intel quad core + memory but what speed?

[eyeball]

Hi all,

pretty soon im replacing my aging P4 with a quad core and at the moment i have 2GB of DDR400 Ram. Im going to replace this with 8GB of DDR2 5400 Ram.

however the motherboard supports the fastest DDR2 memory available.

So my question is will using the slower memory (DDR2 5400) give me an noticable difference performance wise?

the fastest DDR2 is so much more expensive than the slower.

i will be encoding videos. running virtual pcs, playing videos, pretty taxing stuff.

Any thoughts?

thanks a lot

[ripken204]

just get some DDR2-800.

what cpu, motherboard, and ram do you plan on getting?

[nmX.Memnoch]

Since the price difference is negligible (should be at most $5US more) get DDR2 800 (PC2-6400).

[eyeball]

Im getting the Universal abit IP35 PRO motherboard and the Quad Core Q6600. Do you think i would notice much difference between DDR2 667 and DDR2 800 then?

since both of you recommended that

[eyeball]

sorry i forgot to mention i need to make sure that the ram i get is in 2GB sticks as i want 8GB in my board. The Price difference Between 2gig in a single stick of different speeds is quite substantial

Edited August 15, 2007 by eyeball

[nmX.Memnoch]

What OS are you planning on running?

[eyeball]

windows XP X64 Edition

[nmX.Memnoch]

Just making sure because using more than 4GB will do you no good on a 32-bit OS.

The other thing I'm wondering is if you really need 8GB of RAM? How many VPC's do you plan to run at once and what will you be using them for?

[eyeball]

i know its overkill but im trying to futureproof as much as possible.

i will be running a couple at a time, planning to have a fully functioning SQL and sharepoint server running as test machines as im really into learning the in's and outs of it.

i might just risk it with 2GB of DDR2 667 and see how it is, if its slow il replace it with DDR 800.

if its not il get the other 6GB

however what im thinking is it will be such a step from my P4 that i may not notice it anyway...

thanks nmX.Memnoch

[nmX.Memnoch]

Just go with 4GB (4 x 1GB) of DDR2 800 and be done with it. Seriously, the price difference on a 2GB DDR2 667 kit and a 2GB DDR2 800 kit isn't that much. Just get two 2GB kits.

That should be plenty for the single user testing you'll be doing. Allocate 1GB to each VPC and that'll still leave 2GB available to the host OS.

[ripken204]

well how much are you planning on spending for ram?

8GB will run you around $500..

how about going for 4GB for now and seeing if you really need it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231122

[eyeball]

thanks guys,

i think looking at that il get 4GB (2x2GB) and then see if i need the other 4GB

like you said chances are i wont but the option will be there in future if i ever do

thanks a lot

[ripken204]

just don't plan on overclocking with that ram, you'll need to spend another $75 if you want to do that

[Zxian]

I think you're better off going with 4x1GB (two sets of 2x1GB). It's cheaper and will work just as well.

[ripken204]

I think you're better off going with 4x1GB (two sets of 2x1GB). It's cheaper and will work just as well.

not if he wants to upgrade later..