G73 - Extra ram, or extra overclock?

So, I am at a bit of a dillema, and would like some feedback.

Recently, i bought a 4GB stick to go in my forth slot in my G73, for a total of 10GB. However, the overclocking thread recently got me thinking again, and i gave it another try. What i came up with is this:

With the stock 3x2GB sticks, i can hit a 165 FSB, yielding 1950Mhz (setCPU reported) on the CPU.
With the 4GB stick in (or even replacing a 2GB stick, keeping only 3 sticks in the system), the best i can do is get the CPU to a setCPU reported speed of 1800. The 4GB stick basically refuses to clock, at all.

The 10GB was nice, but i am starting to think that the trade-off i will get in games, will make more of an impact than the extra memory does when i am working in Photoshop/Lightroom (25MP raw images).

With that said, i am curious what others would do. The 4Gb stick isn't a huge loss, as it only cost $32, and i am sure i could resell it. But i would like some sanity check opinions before i do anything..

 

I would go for the 10gb.

 

Overclocking FTW. No game will require 10gb of RAM and I have 8gb which is more than any computer will need.

 

Personally I'd take the OC bc all that extra ram is useless for most applications. However, I believe you loose the turboboost feature when you oc our chips, so basically you trade the ability to a single core run at 2.8ghz for the ability to have 4 cores at 1950 MHz. Since I run few applications that require all four cores, loosing turbo is a big deal. If this is true, I would take 10gb of ram over a 350mhz oc that costs me turboboost.

 

I haven't seen anything about losing turbo boost at all - have a link or anything? In use, all of my programs report higher turbo-boosted speeds, and the overclocking threads i have seen report people talking about their max turbo speeds as well. No, i dont think we lose that (but feel free to prove me wrong!).

Anyway, two replys for OC, and two "votes" for ram. Good times..

 

Can i vote again........

 

For a gaming laptop i would say OC is the way, but since you also use it to work, then more memory is the obvious answer

 

I'd go for OC.

6 is more than sufficient and 10gb RAM is overkill unless you're doing some heavy video/graphics editing.

 

I honestly don't know of it does or doesn't, I tried to explain that. I do know that TwinTurbo (which is 5mhz oc) reduces performance by disabling turboboost. I'd love to see a screen shot showing your settings. If you oc doesn't disable turboboost then definitely go for the oc. The ram isn't very useful. If it works for you with turbo boost I may have to try ut myself.

 

My CPU-Z looks very similar to the ones shown here, which report a higher turbo-boost value.. :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...lete-guide-overclock-your-asus-g73jw-etc.html

 

Ok you convinced me. Do you know what it is has done to your CPU temps? You've given me my next project. Thanks.

 

Im not sure what my temps were, but i know after a full run of wPrime, the highest reported temp (sitting on my lap) was 72C..

 

So, it looks like this is what i get:

When all 4 cores are going fully, i get a setting of 14x150, giving 2100Mhz - as reported by Intel's tool, this would normally be the 1.87 Turbo boost speed. I have to say, just looking at that, i would keep the overclock, and just be more careful with memory bogging programs like CS5.

With my 165FSB overclock (1950 non boosted, 2100 boosted), i get a wPrime 1024 time of 507.9 ; stock clocks i get: 644....

 

I hope its not bad form, but i did one more set of benchmarks, and am seeing just how useful the CPU overclock is, compared to some extra ram...screenshots attached.

Looking at all the numbers, its *almost* like getting a 920XM for free (sans the extra cache)...

 

speaking of adobe, i'm using cs4 right now and enabled something that makes the render faster (since my g73's a 740qm and has 6gb of ram). small files are easy to do. but the big ones like say 9ft. by 4ft. takes awhile to save. is this normal? i do gaming, but i also need ram( i think). is it a good idea to add 2gb more of ram to improve performance? what's the bottle neck for this kind of problem?

 

The OC is useless, as is the 6 to 10gb bump in ram. At least, for 98% of the applications out there.

 

what if i had a 920xm to accompany that 10gb.. will the outcome be the same?

 

Of course not!

 

Can a third choice be added - none of the above - I want an SSD..
I am still learning about gaming laptops, but it seems to me if you want a machine to last why would you ever OC? Anyway interesting discussion and it tells me never buy a used gaming laptop if you can afford a new one.

 

how so?

i'm gonna be upgrading 3 laptop RAMs.

an acer 4763, 2gb to 4gb
a toshiba n505, 1gb to 2gb (or 4? is it possible?)
and my g73jh, 6gb to 8gb (since 10 is not a good choice for a 740qm)

how does putting ram work?

the g73 has 1 slot more, i could easily add 2gb. but is it better to buy 4gb instead and put the other 2gb in the acer (which has 2 slots)?

 

after 4-6GB, ram doesnt add any performance in games, but i think clock speed is always good as long as you dont overheat

 

Personally trade in the 4GB for a 2GB stick and up it to 8Gb and then O/c. Thats what I did problem solved. My Memory is currently running at 750-770 with my FSB at 163mhz stable.