Should I pay more for 8GB RAM? (Dell XPS 17 - L702X)

Should I pay more for 8GB RAM? (Dell XPS 17 - L702X)?
Here the details:
Windows 7 ultimate 64-bit
Processor 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz I72630Q [317-6210]
2
Memory 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory 8G2D133 [317-6204]
3
Keyboard Backlit Keyboard - English BCKLITE [331-1414]
4
LCD 17.3" FHD (1080p) with 2.0MP HD Webcam 1080FHD [320-2538]
[421-3642]
[421-3874]
5
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus 555MUS [320-1980]
[320-1987]
6
Hard Drive 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 500GG72 [342-2248]
8
Color Elemental Silver Aluminum ALUMLAN [318-0428]
10
Integrated Network Adapter Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card INTNIC [430-4038]
13
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9 ADOBER [410-1883]
15
CD ROM/DVD ROM 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) DVDRW [318-0427]
[318-0434]
16
Sound JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3 JBLSND [318-0138]
17
Wireless Plus Bluetooth Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6230 and Bluetooth 3.0 IN6230 [317-6214]
19
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook ISTART [410-0487]
22
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 30-Day Trial MCPT30D [410-9452]
25
Battery 92 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 9BAT [312-1182]
27

I want it for HIGH~ULTRA gaming, and I will connect it to FHD 32' LED TV 2MS....

Is 8GB too much? or 6GB/4GB is good?

 

Your GPU is going to limit your gaming before your memory does, even at 4GB or 6GB. If you just want 8GB anyways, the going price for an 8GB kit (2 x 4GB) is about $80 these days; if Dell is charging you significantly more for an upgrade, consider upgrading yourself.

 

+1

For card info:

NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Its a nice card, but it depends on the resolution you are playing it (SC2?) at.

 

I had 4,6 & 8gb I saw no difference in gaming at all even video editing maybe in the future it will help but as other posts said your bottleneck will be gpu and pc way before memory will affect performance,theres sales online for 8gb 69.99 79.99 etc for hi perf mem,the single biggest upgrade you can do is an ssd...My pc feels like an animal with an ssd Ive never seen anything that made such a drastic impact,the prices are dropping also.Good luck with whatever you choose. Plus 1 to comander and sj

 

True- you do not need more than 8GB unless you are doing many thing at one time which are memory intensive tasks. Stick to 4GB yourself and get a 8Gb kit from NewEgg or ebay for a significant sum less than Dell. Dell earn more money by selling upgrades to customers...

 

So, if my GPU has 3GB for example, and my RAM will be 4GB, so it will be 7GB together?

Can you give me a link for 8GB RAM? (from Ebay or ...)

I will use as I said, MAX settings, and FHD. Will it work good with 4GB?

Can you give me some links for ssd and 8gb?

Can you give me links for 8GB? *************And another question... can I use 8GB ram with 1600Mhz?? because for example, Alienware M14X has the same details, except the ram, 1600mhz.

 

Here is NewEgg's selection of DDR3 laptop memory in 8GB (2x4GB) capacities. Personally, I'd never pay for the extra memory from the computer manufacturer--it's a complete rip-off vs. what the end user can buy on his/her own from reliable e-tailers.

 

SDD will be smart? 1600Mhz??

 

I think you are getting a bit too concerned with RAM. Granted it does help, but it all depends on what you are doing. If you are gaming, RAM does help, but don't forget you have other things - GPU - being one of them that does play a big part in this.

Also, in this case, the GT555 has it own dedicated memory. So it doesn't share any, nor does it give any back to the main system.

Please forgive me if I go down to basics, but...
Think of RAM as a big table - the bigger the table, the more you can have open at once, or the more you can do stuff at once.

 

Some video editing programs are starting to utilize more RAM. Power Director 9, 64 bit version takes advantage of more memory. You need it when you start working with high def video.

PowerDirector 9 - World 1st 64-bit consumer video editing software

I tried out their free download. It's very snappy when editing hi def videos. Just make sure you update your latest video drivers. The program was crashing a lot until I updated the drivers for my video card on my Dell Desktop 9100. The program ran great after that. It's a nice consumer video editing program.

 

Are you serious... about that thing of RAM *I KNOW* I just want to know if its enough for gaming (Any game on the highest settings) (Does 1600Mhz is better for gaming then 1333Mhz)

 

waffle,I got a vertex2 120gb for booting and main programs on new egg they sent me a shell shocker and a 50.00 off coupon I paid 130.oo!!!!Best investment ever!I went from wei hdd 5 to 7.9 and as far as feel and real world use its indescribable how fast my lappy is with the ssd,prices are dropping now that new ram and controllers for next gent 6g ssds in a month they will drop.And they have 1600 mhz ram cl 9 hi perf for 99.00 before discount.

 

And on a side note I have a brand new Alienware m17x max out specs and I tried higher ram clocks timing etc its a slight difference Trust me,If your not editing heavy video save your money.It used to be the best upgrade for real world performance,that was before 4 and 6 core procs and when 2 gb was alo,t adding another 2 for a 4 gb total was huge.Today the single biggest upgrade you can do is an ssd PERIOD! If prices per gb were closer to mechanical platter hdd no one would ever buy one,once the ssd prices drop and the sizes go up Mechanical hdds are going to be gone like the floppy!LOL

 

Ok, but it will improve the game's fps? (ssd and 1600Mhx)

 

I did warn you and I am sorry if I offended you any.

If you are supporting the fact that you want 8GB then get 8GB, but in the end you should buy it 3rd party. It won't help FPS much, if any. The SSD HD will help more IMHO.

 

So... I will buy with the laptop 4GB... and then, at Ebay or Newegg or even Amazon, I will order 8GB. Tell me, 1600Mhz will work on the laptop?

 

Dell offered an upgrade from 6gb to 8gb for me was $60 bucks. I bought 8gb on newegg for $80

 

Ok, but can I put 1600Mhz?

 

Check the motherboard on your laptop...it will tell you the max speed of ram it can handle...i think the l702x can only take up to 1333 mhz so 1600 would be pointless as it would only run at 1333 mhz

 

Core i5 Arrandale CPU's will only go up to 1066 Mhz. In the case of the OP's laptop, the core i7 CPU's will go up to 1333 Mhz.

As far as RAM, my SXPS 1647 came with 3 GB of RAM. I upgraded it myself to the max of 8 GB and I did notice a big difference in the overall responsiveness of my system. It didn't help with gaming in any way that I can tell, but I did get a benefit from the upgrade.

I would personally suggest the increase in memory. RAM prices are very cheap right now and there might not be a better time to do it if you have the spare cash.

 

If I order the one with just 4GB, why can't I just order 1 stick of 4gb and put it in the open DIMM when the laptop comes in for a total of 8GB? Why do you have to order the 2X4GB pair from newegg instead of just an extra 4GB? Do the 2 memories have to be the exact same MFG, etc? Thanks for any help!

-LW