Pimp My PC: Going with 8GB of RAM

[Mark Holtz]

So, what I have is a Gigabyte 965P-DS3 motherboard which should accomodate 4x2GB sticks. I'm looking at NewEgg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052416064%201395428464%20105231579 4%201052508081&name=4), and just have the following questions: CAS Latency is better at 4 than 5 Timing of 4-4-4-12 is better than 5-5-5-12While it won't benefit me running XP 32-bit, I do have Vista 64-bit, and thinking of using a 64-bit distro of Linux.

[PokerJoker]

So, what I have is a Gigabyte 965P-DS3 motherboard which should accomodate 4x2GB sticks. I'm looking at NewEgg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052416064%201395428464%20105231579 4%201052508081&name=4), and just have the following questions: CAS Latency is better at 4 than 5 Timing of 4-4-4-12 is better than 5-5-5-12While it won't benefit me running XP 32-bit, I do have Vista 64-bit, and thinking of using a 64-bit distro of Linux.

Yeah, in theory the CAS4 is faster, but in the real world you probably won't notice much of a difference. Maybe 5%? If you can get the CAS4 for not much extra money, fine.

[hdtvfan0001]

The more memory..the better....all operating systems, but especially MS ones....love memory. :D

I've just bumped up to 4GB myself, and will be upping my CPU to a faster Dual Core in the next week. I also ramped up my video to a 1GB RAM unit.

Just the memory and video was noticable in terms of performance, and the upcoming dual core upgrade should really help significantly as well.

In any case, your use of 8GB of RAM will surely pay off in terms of performance regardless of which Operating System you decide upon.

[Hansen]

I upped my quad core 64 bit system to 8
GB of RAM and it rockets along now. Do not worry too much about CAS between 4 or 5. What's more important is to make sure all timings and speed match and all at the same voltage. Also, can you access the bios to change the RAM voltage? Some OEM systems such as HP do not let you change the voltage in the bios. If that is the situation you have, then see what voltage your current RAM is running at and purchase RAM that has the timing you want at that same voltage. That will ensure stability in the RAM for you and avoid RAM errors and headaches. Otherwise, make sure to set the proper voltage in your bios. The voltage is how then manufactures of RAM change the timings for the chips. As you stray from the 1.8 volts standard, the timings change and stability goes down. The advertised timings are suppose to be stable at the advertised voltage. Hope that helps.

[Ken S]

The more memory..the better....all operating systems, but especially MS ones....love memory. :D

I've just bumped up to 4GB myself, and will be upping my CPU to a faster Dual Core in the next week. I also ramped up my video to a 1GB RAM unit.

Just the memory and video was noticable in terms of performance, and the upcoming dual core upgrade should really help significantly as well.

In any case, your use of 8GB of RAM will surely pay off in terms of performance regardless of which Operating System you decide upon.

This isn't quite right. No 32 bit OS is going to be able to address over 4GB of RAM and probably less if you're using some for video. In general Vista 32 and XP 32 are maxed at 3GB of RAM.

The 64 bit OSs are a different story though and will benefit from more RAM...although if you're not really utilizing it after a point it will just add more overhead.

If you are running a 32 bit OS and have all that RAM you could benefit if when you booted up you created a RAM disk and put the pertinent parts of the OS out there.