RAM 8GB @667mhz VS. 4GB @800mhz Corsair Dominator

[cmacd]

I currently have 8gb of kingston value Ram pc5300 667mhz and was wondering if it would be a upgrade to run 4gb of Corsair Dominator pc6400 800mhz in stead.

My dell motherboard can only handel 1gb dimms per slot at 800mhz dual channel but 2gb running at 667mhz.

Also I will not be overclocking my RAM so whick set up is faster/better?

I am just trying to make the best/fastest with the motheboard I have.

kingston Value Ram 8gb @ 667mhz
or
Corsair Dominator 4GB @ 800mhz

Dell 745 optiplex Desktop
Windows 7 x64 Bit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66ghz
8gb RAM @667mhz
Nvidia 9600 GT PCIE

Huge Thanks All!

 

[d0w0rk24]

8gb will still be faster since there is 2x the system buffer rather than 1/6 the buffer speed

 

[13thmonkey]

8Gb, you'll rarely use all of it, but more overhead than 4Gb which you will butt into on occassions. In the old days you could have made 4Gb of the 8Gb into a ram disk and used that for the page file, but probably not worth it today, especially with '7.

 

[jimishtar]

u will probably never use more than 4-5 GB of the ram. even with ddr3 6GB is more than enough. U will do better with 4 GB @ 800 Mhz.

 

[cmacd]

So its up in the air then? Some say 8gb at 667mhz and some say 4gb at 800mhz...

If it helps I would prefer to get the best performance, speed is always good lol

Which would benchmark faster in your opinion? For example on Windows Experience Index? It sits at 5.5 for my RAM right now and thats my lowest score and looking to raise the number if possible.

CMACD

 

[13thmonkey]

There were some reviews of DDRvs DDr2 on the same platform on x-bit I think some time ago, there was only a slight difference in overall performance, it was to do with an asrock platform that could use both. It might have been anandtech actually.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2810&p=4

the gap between 533 and 667 is quite small, and in dropping from 1:1 to 4:3 there is actually a performance hit.

I don't know what fsb your cpu runs at, but unless you will be running at 1:1 with the ddr2800 i'd suspect you'll see a similar drop (or at best little gain) in performance. I recognise now that you have an AMD and I have no idea how they work on an FSB/memory ratio standpoint.


http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=3589&p=5

Again not your platform, and looking at ddr3, but notice the latter synthetic performance tests, nothing really happens as speed increases, i'm sure there's a comparative article for slower speeds somewhere.

if you really want to upgrade, new gpu will be biggest bang for buck...

 

[cmacd]

Dell 745 optiplex Desktop
Windows 7 x64 Bit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66ghz
8gb RAM @667mhz
Nvidia 9600 GT PCIE

Thanks for the reply! I am not running an AMD, My FSB is running at 1066mhz So I have the best CPU I can get and also I Have the Best GPU that I can get for a low profile case. Its now just up to RAM.
So what I gather from what I read it would be best to Buy into 800MHZ RAM?
Now the question what is the best non overclocking RAM I can get?
I was looking at...

Corsair dominator 1gb X 4 at 800MHZ
or
OCZ 1GB x 4 at 800mhz (any type from ocz)

Input would be great!

Thanks again all!

 

[randomizer]

What are you doing with this computer? The notion that you will never use 8GB is rubbish if you're running virtual machines or heavy Photoshop work.

 

[xtc28]

In my case rendering of autocad 3d files I frequrntly use more than 7 gigs while running other apps simultaneously.

 

[royalcrown]

It depends on what you are doing. Randomizer is right.

 

[cmacd]

Well the heavest work load would be Playing Games and Watching 1080p Movies, Basically going to be use for an all around HTPC (Home Theatre PC) I just want it to run fast as it possibly can... (with this motherboard)
Thanks again...

CMACD

 

[13thmonkey]

I doubt you'll see much of a shift by going to 800 memory, i'm pretty much convinced that 8Gb is better than 4Gb in this situation. its a shame about not having the capacity to up your gpu as that's where the weakness is imho. could you go sli/crossfire with two low profile cards?

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

Well the heavest work load would be Playing Games and Watching 1080p Movies, Basically going to be use for an all around HTPC (Home Theatre PC) I just want it to run fast as it possibly can... (with this motherboard)
Thanks again...

CMACD

For gaming and watching movies, you'll most likely never be able to tell any difference at all between the 2 memory options. With the system you have, I'd suggest you stick with your current memory setup.

 

[royalcrown]

For gaming and watching movies, you'll most likely never be able to tell any difference at all between the 2 memory options. With the system you have, I'd suggest you stick with your current memory setup.

I agree. Awesome avatar yellow, that was a great movie !

 

[cmacd]

Thanks all for the input! Will stick with the current setup but may upgrade my Hard drive to a WD Velociraptor to grab some extra speed!

Thanks again...

CMACD

 

[xtc28]

Get an 32GB SSD for your OS instead! Or a 1.5Tb Seagate or both.

 

[cmacd]

What the fastest drive I can use with SATA/ SATA 3.0 those are the only two that my motherboard supports. Can I run a SSD off a SATA connection?

CMACD

 

[xtc28]

yes you can as far as i know thats just about all they come in except for industrial IDE direct plug in SSDs. The fastest is going to be the SSD run it for your OS it will load Ungodly fast.

 

[cmacd]

Thaks all Great post!

CMACD