3gb 533 vs 2gb 667?

[Nickus86]

Hey guys, I now have one gb (512 x2) of pc2-4200 in my desktop. I am wondering which will benefit me more, 3 gb total of 533mhz, or 2 gb total of 667 mhz? I am going to guess 3gb of 533mhz but let me know, thanks. Both will be installed in matched pairs.

 

[apt403]

Depends, 32bit windows cant take advantage of more then 2gb of ram, so unless your use a 64bit os 2gb is your limit. If you have a 64bit os 3gb would be better, if you have a 32bit one 2gb would be better since its cheaper.

 

[Nickus86]

Are you sure the limit is 2gb on the 32 bit version? I am fairly sure it is 4gb.

 

[AeroB1033]

It's 4gb, but in reality 32-bit Windows tends to have trouble with more than 3gb.

Unless you're doing very specialized high-memory tasks like video editing, 2gb is the ticket. I doubt you'll ever be bottlenecked by it. So higher bandwidth is the way to go.

 

[Nickus86]

I'm doing some pretty demanding audio editing (pro tools), does that change things at all? And what about the cas differences? (4w/533, 5 w/667) The price is the same by the way.

 

[AeroB1033]

I tend to think audio editing is more demanding on latency and bandwidth than memory space, since even full-quality WAV files are not that big. I don't have benchmarks to back it up though.

 

[Nickus86]

yeah I think the largest files I am recording are about 6-7mb.

 

[Nickus86]

one more question I forgot, I will soon be switching to vista, does this change things?

 

[Dade_0182]

Just take the 667, you won't see any difference between 2gb 533 and 3gb 533.

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

Damn, i was planning on getting 4gb of http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180BD9179 So I'm guessing I shouldnt get a 32bit version of Windows XP/Vista when I build my new CPU?

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

You got that right, the most 32bit OS can use is around 3.8GB max (can't remember very well, couldn't find the link )...but if you plan to use Vista, I suggest you to wait till SP1 is out, not sure when, but probably Q3 this year

 

[Mondoman]

.... And what about the cas differences? (4w/533, 5 w/667) The price is the same by the way.

Get the 3GB. More RAM is almost always better. Also, remember that timings are relative numbers normally given in terms of clock cycles; the actual delay time is the same for 4 clock cycles at DDR2-533 and for 5 (shorter) clock cycles at DDR2-667.

 

[Dade_0182]

and he's gonna use ALL of 3GB to edit a 7MB file... :roll: genius I tell you...