4GB vs 8GB - Does it make a difference?

I'm going to be ordering this laptop shortly:

Newegg.ca - ASUS G Series G53JW-XN1 NoteBook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M

A fairly powerful gaming laptop with 4GB of RAM. However, they offer a deal with it to provide 8GB of RAM for a little more money (2 4GB sticks).

I've usually always gone with 4GB of RAM in my computers since it was considered the "sweet spot" in the past. But it's been a few years since then, and now I'm wondering if I should take the deal a bump it up to 8GB instead. Since I will be gaming on it with today's games, will going up to 8GB over 4GB make a difference these days? Or would the difference be negligible at best and I should perhaps save the money?

 

there are alot of threads like this. but in short it will make minimal difference 1-3% in games at most

 

8GB won't help with gaming directly. It can definitely help if you routinely heavily multitask, like leaving a browser with multiple tabs open and then starting a game.

 

Can you go up an extra $200? That laptop uses a previous-generation processor, which is more of a bottleneck than memory.

Sager NP8130 (Built on Clevo P151HM1) XOTIC PC

- Scroll down to select an OS
- Highly recommend the 95% gamut display for just another $30 - if you don't get it now you can't opt in later

The GPU in this laptop is a bit better by a small margin, the processor is a lot better, and it comes with 8GB RAM automatically (though you don't necessarily need it)

Final price: $1289

 

That's what I figured, I just wanted to check since it's been some time since I last checked and the technology has evolved a bit.

What I can do though is probably look at getting this instead:

Newegg.ca - ASUS G Series G53SW-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M

Extra $100 gives a better CPU, 6GB RAM and the same 460M GPU. And it's still within Canadian borders so I don't have to go overboard with shipping.

 

its definitely worth the 100 to upgrade from 740qm to 2630qm.

 

what are the graphics options for that machine? You might be happier with a mid-range cpu and a faster discrete graphics chip if gaming is your target usage.

 

Only if you run virtual machines or routinely edit 30 megapixel photos or 4K video on your computer. Otherwise, 4GB is plenty.

 

In any case 8GB is so cheap anymore, if it costs more than $40 to upgrade to 8GB from the OEM, then buy two 8GB yourself that can be found for as little as $50, normally $60-70.

 

For me 6GB is the sweet spot.

There will only be a 3 - 6% difference is gaming performance defending if you're on Discrete (3%) or IGP (up to 6%) with Async Dual Channel non paired memory sticks and nothing that can be noticed with desktop applications.

However, I still recommend buying two new sticks (4GB + 2GB) from the same manufacturer (same part number just different in size) even for Async Dual Channel.