Vista 64-bits, 4GB (4x1GB) or 8GB (4x2GB) ???

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Devil24

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Putting together a new system, need some advice.

Will be running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bits and have the following memory available:

4x 1GB Corsair XMS2 Pro Series PC2-6400 800Mhz 5-5-5-12

or

4x 2GB Patriot Extreme Performance EL PC2-6400 800Mhz 5-5-5-12

Which way should I go? Corsair or Patriot? is 8GB overkill or what?
 
8gb isn't overkill, but I doubt anyone would use it unless they do 3D-modeling, CAD, or video editing work. Also, are those the only kits you have access to? I have the G.Skill 4gb 2x2 1066 kit and it's fast and cheap...
 
Nicksterr said:
8gb isn't overkill, but I doubt anyone would use it unless they do 3D-modeling, CAD, or video editing work. Also, are those the only kits you have access to? I have the G.Skill 4gb 2x2 1066 kit and it's fast and cheap...
Click to expand...

I already own those... I could get something else, but, I'd rather use the money on something else unless strictly necessary.
 
I'm running 8gb. While I haven't done any video work in the last couple weeks, I do rip/burn dvds almost constantly while gaming.

Toggling in and out is very snappy compared to when I was running 4gb.
 
If you already own both why wouldnt you just use the 8GB? Or go really crazy with 2x4 + 2x1 for 10GB! :D Since theyre rated at the same speed and timings...
 
9mmx19 said:
If you already own both why wouldnt you just use the 8GB? Or go really crazy with 2x4 + 2x1 for 10GB! :D Since theyre rated at the same speed and timings...
Click to expand...

The OP doesn't have any 4gig sticks, do they even exist?

I myself was wondering about 8gigs as I have 4x2gigs of memory also but I am only useing 2 of them at the moment, the other 2 are still being shipped.
 
go with the 2x2GB setup since most MB come with 4 slots, you have 2 free ones for future upgrades
 
uzisuicide said:
If you have enough RAM memory, then you can load up your game to RAMDISK.

http://www.superspeed.com/desktop/ramdisk.php

The ramdisk is about 50 times faster than an average hard drive and playing a
game via ramdisk can completelly eliminate hardware lag. 8 Gb RAM is optimal.
Click to expand...


That ramdisk looks really interesting. Have you used it?

I'm guessing if the game is 4GB you need 4gb of memory available for it no?
 
I would go for the 8gb, it's somewhat over kill, but it will last you for all your computing needs and I have never heard anyone companle about having to much memory...
 
I'm running 8GB and it's definitely not overkill, my next system will be 32GB and dual xeon.
 
I'd also put in the 8gb. When I was still on XP and I upped it from 1gb to 2gb which was a bit overkill at the time, everything was immediately snappier. Plus, you can play a game and go back to your desktop and it's super fast, no waiting for windows to load back into RAM.
 
Right now, the main use for > 4GB of RAM (that I can think of) would be Virtual Machines, RAMDisks, large scale image processing or server processing that's memory intensive. Games don't expect and don't benefit from > 4GB, except in maybe miniscule ways in rare circumstances.

I wouldn't mind 8GB on my desktop, but I'm afraid of the degradation in overclocking and possibly system stability with 8GB of desktop memory. DDR3 might make this more feasible - I bet we'll see 4GB X 2 kits within the next couple of years. The reason servers can pile on the memory is because they have more technologies that were designed to allow for higher memory densities that desktop boards and chipsets lack. The Skulltrail board, for example, is derived from server chipsets / boards and uses FBDIMM memory that can easily populate 8, 12 and even 16 slots with the right motherboard with no effect on stability, although of course you don't overclock server memory unless you're crazy or using a Skulltrail.

Also, look here for better memory options thank you linked to in the original post, if performance is a major consideration:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1032480409&postcount=5
 
8GB of ram is not overkill if you are using Vista 64. The OS will use up the ram with superfetch etc. and make your computing experience even better. Read the tomshardware article on this subject. If you keep adding ram Vista will keep utilizing more and more. (The more the better as long as you are not trying to pull off a crazy overclock and have a MB that fully supports 8GB per the manual)
 
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