Sager NP8170 8 GB RAM 2 SODIMMS vs 4 SODIMMS

So, my guess is a "SODIMM" is a RAM slot and your computer works faster if you have all SODIMMS filled equally (I read that somewhere). So, there are two options for the Sager NP8170: 8 GB RAM 2 SODIMMS (2x4GB, right?), and 8 GB RAM 4 SODIMMS (4x2GB, I guess). So.... why is 4 SODIMMS $50 cheaper than 2 SODIMMS? Isn't it better to have 4 SODIMMS? Whatever- I'm not very knowledgeable in this topic and if someone could help out I'd be grateful.

 

In terms of performance, it won't make a difference. What exactly are the prices? 4x2GB sticks should be far cheaper than 2x4GB sticks, since 4GB are still fairly expensive. 2 SODIMMs are better since you can always upgrade to two more in the future. Then again if you don't utilize the memory, then you won't notice any benefit...

 

2 SODIMMS is standard and 4 SODIMMS is -50$

 

If those are the only two options, I'd keep the 2x4GB. Can you not downgrade to anything else?

 

I have 4X2GB sticks too and really there is no issue. The bigger memory modules cost a lot and i remember 4X8G modules in Presicion M6500 costing 8K+++. So get the smaller size.

 

I'd go for the bigger size, in the case you ever want to upgrade to 10GB, 12GB, 14GB or 16GB then you can always do so with the bigger modules.

Unless you got a laptop with 4 slots and 2 of them were already occupied by 2x2GB ram then it's obvious 4x2GB would be better in those situations.

 

The laptop has 4 slots but I certainly won't ever be upgrading it- 8GB is enough for the next three years, right? I definitely won't be upgrading anything. I'm going to go with the 4 x 2GB because I save $50.

 

8GB should be more than enough to last you though all of Windows 7 and Windows 8. If this is the case and you're fixed on 8GB then 4x2GB would be a good choice to save some bucks.

 

Baloney,

You want to save $50 over 3 years (estimated) use of your machine? If you do need to upgrade the RAM during that time the best way would be to replace/sell your existing modules and put 4x new ones - I think you could easily negate your savings, don't you?

Of course, it depends on what you're doing with your system. What is it used for? What is the total cost of the machine? Is it the latest SNB platform (seems highly probable)?

Assuming Win7x64, an 'adequate' SNB platform/processor and the usage required of this machine (of course), I would be looking to spend $50 more to put in 16GB RAM instead - especially when the % to the total price of the system is/might be negligible?

Looking forward to your answers to my questions.

 

tilleroftheearth:

My system will be used for everything you can think of: Photoshop/Illustrator, schoolwork (ex. browsing internet, Word), watching HD/Blu-Ray movies, and hardcore gaming. Since I am a 14-year-old my dad is buying this and my budge is exactly $2,250. I already configured it with IC Diamond, Windows 7 Home Premium, 2760QM i7, GTX 580M, Intel 6300 WiFi, and now I need to figure out what to do with the RAM. And 16 GB RAM is an extra $100, a $100 that I simply can't afford because I'm already over-budget.

 

I strongly suggest you get 8GB. Its more then enough for anything. I've got 8GB RAM and i do the same things as you and i've nver used more then 4GB. I will also suggest you get the AMD 6990M to save yourself some cash. Its also just as good and even better in some cases.

 

Baloney, thanks for the additional info.

As suggested by TomJG90 - consider a different GPU to save money. How much is the IC Diamond worth? Consider doing without (for now - sign up and get a free tube from this forum, btw...) - any thermal paste they use will be more than good enough for a few months. With a $2.2K budget, a 4GB or 8GB RAM powered system is a crime - especially with the type of work you want to be doing on this system.

Go with 16GB RAM even if you have to downgrade other things like the WiFi card (for example, WiFi card performance variances are smaller than local environmental variances - given current generation cards).

I know, people will say you're only 14 yrs old - you don't need 16GB RAM - 4/8 is enough (you have the time to wait...), but what you're effectively doing is buying a sports car and putting Wal-Mart tires on it. Sure, you'll still go fast - but not as fast or efficiently or directly (lots of skidding/HDD thrashing!!!) as 16GB RAM will allow (or for the right car: proper Z-Rated Michelins will allow - such as the Pilot® Sport PS2, for eg.).


Not that $100 is the very best deal you can get on 16GB memory - but it is more than a fair price to get from Day1 of your system (complete with warranty from the manufacturer...).

