Question 4gb 1333mhz vs 6gb 667mhz

[a5hwin]

I have a 2gb ddr3 desktop ramstick clocked at 667mhz and another 4gb ddr3 desktop ramstick clocked @1333mhz

If i use both of them together then the motherboard underclocks the 4gb ramstick to 667mhz and i get a total ram of 6gb @667MHz


So should i go for only 4gb @1333mhz or use both and get 6gb @667MHz

 

[subdistinction]

I would think you would get better performance out of higher clock speeds. Personally, I would go with the 4GB 1333 MHz.

 

[jeremyj_83]

6GB is a better option that 4GB and the lower RAM speed probably won't affect the performance. Just know that by having mixed modules (different speed, vendor, etc...) could lead to system instability.

 

[subdistinction]

This article may answer some of your questions as well.

 

[tylerd120]

Addign the extra stick put it into dual channel mode. It still operates at 1333mhz. It just looks like it runs slower.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Addign the extra stick put it into dual channel mode. It still operates at 1333mhz. It just looks like it runs slower.

Could be he has 1 still DDR3 1333 (667MHz PC10600) and one stick DDR3 2666 (1333MHz PC21300)

 

[tylerd120]

Thats not how it works. First they both clock down to the lowest one (pc10600 is 1333mhz) THEN if they are running in dual channel mode they will cut in half.

 

[jeremyj_83]

I would think you would get better performance out of higher clock speeds. Personally, I would go with the 4GB 1333 MHz.

You will be page swapping pretty quickly with only 4GB RAM now. I have a laptop that I cannot add more RAM to and is stuck at 4GB with just a couple tabs open I use 75% of my RAM. Generally when you have 8GB or less, once you hit 75% usage your computer will start to page swap since there isn't enough extra RAM for caching. That is why I would say 6GB is better than 4GB.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Thats not how it works. First they both clock down to the lowest one (pc10600 is 1333mhz) THEN if they are running in dual channel mode they will cut in half.

Correct in that they will be clocked at the same speed as the lowest clocked one, which in this case would be the PC10600 which runs internally at 667MHz but since it is DDR (Dual Data Rate, allows for data to be sent on both the rising and falling clock cycle) the effective speed is 1333MHz SDR. There isn't anything about things being cut in half once it is in dual channel mode. Dual channel allows for a max theoretical bandwidth to be the sum of the two DIMMs operating at the same speed in this case that would be 21.2GB/s.

 

[subdistinction]

You will be page swapping pretty quickly with only 4GB RAM now. I have a laptop that I cannot add more RAM to and is stuck at 4GB with just a couple tabs open I use 75% of my RAM. Generally when you have 8GB or less, once you hit 75% usage your computer will start to page swap since there isn't enough extra RAM for caching. That is why I would say 6GB is better than 4GB.

I mean in all honesty, I don't think either choice is "good" in this situation. I struggle to use any computer with less than a minimum of 8GB of RAM for those same reasons you listed. I would just think the higher clock speeds would help more than a 2GB increase with half the clock speed. Just my opinion though. Also probably depends on what you are using it for, gaming or something else.

 

[tylerd120]

Correct in that they will be clocked at the same speed as the lowest clocked one, which in this case would be the PC10600 which runs internally at 667MHz but since it is DDR (Dual Data Rate, allows for data to be sent on both the rising and falling clock cycle) the effective speed is 1333MHz SDR. There isn't anything about things being cut in half once it is in dual channel mode. Dual channel allows for a max theoretical bandwidth to be the sum of the two DIMMs operating at the same speed in this case that would be 21.2GB/s.

Yeah i know, I didn't want to explain it all.

 

[rscheetah30]

I'd use the full 6GB with reduced clock speed. Plus, if you want to use your ram more efficiently, check out this little software developed by a Microsoft employee:

Memory Cleaner - Software - Koshy John

The number one memory usage optimization application in the world just got better.

www.koshyjohn.com

I use it and my ram(8GB) rarely exceeds 60%, the less ram you have, the more efficient this little software is.

PS: This isn't spam.

 

[clarkjd]

In my experience, more ram is better than faster ram. The more ram you have the less page swapping. Swapping to hard disk is an order of magnitude slower than ram speeds so any gains by faster ram are eaten up by slow disk access speeds.

 

[a5hwin]

thanks everyone for your help i have decided to continue with 6gb

 

[rscheetah30]

In my experience, more ram is better than faster ram. The more ram you have the less page swapping. Swapping to hard disk is an order of magnitude slower than ram speeds so any gains by faster ram are eaten up by slow disk access speeds.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[subdistinction]

PS: This isn't spam.

LOL