4gb Mem Vs 8gb Mem.

[#1 Duck]

That's the question, can you really notice any different between 4gb mem and 8gb at 800Mhz, DDR2. Also, what is the different between 8Gb DDR2 800Mhz and 4Gb DDR3 1600Mhz?

 

[Spray]

Unless you are using VERY intensive applications, like full video production on Adobe Premiere or Adobe After Effects, or using Maya to build a city, you won't notice a difference from 4gb to 8gb. At least, not with the current vista offerings. In a few years, it's more likely. Now the difference from the ddr2 800, to ddr3 1600 is a few. First, the price point. DDR3 is much more expensive, because it's newer and there are less companies that currently have fab plants making the stuff. DDR3 memory has a higher memory latency, that impacts it performance. The big upside to DDR3 is it has a much higher memory bandwidth, while it uses a lot less power, and puts out less heat. Currently, DDR2 1066 and DDR3 1333, are about even in performance, but I believe soon DDR3 will begin to pull away, especially if they get those CAS latencies down. DDR3 is the future.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

Well, I don't have DDR3, and I don't plan on jumping on that for a bit, so I can't comment on that.

The difference between 4GB and 8GB DDR2 really depends on the person using it. A gamer probably wouldn't notice a difference at all, but a performance enthusiast (me) or artist would notice large gains. Playing with large .psd files isn't fun on 512MB RAM (what I used in high school).

It all depends on what you do. One notable pro of 8GB RAM is that you'll be able to disable page filing, which will speed up your system a noticeable amount. Page filing writes data to the hard drive and uses it as a type of RAM, but hard drives a much slower than RAM is, and there's where performance takes a hit.

I'll be jumping on 8GB in my next build, so I'll be able to comment better.

~Gooda~

 

[xKodiakx]

in gaming the 800Mhz to 1600 Mhz whether it's DD2 or 3 will make a difference in gaming, I use 4GB right now... and I have had 3.4GB in use before... and I don't do any crazy image editing or anything even high end on this comp.

 

[#1 Duck]

Well I use Hammer to make maps and stuff so compiling lagts my computer something silly, I pressume 8gibs of memory won't lag and I will be able to play a game aswell?