12GB of RAM nessary for me? - Page 2

Redeemed · 11-23-09, 12:29 PM

Hmm... does triple channel boost performance much? Right not I'm just rocking dual 2GB sticks of DDR3 1600. System seems plenty fast enough (all stock, nothing oc'd at the moment). Would there be much of a boost if I dropped another identical 2GB stick in for 6GB in tri-channel?

Oh, and I'm using the Intel x58 mobo and it only has 4 DIMM slots.

**musman** · 11-23-09, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redeemed

Hmm... does triple channel boost performance much? Right not I'm just rocking dual 2GB sticks of DDR3 1600. System seems plenty fast enough (all stock, nothing oc'd at the moment). Would there be much of a boost if I dropped another identical 2GB stick in for 6GB in tri-channel?

Oh, and I'm using the Intel x58 mobo and it only has 4 DIMM slots.

I'm not really sure myself... I went from a 1.86GHz dual core system with 4Gb of 800 speed RAM to my current system (check sig) I replaced everything, so no way to really tell. But I'm sure someone on here will be able to help.

11-23-09, 12:37 PM

I went from 4gb to 8gb DDR 3 ram (couldn't resist the great price on the additional 4gb so I bought it) and really notice no extra performance.

**bob saget** · 11-23-09, 06:37 PM

some new pr0nz download engines are now optimized for 6+gigs of triple channel ddr3.

pkirby11 · 11-23-09, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musman

I have read about the swap file for a while, I read that some recommend doing it and some warn about doing it. The warning I heard was that some programs require a swap file and will not run if you do this. Don't know how true that is. With my 6 gigs I have now, do I have enough to try it?

Thanks!

Most of the articles I read recomended around 8GB or more. You could probably do it with 6GB just remember though if you get any memory errors than you probably don't have enough. Depending on what I play, I can take up to 4 to 5 gigs sometimes. Again you wont see a huge performance increase, but to say that 12GB is overkill isn't entirely true. If 12GB had cost much more then yes I wouldn't have gone with it but it was maybe an extra $100 to go that route.

And yes some programs require a swap file, though I've not run into any newer titles that require one. I've had no issues so far.

candle_86 · 11-23-09, 10:51 PM

I havn't run into any issues with 4gb and running out of ram, the only thing that truley uses more than 4gb of ram to any effect is 3d rendering, HD movie recording ect. General use like gaming 4gb is fine, no game will use more

**crainger** · 11-23-09, 10:59 PM

What OS are you running candle?

eidy · 11-24-09, 06:59 AM

Those 12 GB RAM can indeed make your PC "smoother" if you'll "really" use a ram disk (6GB - 8GB). Trust me ... I've build such a system some while ago

and I know what I'm talking about.

1. SWAP should be easily considered useless with 4-6GB of RAM or more. BUT, NONETHELESS MOVE THE SWAP TO THE RAM DISK JUST IN CASE YOU SHOULD "RUN OUT OF MEMORY". Let the swap file be managed by Windows on this ramdisk - do not give it a fixed size.
2. THE RAM DISK would also be a "beast" if you actually install applications on it and run them from it. SWAP can also remain "active" on this partition on the remaining free space or on all the disk's space should you not load any application.
a) install an application that doesn't exceed the ramdisk's capacity and then save that image on the HDD. That's also how the ramdisk's backup works - through imaging on HDD and latter loading them back.
b) Do so for all you're main resource hungry applications. HDD resource hungry programs especially. (ex. image & movie editors, games, etc.)
c) After Windows is up and running you should be able to load any of those images back into the ram disk with a simple "mount-like" procedure - one click. You're applications should work form the ramdisk "unaware" of this moving process. One application at a time of coarse ... BUT you can still run all the other applications at "normal speeds" directly from HDD (if you also installed them the regular way). So, yeah it's a double install procedure for those applications.

3. Also DO USE THE RAM DISK FOR ANY TEMPORARY FOLDERS (ex. : Adobe Photoshop's scratch disks) and any other type of intense disk applications.

Hope that helps ...

P.S. All this planning with the ramdisks was in fact meant for 24GB ram, where the free ram would be 4-6GB and the rest of 18-20GB left for the ramdisk. It's the best way to have a fast and reliable HDD (faster than any SDD : min. 2GB/s, 0.0ms latency and min. 30.000 operations/s = massive parallelism of acceses) at a relatively "normal" price range (DDR of low latency, not fancy ones) WHILE STILL BEING ABLE TO USE IT ALL AS RAM WHEN NEEDED (swap is automaticaly extended). Of coarse 24GB is still out of "real" purchasing reach .. but not for long I hope.

11-24-09, 08:59 AM

Load Windows in RAM?

Seriously, he probably just wanted to sell you that other 6GB of RAM for a profit. You should never need that much RAM unless you are running some sort of special software, like rendering X-Ray images at super-high resolutions. If I were you, I'd order it, and when he gets it, tell him you changed your mind. Teach the bastard a lesson for trying to screw you.

pkirby11 · 11-24-09, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by General Lee

Load Windows in RAM?

Seriously, he probably just wanted to sell you that other 6GB of RAM for a profit. You should never need that much RAM unless you are running some sort of special software, like rendering X-Ray images at super-high resolutions. If I were you, I'd order it, and when he gets it, tell him you changed your mind. Teach the bastard a lesson for trying to screw you.

I use close to 12GB some days and I don't load X-Ray images.

I do load however several virtual machines, I also have no swap file and I also load several instances of WoW sometimes.

