Faster RAM -> Less battery life?

just choosing now 16GB ram set for my notebook, and decided to go with Kingston Hyper-X 1600MHz, until didn't find this review at amazon: Amazon.com: Robert S.'s review of Kingston HyperX Plug n Play 8 GB Kit (2x4G...

the person who did upgrade from 1333Mhz to 1600Mhz found that he got 45 minutes less battery life with his notebook.

any one here has the same experience? as performance boost from 1333 to 1600 almost not visible in real life (1-2 seconds shorter RAR/encoding timings per minute), but 45 minutes less battery life it's ALOT.

 

I wouldn't put much stock in some guy's review. Without mentioning the conditions of the test, and using a testing methodology that helps ensure all other parts of the equation are equal...

That being said, if the guy *did actually use the RAM at 1600MHz speeds* (consider that the "standard" speed for DDR3 is 1333MHz these days) that would force the processor and memory controller to use a little more energy sure...but I highly doubt its enough to cost 45 minutes of battery life. Maybe those extra MHz on the RAM enabled the processor to chew through data at fast enough a rate that the processor's SpeedStep decided to run the processor at a higher multiplier?

*shrug*

At this point though systems are "fast enough" as it is when it comes to memory. The differences between the two frequencies in terms of performance are only really seen in benchmarks. Quantity is much better than speed as far as DDR3 RAM is concerned, unless you are doing a task that you *know* the RAM throughput is the bottleneck for the system (can't really imagine anything off the top of head that could do this).

 

I don't think that review is accurate. I would expect the Macbook Pro to use the memory at the same speed it uses stock memory.

He could have lost some battery life by going from 4GB to 8GB but I would expect the difference to be less than 10 minutes.

 

Yeah, too many variables to know why he got 45 minutes less battery life.

It could even be a Mac problem/issue as he might not even have a cpu (quad core) that could properly take advantage of the higher speed (even though the Mac could report the speed - something like Win7x86 reporting greater than 4GB RAM but actually only using less than 3.75GB or less).

This is a good reason to always buy with as generous a return policy as you can find - if the part/component doesn't perform to your satisfaction in any way - simply return it (hopefully with no return fees).

Given that you have a Quad Core mobile cpu that properly supports the higher spec'd modules, I would go ahead and match/balance the components optimally. Sure, it may be only a few percent difference in performance - but it could be much more (for example: if you only have the igpu instead of a discrete gpu - the higher bandwidth modules (1600MHz) will give noticeably better performance).

Is it worth it? In my opinion, at the $64 price they are at now - they are worth trying at least.

Good luck.

 

Hehe i actually just ordered that exact kit from that exact link last night. I receive it on Friday, if you want i can test the battery life once i've put the new RAM in and let you know how it goes.

 

this will be great, as I still have some time before I'll order. also tell us your current one model and size.

 

Guys, this is an idea I came up with- I have 4 Two gig RAM modules, I never seem to use more than 2.2 GIG ram according to win 7 task mangler. Would there be any tangible benefit to removing 2 of the modules and just running on 4 GIG ram total? I run 50/50 AC - DC

 

When I upgraded from 4GB Elpida to 8GB Crucial I actually noticed an increase of 15 min to 20 min on my two year old 19% worn down battery. The RAM WEI index went from 5.9 to 6.3 ... like it matters, you can't tell the difference. The newer RAM chips supposedly require less power (not voltage) than the older generation. And the 7-7-7s are supposedly faster than the 9-9-9s and possibly require less power. Also if you went from two RAM sticks to four RAM sticks because you had to fill up all RAM slots you should expect a small decrease in battery lifetime.

 

You might get some more battery life. Why not test it.

 

It's for my M11x R3, currently has 6GB 1333MHz (1x2GB Hyundai, 1x4GB Samsung) with 9-9-9-24 timings.

Motherboard only supports 1333MHz so the HyperX (2x4GB) will get toggled down from 1600MHz to 1333MHz, but the timings SHOULD drop down to 8-8-8-22.

I'm hoping i'll see a slight performance increase with the better timings & full dual-channel config. My next upgrade will be an SSD, but that can wait. I only grabbed this RAM because at $64 it's a great deal and when i return to Australia in 10 days there's no way I'll find them for less than $110.

 

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/4G

here once more review, regarding battery life on MAC with these modules. he is also telling, that they run very HOT, what is also not so good for notebook, or it's only regarding MACbooks?

 

He didn't say they run hot, he said they made his LAPTOP run hot. He specifically mentioned that the fans were on all the time, which implies that something else was overheating.

It's possible that maybe the Macbook usually uses different voltages for the RAM? Because i know they have Mac-specific RAM so perhaps the motherboard was getting too hot trying to run @ 1.5V?

I'm not sure what his issue was, but i'm almost certain it wasn't a problem with the RAM.

 

Should have ordered them earlier mate, they've now gone up to $79!

 

My HyperX kit came in today, and they are awesome. The extra 2GB and faster timings (9-9-9-25 to 8-8-8-23) is nice, but i think the main difference i'm seeing is full dual-channel support instead of the partial i was getting with miss-matched sticks.

Overall i'm very happy, and glad i got them for $64 shipped.

 

The difference will be from the fact that you have more memory, the others don't make a noticeable real life benefit.

 

When I've never used more than 4GB of RAM, then no, going from 6GB to 8GB isn't going to be where my performance gains are.