RAM Upgrade

spirit

spirit

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I am currently on 8GB RAM at the moment and for the most part it's nice, but I want to upgrade because I like to run virtual machines and sometimes even with 8GB RAM I am kind of hitting the ceiling a bit.

At the moment I have 4x2GB 1333MHz DDR3 and I was wondering if it would better to upgrade to 3x4GB 1333MHz DDR3 to make 12GB or 4x4GB to make 16GB. I have a Core i5 760 and I'm not sure if this supports 1600MHz or not, but it's running happily with 1333MHz at the moment so I'm going to assume the RAM I buy will be 1333MHz. I have an ASUS P7P55D-E motherboard by the way. OS is Windows 7 Ultimate x64 by the way.

16GB of G-Skill RipJaws stuff (1333MHz DDR3) costs £79.96 but 12GB of generic RAM (yeah G-Skill don't do a 12GB kit nor do any other vendors??) costs only £50.94. 16GB of the generic RAM is £67.92. Budget isn't too much of a worry for me.

So for virtual machines and video editing software (Vegas, Premiere etc) would 12GB or 16GB be best?

thanks.
 
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you will need either 12 via 2x4 with 2x2 or 16 by 4x4. You need matched sets to preserve dual channel performance.

For VM, I would say 16GB.
 
Thanks for your input, 16GB it is then I think! Guessing 16GB would also be better for the future-proofing.
 
1333MHz is the "maximum" but the CPU can easily support anything up to 2133MHz if the board supports it. 1600MHz CAS9 is the average speed these days.
 
I'm wondering if upgrading to an 1155/Sandy-Bridge i5 or i7 and getting a new motherboard with 16GB RAM would be worth the money, as it seems to me like 1156 is an obsolete socket.
 
its only 1 generation older than 1155. 1155 is 1156 replacement, and LGA2011 is the replacement for LGA1366.
I would only upgrade if your current system is feeling weak to you.
 
Yeah I've decided to keep with the i5 760. I will be upgrading to 16GB RAM though and sorry in another post I said I already had an ASUS P7P55D-E motherboard I actually have a Foxconn H55M-S at the moment and I am looking to purchase a P7P55D-E so I get SATA III.
 
It would be better to get a SATA 6 Gb/s controller card. If you have OEM windows (likely), replacing teh motherboard will inviladate your warranty, costing you another 100+ to fix.
 
wolfeking said:
It would be better to get a SATA 6 Gb/s controller card.
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It's not an option I'm afraid, my dual-slot GTS 450 covers up my one and only PCIe x1 slot. This is my current board http://www.foxconnchannel.com/Upload/Mainboard/201004151056270381_H55M-S_left.jpg as you can see the PCI Express slot which my graphics card sits in is right above the PCIe x1 slot, so a dual-slot card, like mine, covers up the PCIe x1 slot. I can't find any SATA III controller cards for the older PCI interface either, only PCIe x1. It's a major fault with the board's design I have to say, and as a result of this I will be staying away from mATX boards in the future and try to get ATX if possible. Believe me I was pretty annoyed when I found out that my graphics card covered up the one and only PCIe x1!

wolfeking said:
replacing teh motherboard will inviladate your warranty, costing you another 100+ to fix.
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I would just reinstall Windows 7, my product key hasn't been used at all for a while now so it should activate over the internet fine. I would have to reinstall anyway because I would enable AHCI in the BIOS for the SATA, and you have to reinstall the OS if you enable AHCI. My copy of Windows 7 (Ultimate SP1 x64) was bought and downloaded from Microsoft TechNet by the way.

FuryRosewood said:
only if you are using a SSD with a sata III controller setup
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I am using a 128Gig Crucial M4 SSD, I believe this is a SATA III SSD? I have it on SATA II here right now and although it's not slow, it would be nice to make it faster.

My signature is a little out of date, I have changed various components in both my PCs since I wrote that signature.
 
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Yeah I looked on dabs and I found I can buy a new ASUS P7P55D-E LX motherboard for £95 and a Corsair Vengeance or G.Skill RipjawsZ 16GB RAM upgrade (1600MHz DDR3) for £70, so I think that's the route I'll take.
 
What I was saying is that your windows key won't be valid if you have OEM windows. Its only valid on your original motherboard. Only a direct replacement (same part numbers) will keep your windows activated legally.
 
wolfeking said:
What I was saying is that your windows key won't be valid if you have OEM windows. Its only valid on your original motherboard. Only a direct replacement (same part numbers) will keep your windows activated legally.
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Yeah I knew about this so I knew I'd have to reinstall 7.
 
reinstalling won't legally help. M$ keeps records of the type of Mobo that was first used with your license. If you have a new motherboard, you have to buy a new license. There is no easy way around it.
 
I have a question regarding 12GB RAM - if I had 2x 4GB sticks and 2x 2GB would I still get dual-channel performance (inserted correctly in the motherboard) or do I only get dual-channel performance if all the sticks are identical?
 
you will still get dual channel performance. Both banks of DIMMs do not have to be identical, but both DIMMs have to be identical.
 
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