The performance difference in PS alone can be from 50-1000% faster (depending on what you're doing, of course) even with the same cpu/gpu config. Even at the not so impressive 50% performance increase: we're still talking almost two cpu generations difference in performance.

To save $100 right now over the next three years is like hitting yourself in the head, imo. Especially considering the overall cost of the system and your intended usage - which will only get more intense over time.

4GB RAM was fine for my usage patterns before Feb 2007 (using PS, as you are starting out too) - but after that date, with Vista x64, 8GB has been the minimum for 4+ years. SNB's minimum is 16GB with Win7x64. The O/S uses it, PS uses it and as a power user (which I get a feeling you're going to be - getting used to systems like this from 14yrs old... ) you'll use it too.


One more point to keep in mind (just as important as the RAM, imo): if your system has two drive bays - make sure that the wiring and the connectors are present and correctly connected to allow you to drop an SSD/HDD combo in the future. (Just because a manufacturer sells a two drive bay notebook, doesn't mean they automatically put the proper wiring/connectors in place... buyer beware).

See:
64-Bit: Benchmarks With 4 GB To 16 GB : Memory Upgrade: Is It Time To Add More RAM?

Hope this has helped a little.

 

I can't get a different GPU: I need PhysX and CUDA. Also, what's with the 4 GB RAM? There isn't even an option for 4 GB. The options are 8, 12, or 16. And, everybody, I will never be putting in new components in my notebook. I wouldn't worry if they put the right connectors in- I never open my computers- I just get new ones when stuff gets old. I don't like to mess around inside the computer- I'm too afraid I will damage something for two reasons. 1. I'm 14. 2. I'm known as a computer serial killer. I killed my first desktop when I was 7- I don't even know what happened but I downloaded a bunch of screen savers. I killed my second desktop when I was 9- I was the person who used it most and one day it just wouldn't start. We called in a technician who fixed it but when I was 10 I killed it again- for good this time. I killed my laptop when it was only 2 years old- it got hard drive damage and LCD damage for some reason. So, for some reason, any computer I touch gets broken, and, this never happens to my parents, who have 5 or 6 year old computers that are still working. That's why I'm really afraid of messing with computers now. So, I will never be upgrading my notebook as I feel the components it already has in it are certainly enough for the next three years.

 

The IC Diamond is only $40. It couldn't hurt, especially since I had had some overheating problems with my last laptop.

 

Baloney,

@ $40, the ICD is hurting you - especially when you don't want to open up the computer once you buy it.

For the usage scenario you gave: 16GB is not a lot (let alone overkill) for the (reasonable) $100 extra as currently configured - especially when considered against the performance increase you'll see in PS over the life of the system.

Skip the ICD and put in 2x4GB sticks instead (if you really must save as much as possible right now - it still gives you the option to add another 2x4GB sticks painlessly in the future - let your dad do it if you're worried about killing your system...), but don't spend money where you won't get any significant performance benefit (1 or 2 degrees difference won't make or solve an 'overheating' problem on a modern system).

Just like you know you can't get an different GPU (for good reason), you also need to be just as aware that your usage scenario will demand 16GB RAM and also the possibility of having a two drive setup (if possible) - even if you can't set it up yourself before you're 17 yrs old.

Keep in mind that I spent similar $$$ to you almost 5 yrs ago - but with O/S , RAM and HDD/SSD upgrades, I am still using it at a much lesser cost (overall) than the price of a new system or two (the way you're thinking). More importantly, the performance is still more than sufficient to keep me not only productive, but profitable too.

Hope you're not one of those kids that think that $2K systems are 'disposable', after a while?

(3 yrs is not that long...).

 

Personally, I know you're into hardcore gaming per a prior post, but I would try to make the system more balanced. At $2,250, I got this in an NP8170

Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM
- SAGER Sale!!! - $100 OFF When you spend $1500* or more! (*excludes accessories, shipping, non Sager items & taxes) NP8150 & NP8170 Only - Confirmation of discount will be provided after Order Processing
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R506)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2R201)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU - S3R452)
- No Video Adapter
- 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R365)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S5R055)
- 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S6R062)
- Raid 0 Stripe Enabled (Requires 2 or 3 Hard Drives. Combines Hard Drives for performance)
- 6X Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special! (SKU - S7P557)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- Sager 3 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support - Special! (SKU - S9P211)
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- Standard Production Time
- No Xotic PC Gear

Total: $2,233.01.

