1066 vs 1333?

im thinking about buyin myself a M15x sometime in the near future. Im not an expert by any means, but I have been reading over the past months to better familiarize myself with what im getting into.

at this point, im looking at going for a M15x with the i7 720 processor, the 260m graphics card and the upgraded screen. my questions revolves around what RAM i should go for. Obviously ill be getting at least 4gb but i want to ask you guys if i would be better off going with 6GB at 1066 or 4 GB at 1333.

I will be using this laptop as a casual gamer, but mainly to serve as a fast desktop replacement that will be easily upgradable and last me for several years. would someone care to explain to me the difference performance wise between the 1066 and 1333 ram. also what would i be better off with for everyday tasks, higher frequency or more RAM. from what i have read, i am leaning towards more RAM but id like some other opinions. Thanks in advance.

 

1333 is faster and the M15x does make use of it. its an easy call on this one.

 

so go with the 1333 then? what kind of difference will i be looking at if i go for 6 GB at 1333 over 4GB 1333? thanks for the quick reply

 

Well the ram wont work as it should in dual channel mode unles you have two chips that are the same size. I personally would go with the 1333 ram over the 6gb which is most likely a 4gb and 2gb chip..

 

yes you should get 1333, 4gb should be all you need, unless you do alot of vm' and video coding then 8gb is better.

 

hey thanks for the quick responses guys +1 rep for both of you.

 

@kilthro i read on this forum a few weeks ago that the new alienware computers can run non identical RAM sticks in dual channel mode.

Can anyone confirm or refute this for me. Thanks.

 

When talking memory speed you must also consider latency.

 

^^
is the expert lol!!!

 

I found the link i was reading.

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/320765.pdf

the part i am citing is 2.3.1.2.2

i talks about dual channel assymetric mode. can anyone clarify this

 

Originally Posted by Jstarnino View Post
Ok seems like there is much confusion about this topic... so let me clear things up for you:

1. Obviously if you have identical memory chipsets, you have nothing to worry about, your running in dual channel mode.
2. Soccertheirry and anyone else who is feeling disappointed... Don't Be! Although many people will tell you that you need two exact memory chipsets to achieve dual channel mode, this is not always the case. MOST newer motherboards, including the one the M15x and M17x uses, Support a feature called FLEX mode. What this does is even if you have diffrent memory speeds, it uses the lower one for dual channel mode, and even if you have diffrent size memory sticks, it again uses the lower one for dual channel mode as well. So in our case ( 1x2gb @ 1333mhz and 1x 4gb @ 1333mhz) will be running 4gb @ 1333mhz in dual channel mode, and the remainding 2gbs in single channel mode.

So NO we did not waste our money, as we indeed have 4gbs running in dual channel mode, PLUS and extra 2 gigs running in single...

Also note, tests have shown that dual channel memory does not DOUBLE the speed of your ram like the name suggest...but rather results have shown a 5% increase in everyday applications, and as much as a 15% increase in ram intensive programs.

So all of you who have bought 6gb @ 1333mhz... i'd say we have a little advantage over the 4gb systems (ram wise). And also, it'll be cheaper to upgrade to 8gb of ram in the future since we only have to buy 1 stick of 4gb @ 1333mhz...

Whoever doesn't believe me do a quick wikipedia or google searchand you will see... as for a fast proof, all those with 6gbs of ram run Cpu-z, and click on the Memory tab, and it will indeed, show "Dual Channel".

Hope This helps...

 

Thanks for the clarification..

I just went all out and got 8GB lol and got done with it..lol