If you've already got 6GB and don't want to spend the money to upgrade it is pretty pointless. I got the 12GB when I was upgrading my system, it wasn't that much more and the money was already in my budget. I don't consider it overkill and it has helped smooth things up but it a huge help to just go buy 6GB and expect a huge performance boost.

**XDanger** · 11-24-09, 05:16 PM

Theres the thing, If you are doing a ****load of multitasking with memory hogging apps then it helps.

But do teh CPU's crap out before your ram gets filled up in that scenario?

I'm asking i7 users here.

pkirby11 · 11-24-09, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XDanger

Theres the thing, If you are doing a ****load of multitasking with memory hogging apps then it helps.

But do teh CPU's crap out before your ram gets filled up in that scenario?

I'm asking i7 users here.

To be honest with you I've been rather impressed with this system. Core i7 920 with triple-channel memory I've yet to throw much at it that's really halted the system. Probably one of the finest CPU's I've seen in a long time. I've had a mini network (I use it for testing OS features) of 4 to 5 virtual machines running at a time with no noticeable loss in performance. Of course this is just speaking from my own personal experience but 12GB is a must for me.

11-23-09, 12:29 PM	#13
Redeemed Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 17,986	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? Hmm... does triple channel boost performance much? Right not I'm just rocking dual 2GB sticks of DDR3 1600. System seems plenty fast enough (all stock, nothing oc'd at the moment). Would there be much of a boost if I dropped another identical 2GB stick in for 6GB in tri-channel? Oh, and I'm using the Intel x58 mobo and it only has 4 DIMM slots.

11-23-09, 12:37 PM	#15
betterdan Guest Posts: n/a	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? I went from 4gb to 8gb DDR 3 ram (couldn't resist the great price on the additional 4gb so I bought it) and really notice no extra performance.

11-23-09, 06:37 PM	#16
bob saget Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vancouver, originally Russia Posts: 23,133	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? some new pr0nz download engines are now optimized for 6+gigs of triple channel ddr3.

11-23-09, 10:51 PM	#18
candle_86 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 1,273	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? I havn't run into any issues with 4gb and running out of ram, the only thing that truley uses more than 4gb of ram to any effect is 3d rendering, HD movie recording ect. General use like gaming 4gb is fine, no game will use more

11-23-09, 10:59 PM	#19
crainger Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia Posts: 29,535	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? What OS are you running candle?

11-24-09, 06:59 AM	#20
eidy Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 6	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? Those 12 GB RAM can indeed make your PC "smoother" if you'll "really" use a ram disk (6GB - 8GB). Trust me ... I've build such a system some while ago and I know what I'm talking about. 1. SWAP should be easily considered useless with 4-6GB of RAM or more. BUT, NONETHELESS MOVE THE SWAP TO THE RAM DISK JUST IN CASE YOU SHOULD "RUN OUT OF MEMORY". Let the swap file be managed by Windows on this ramdisk - do not give it a fixed size. 2. THE RAM DISK would also be a "beast" if you actually install applications on it and run them from it. SWAP can also remain "active" on this partition on the remaining free space or on all the disk's space should you not load any application. a) install an application that doesn't exceed the ramdisk's capacity and then save that image on the HDD. That's also how the ramdisk's backup works - through imaging on HDD and latter loading them back. b) Do so for all you're main resource hungry applications. HDD resource hungry programs especially. (ex. image & movie editors, games, etc.) c) After Windows is up and running you should be able to load any of those images back into the ram disk with a simple "mount-like" procedure - one click. You're applications should work form the ramdisk "unaware" of this moving process. One application at a time of coarse ... BUT you can still run all the other applications at "normal speeds" directly from HDD (if you also installed them the regular way). So, yeah it's a double install procedure for those applications. 3. Also DO USE THE RAM DISK FOR ANY TEMPORARY FOLDERS (ex. : Adobe Photoshop's scratch disks) and any other type of intense disk applications. Hope that helps ... P.S. All this planning with the ramdisks was in fact meant for 24GB ram, where the free ram would be 4-6GB and the rest of 18-20GB left for the ramdisk. It's the best way to have a fast and reliable HDD (faster than any SDD : min. 2GB/s, 0.0ms latency and min. 30.000 operations/s = massive parallelism of acceses) at a relatively "normal" price range (DDR of low latency, not fancy ones) WHILE STILL BEING ABLE TO USE IT ALL AS RAM WHEN NEEDED (swap is automaticaly extended). Of coarse 24GB is still out of "real" purchasing reach .. but not for long I hope.

11-24-09, 08:59 AM	#21
General Lee Guest Posts: n/a	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? Load Windows in RAM? Seriously, he probably just wanted to sell you that other 6GB of RAM for a profit. You should never need that much RAM unless you are running some sort of special software, like rendering X-Ray images at super-high resolutions. If I were you, I'd order it, and when he gets it, tell him you changed your mind. Teach the bastard a lesson for trying to screw you.

11-24-09, 05:16 PM	#23
XDanger Whaaat? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5,675	Re: 12GB of RAM nessary for me? Theres the thing, If you are doing a ****load of multitasking with memory hogging apps then it helps. But do teh CPU's crap out before your ram gets filled up in that scenario? I'm asking i7 users here. __________________ 2500K 4.4ghz,P8P67Pro,120gb Force3, 12gb Vengeance,HD6950,TX850v2,W7HP,LaCie Blue 22" crt COMMODORE 64 Silver Label 1Mhz/128D 4Mhz(Z80)