Is there a difference between 6 and 8 GB of RAM?

[eilif]

Okay... I have another computer of mine, with a socket 478 (yes...) Pentium 4 @ 2.00 GHz and i am thiiiiiinkiiiiiiing it might be good witha little upgrade. Spo i thought i would get a new MoBo, with CPU and GPU and maybe a PSU since the one i have is 250W... So i was wondering, if i "borrowe" 2 GB of those 8 GB you can see on the left
<--------- would i notice any difference between 8 GB and 6 GB of RAM?

 

[twistedspark]

Okay... I have another computer of mine, with a socket 478 (yes...) Pentium 4 @ 2.00 GHz and i am thiiiiiinkiiiiiiing it might be good witha little upgrade. Spo i thought i would get a new MoBo, with CPU and GPU and maybe a PSU since the one i have is 250W... So i was wondering, if i "borrowe" 2 GB of those 8 GB you can see on the left
<--------- would i notice any difference between 8 GB and 6 GB of RAM?

Yes, the difference is 2.







Lol
Seriously though, if you're running a 32-bit operating system your PC can only address a maximum of 4GB minus whatever total amounts you have on you videocard(s). So in that case, no. No difference. If you're running a 64-bit OS, then yes, there'll be a difference, but you won't notice it unless you're doing a whole lot of multitasking.

 

[eloric]

If you get DDR3 Triple Channel memory with your new rig, then 6MB (they install in sets of 3). If you get Dual channel, then 4 GB is most likely adequate unless heavy video editing or such. Take the money you save, add a little bit more and put it into an SSD for better performance.

 

[kingnoobe]

A little more 8gb of ram isn't crap these days.. I think you ment to say add awhole lot more, and get you an ssd.

 

[eilif]

what is SSD? :lol:

 

[jefe323]

Solid State Drive

 

[eilif]

what is a Solid State Drive?

 

[jsc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive

 

[twistedspark]

I didn't realize before that your current system is i5 with DDR3 and you're talking about adding to a Pentium 4 (SDRAM or DDR1). Those two systems use different types of memory that are not cross compatible. You couldn't fit the memory from one into the other if you tried. Totally different physical size of the PCBs.

 

[darkside_gamer7]

SSD?...really don't know???...geese...sorry...guess I'm a jerk

 

[eilif]

noho, i am thinking of an upgrade.. And it's an i3

 

[twistedspark]

noho, i am thinking of an upgrade.. And it's an i3

Oh, O.K. Then refer back to what I wrote before.
If you use a 32-bit OS (x86 architecture) you can't use more than 4GB RAM (you can put in whatever amount you want, but your OS won't be able to address beyond 4GB).
If you use 64-bit OS then you can, but for DDR3 to get triple data rate you need 3 matched memory cards.
3 x 2GB cards of DDR3 (6 GB RAM) would be better than 4 x 2 GB (8GB RAM) since the 8GB setup would revert to single data rate.

Clear as mud?

 

[eloric]

4 Gb of memory runs around $100. Here is an Intel solid state drive for $130:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0327627

That is enough to run your operating system and a game or preferred application. It offers IMHO a dramatic improvement to your computing experience.

 

[pepperman]

3 x 2GB cards of DDR3 (6 GB RAM) would be better than 4 x 2 GB (8GB RAM) since the 8GB setup would revert to single data rate.

Clear as mud?

Core i3s don't do triple channel, so you should keep matched pairs (i.e. either 4 or 8) for best performance.

I sounds to me from your OP (correct me if I'm wrong) that you want to take some ram out of your current i3 system and use it with a new system. This will work as long as the new mobo you get supports ddr3.

In terms of a performance penalty, as previous posters have stated, it depends on your OS (x86 vs. x64) for how much ram can be addressed, as well as how ram intensive the programs you use on your pc are.

 

[pjmelect]

On a 64 bit system I don’t think that you will notice a difference of two Gigs on day to day usage unless you are running memory intensive programs like Solidworks and even then the difference will be small.

 

[khubani]

Okay... I have another computer of mine, with a socket 478 (yes...) Pentium 4 @ 2.00 GHz and i am thiiiiiinkiiiiiiing it might be good witha little upgrade. Spo i thought i would get a new MoBo, with CPU and GPU and maybe a PSU since the one i have is 250W... So i was wondering, if i "borrowe" 2 GB of those 8 GB you can see on the left
<--------- would i notice any difference between 8 GB and 6 GB of RAM?

nah, not really

 

[eilif]

ok. Because it would save me like $150 (yes, it is very expensive here)

 

[steadfast1984]

the diffrence between 6 and 8 GB of ram is 2GB