Does 3770k have a 32gb memory limit?

Rio

New Member
I read on intels website that the max memory supported is 32gb by the processor. so will that mean it will be useless to install anymore after that?
Im thinking since windows 8 is coming out soon it might be nice to be able to upgrade more than that overtime. Any ideas?
 
Seems to be correct as far as I can tell from 5 minutes of research.

Why would you need 32gb of RAM though?
 
That is the limit. It is not because of the processor though. Look at the DIMMs that it can use. DDR3 has 1,2,4,and 8 GB DIMMs and it only supports 4 slots. 8*4=32. It can not use more because the tech is not there. if they made 16GB dimms (DDR4 anyone?) then 64GB would be easy enough to get.
 
That is the limit. It is not because of the processor though. Look at the DIMMs that it can use. DDR3 has 1,2,4,and 8 GB DIMMs and it only supports 4 slots. 8*4=32. It can not use more because the tech is not there. if they made 16GB dimms (DDR4 anyone?) then 64GB would be easy enough to get.


Are you sure it’s not because of the processor? Look at the link below comparison of the 3820 vs 3770k, scroll down to Memory Specifications.
The 3820 supports up to 64GB DDR3 while the 3770k supports up to 32GB DDR3.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processor-comparison/comparison-chart.html
 
the 3820 supports more because of quad channel memory. 8*8=64. the 3700 series only has dual channel for a total of 4 dimms.
 
Like Wolfe said, the 3820 is a socket 2011 compared to socket 1155 for the 3770. You will not use more than 16GB, most likely, so it doesn't really matter.
 
Why would you need 32gb of RAM though?

Just for future upgradability, Most people seems to have at least 8 to 16gb Ram these days so another 16gb+ is not too far away for programs to start using. And windows 8 might also take advantage of whatever extra there is. I might be wrong but I’m a person that changes his comp every 5 years or so and like to have room to expand the ram when necessary.
 
I doubt anyone will have the need for that much memory in 5 years from now. Right now, 16gb would be max anybody would need, and thats if you do any type of video or audio editing, CAD work or anything of that nature.
 
So would I be better off buying a socket 2011 processor or a socket 1155 processor today? As I mentioned I’m looking for long term expandability and do not change out my PC every year.
 
They are both pretty dead right now. Meaning that there is one more release (IBe) on 2011 and no more releases on 1155. If you are trying for long term, just get 1155 and be happy. It is the best out right now for upgradability.
 
well if you are doing super intensive CAD or something that benefits from tons of cores then a 2011 system and 3930k would be great but for the money a 1155 board and 3570k is all you should need.
 
Just for future upgradability, Most people seems to have at least 8 to 16gb Ram these days so another 16gb+ is not too far away for programs to start using. And windows 8 might also take advantage of whatever extra there is. I might be wrong but I’m a person that changes his comp every 5 years or so and like to have room to expand the ram when necessary.

I'd be very surprised if you saw any everyday programs or games within the next few years that would require anything remotely close to 16gb, and windows 8 has about the same requirements as windows 7, as its really more of a ballsy UI change than anything else.

As someone said previously, unless you're doing some video editing or CAD, or running a few virtual machines, its not worth the extra money. Not up front anyways. I'd aim for getting better parts elsewhere in your build then maxing out the ram when you have more spare coin later.


We'll leave that up to you though, obviously.
 
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