A question about RAM

Hey guys. I have ordered a new m17x with 4gb 1333mhz ram. That is the least they provide for it as u all know. I actually have a pair of 1066mhz one 4gb and another one 2gb. Was wondering how they both stack up. Do u guys think I need to take the original out and put in the latter? Ho and those that I have are cas 7(according to cpuz).

 

the 1066 Ram may oc to 1333, of course your timings will increase as well. Of course this all depends on your memory brand etc.

But running 6 GB will improve the laptops performance depending on the application your running.

IMO More is better

I find dells memory is basic stuff, not really what I would call high end stuff. there is definitely faster Ram out there, with better OCing potential

 

If your M17x has 4GB of RAM, it will be using 2x 2GB sticks. There are only 2 RAM slots in the laptop, so if you want to put in your 4GB and 2GB 1066, you'll need to take out the existing memory first.

 

What is a good brand of ram for a M17X-R2? I am thinking of going to 8gb.

 

It doesn't usually make a lot of difference which brand of RAM you go for. Most of the memory on the market is pretty much the same, no matter who makes it. There are only a few things you need to watch for:

For i7 quad core processors:

• The best memory speed to get is DDR3-1333 (this is sometimes called PC3-10600, PC3-10660 or PC3-10666). Slower DDR3 RAM (e.g. 1066) should work, but it's best to get the fastest you can.
• Almost all of the memory at this speed has a CAS Latency of 9 (shown as CL9 or 9-9-9-24). However, if you can find lower CAS numbers for the capacity you want, you'll get slightly better memory performance.

For i5 and i7 dual core processsors:

• You can use any of the RAM above, and it will work just fine. You just won't be able to access the full speed capabilities.
• The optimum speed of RAM is DDR3-1066 / PC3-8500.
• Most RAM at this speed has CAS Latency 7 (CL7 or 7-7-7-20). You may be able to find RAM that has lower numbers, e.g. Kingston HyperX is CL5.

NewEgg has a reasonable range of 1066 and 1333 RAM.

For those who don't know what they mean, the speed and CAS numbers indicate how quickly you can get information between your processor and memory.

The speed rating indicates how fast the computer talks to the memory. The speed is measured in MHz, and faster is better. For DDR3 memory, this number is then multiplied by 8 and rounded in order to get the PC3 number. This is why DDR3-1333 can have 3 different PC3 values, depending on how the numbers are rounded.

The CAS Latency number indicates how many clock cycles takes a given instruction to complete, and smaller numbers are better. If you have DDR3-1333 memory with a CAS Latency of 9, it takes 9 clock cycles out of 1333 million to complete an instruction. While most DDR3-1066 memory has has a CAS Latency of 7, it's running at a slower speed so the total amount of time needed to complete an instruction is roughly the same.

All of this means that for any given computer, the best RAM to get is the fastest that the CPU/motherboard will handle, with the lowest CAS Latency. This will almost always get you good quality RAM, and the cheapest/nastiest manufacturers generally don't make the fastest memory.

 

nzgeek, thank you

what would the difference between this to specs be, I am sure not noticeable but which would be rated faster?

9-9-9-24 (GSKILL)
vs
9-9-9-20 (OCZ)

 

Thanks guys. I am aware my m17x will have 2 ram modules with 2gb each. So I will take it out and put mine in. Was not sure if I would find any difference. Now things look positive. Will see as soon as I get my system next week and report back.

 

In theory, the 9-9-9-20 will be faster. I'm not sure exactly what all of the numbers mean, but I do know that smaller is better, and 20 < 24. I'd go with the OCZ.

 

Thank you nzgeek.

 

@nzgeek
As you said if most 1066mhz rams are cas 7 and as cas 7 is better than 9. If Ian able to oc my ram to 1333mhz as Dave said will that mean it's still cas 7 and 1333mhz?? That will be great isn't it??

 

Good explaination nzgeek,

FWIW, I'm using the GSkill 1333 8GB RAM kit from New egg. Although I got it back in Nov/Dec when it was still $450+ It's served me well though. I like to multitask alot, especially when working on projects.

 

I OC my stock ram pretty well. I got a WEI of 7.7 for ram.

 

I don't know quite how the CAS latency is affected when you OC the RAM. It's possible that it will increase along with the clock speed, meaning you don't end up gaining anything. But it's also possible that the CAS will stay the same, and you'll end up better off.

If the CAS stays the same, then I guess that congrats are in order on your speedier RAM .

 

Will check it as soon as I get mine. Hoping for the best. ))

 

Cas 7 is better than Cas 9, Thee numbers the lower the numbers the less amount of clock cycles the computer has to wait for memory access.

Typically if you OC a DIMM the timings may have to be adjusted to avoid timing errors (BSODs) etc. but increasing the Ram speed from 1066 to 1333 or higher makes up for the increased timings