How important is memory speed vs. amount of memory

[TukSon]

I have a ASUS LGA 1156 board running i7 870 at 2.93 gz using 4 gb of 1333 memory. With prices dropping I am considering switching to 8 gb of 1066 memory. WIN7 64-bit.

Query: Is it more important to double the memory compared to buying faster memory?

 

[o1die]

Why choose 1066 ram? Get the ram that's on sale, which is usually 1333 or 1600. I chose 1333 ram recently when I upgraded to 16 gb to save money. So, the answer to your question is a qualified "yes", and it still depends on how much ram you're running. For some folks, 4 gb is plenty.

 

[TukSon]

Agree that the prices now (12/11) are much better for 1333, though I found even cheaper prices for 1066 --- hence my query as to which had a bigger bang for the buck.

I'll take that as endorsement of going with the faster RAM.

Thanks.

 

[corpsbeginners]

some techie's would say better more than faster. but being 1333 with cl9 is somewhat 1066 with cl7 latency? well the speeds are theoretical if u dont have memory intensive apps. and with superfetching of win7 the bigger ram the better. as it would cache frequently used apps.. i use 8gb ram, and i use up to 6gb(2.5gb prefetch)

 

[weedunc]

The main thing to consider is what your CPU can address. There is no point buying super fast RAM if your core is too slow to make use of the extra Mhz. But likewise, it seems a shame to buy a decent core and not let it stretch its legs a bit.

There will be an equation somewhere that details the differing speeds of high performance RAM compared to high capacity. I would imagine in this case, since you are talking about doubling your capacity and only dropping your speed a little bit, the 8GB should be the faster.

 

[Raiddinn]

The difference between 1333 and 1066 cost isn't enough to want to scale back to 1066, IMHO.

Even the good stuff is really cheap, use the good stuff.

It isn't like we are talking about hard drives where it matters if you get 1 TB less to the tune of $100. The difference between 1333 and 1066 is like $5.

I would make my computer perform worse to save $100, but not to save $5. I am about the most budget conscious person around here too.