What's important to know is that we all go nuts for the cpu, etc., but we forget to put due performance in the storage (which is the bottleneck since we can't rotate the platters fast enough to remove the storage bottleneck). Personally, this would be my idea of the ideal all-around machine. Good gamer, fast on all elements, and under $2,250.

Jason

 

My dad said this computer is for three years, and then he's buying me a new one. What am I going to do - say I don't want a new one because the old one is still working fine? It's not like I'm spending money on the computer.

 

Tell your dad to read this thread of yours...

And yes, that is exactly what you should say.

If you buy a new computer simply because a time limit is up - yes, you are spending money on computers... unnecessarily.

 

DON'T FORGET TAX!! The computer's price is actually limited to $2,100 now because I forgot that I have a big sales tax here in NJ.

560M? I honestly hope you're joking. That is a medieval video card- I won't be able to play new games at maximum settings with it. I want a cream of the crop video card. Why in the world would I want RAID? As if that is going to make my games run faster. And those SSDs, too! Useless. I don't care about the hard drive- it doesn't affect performance, it only affects load time. Paying an extra $300 or whatever you did for those hard drives is ridiculous. It's just going to make stuff load a few seconds faster. And I'm thinking more NP8150 now; 17-inch is a little too big I think. There is a huge benchmark difference between the 2630QM and 2720QM. Here is what I'm thinking of:
Display 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display featuring 95% NTSC Color Gamut in Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080) [$65.00]
Video & Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory [$495.00]
CPU Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz) [$60.00]
Thermal Compound Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded )
Memory 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 X 4GB [$90.00]
Primary Hard Disk Drive 500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software [$80.00]
Wireless Network Card Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$35.00]
Total Price: $2,164 + tax= something like $2,300- a little over budget but I may be able to find some stray money in the sofa

P.S. That's an NP8150, by the way, I think I'll go with a 15-inch computer. I saw a 17-incher the other day and realized how huge they were.

 

16GB of RAM is overkill for almost all applications, if you really needed it then you'd probably know already and wouldn't be asking here. I'd just go with 8GB.

As for not wanting to fiddle with computers, if you're afraid of "killing" it so you get another computer then there really is nothing to lose by opening it up. Upgading RAM or a hard drive really isn't the hard provided you don't surprise projectile vomit on it or something along the lines.

 

Photoshop can use a lot of RAM, but unless your doing a lot of editing at the same time, 8 gb should be enough. I would get 4x2gb because you're not likely to need an upgrade in 3 years. If you ever do, you could always buy 4gb sticks, which should, by the time you actually need the upgrade, be significantly cheaper.

 

Get 2x4GB and then buy yourself another 2x4GB and enjoy 16GB of RAM haha

Yeah, you probably won't see a difference between 8 and 16GB but it's a fairly cheap upgrade and in the future you may want more.

 

Exactly, just get 2x4 for the time being and then get another 2 sticks in the future should you find that you do manage to max 8GB out. DDR3 is only going to get cheaper in the next year or so untill they release DDR4.

 

If you're buying a Sager a few tips:

Don't get IC Diamond from Sager, buy a tube yourself. It's very easy to replace the thermal paste in these machines. I paid for it and they still botched it up and had to repaste it myself anyhow. 30 minute job.

Not sure why you'd have to pay sales tax, there's lots of resellers and XoticPC is not in NJ so no need to pay sales tax.

Request the reseller to omit RAM altogether and buy you're own. XoticPC will be glad to do that for you, then buy your own 2x4GB chips for $35. Most RAM OEM's have lifetime warranties. Never had an issue getting a stick of RAM replaced from G.Skill or Crucial or Kingston. Two RAM sticks are kind of a pain in the butt to access as they're underneath the keyboard in the NP8170, but not too difficult. Put 2 x 4GB there and as budget / needs permit, add 8GB RAM later in the easier to access slots in the bottom compartment.

Same thing with the SSD's or hard drives. No reason to pay top dollar from Sager. Buy you're own. But in any case going with a beast of a machine like yours with no SSD is like buying a Corvette with a 3.0L V-6 and automatic transmission. SSD's may not do a bunch for games, but it improves the entire experience of using your machine. It's only as fast as the slowest component, and an HDD is definitely a kink in its performance. Even going with a 64GB SSD + hard drive in the optical bay will be worlds better.

If you're over budget, then you'll have to do some things on your own, but so far will have saved you a few bucks.

 

All my problems are solved and I'm getting 16 GB memory because I found out there's no sales tax. Thanks for helping everybody!