mode, its adds up to 1600MT/s, with is more that the 1066 FSB, so you have room for overclocking the processor. with only one 4GB with single channel because its FSB1066 and it has to wait for the slow DDR2-800
2x2GB in my opinion, and go with 800MHz, overclocked RAM is a waste of money, cuz in dual channel normal RAM faster than the FSB anyway

ok so if i bought 2x2gb of 1066mhz, that would do 2124mhz and my fsb is only 1666 so that would be a waste?...
are you telling that all the FSB are retards?:p  DDR3 is like 5years too early or wut?... not sure to understand..


isnt E8400/500 better than Q6600 for gaming? from what i could read, it was pretty equal but E8500 seemed to have a small advantage

i dont really care to get any CPU if im prolly gonna be wanting to change it to that new one your talking bout... but can i buy a mobo that i wont have to change?

Tx a lot ONCE AGAIN! i ll be able to make up my mind some day!:p  still got 1month before im home(by that time gf9 shud be out ;) 
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