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    Should I upgrade from 6gb (4+2gb) to 8gb (4x2)?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Significa, Feb 27, 2011.

  1. Significa

    Significa Notebook Consultant

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    Right now, I have a Dell Studio XPS 1647 (i5-460m, 1080p, 6gb, 500gb 7200rpm, ATI 5730) laptop. I was wondering if I would gain any improvements from upgrading to 8GB Dual Channel from 6GB. Any thoughts? I was thinking of it since I have been seeing a lot of 4GB RAM on sale for around $30.
     
    Significa, Feb 27, 2011
    #1
  2. shakennstirred

    shakennstirred Notebook Evangelist

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    i`d do it if i could
    but my laptop wont boot with 8gb installed
    6gb max here
     
    shakennstirred, Feb 27, 2011
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  3. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    You could, but chances are, you'd probably see no improvement in performance whatsoever.
     
    MidnightSun, Feb 27, 2011
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  4. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Before choosing to spend the money on any upgrade, you first have to ask yourself why do you want to upgrade? Is it because you have excess money lying around - if so, go ahead. Else, is there a reason why you need to upgrade - are you getting low memory errors, are certain tasks running too slow? If this is the case, then you have to determine what is the bottleneck of your computer (ie. the component that is slowing you down) since if the slowest part is say your HDD, upgrading memory makes no sense since it will not give you any benefit. If you're stuck on one of these steps, reply with what you do know and we'll be able to give you a much better response.
     
    sgogeta4, Feb 27, 2011
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  5. waleed786

    waleed786 Notebook Evangelist

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    I agree with sgogeta..if u have $30 to spare then sure why not..but an SSD would make a much bigger difference..I also don't think dual channel is that much beneficial outside of benchmarking
     
    waleed786, Feb 27, 2011
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  6. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    I'll be the first to say 8GB is the 'new' 4GB 'standard' in 2011.

    However, given that you have 6GB already - and no obvious/stated need for more RAM; save your money and get an Intel G2 120GB now/soon or wait to get an SSD... eventually. That will put you further ahead ('performance-wise') than adding 2GB to your system will right now.

    Why do I recommend 8GB?

    Well, for my uses, anything less is simply so 1999. ;)

    See:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...ades/441911-8gb-vs-4gb-ram-faster-system.html


    Good luck.
     
    tilleroftheearth, Feb 27, 2011
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  7. Pitabred

    Pitabred Linux geek con rat flail!

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    Aye. 6GB is plenty for most everything and matching sticks doesn't do anything significant for performance.
     
    Pitabred, Feb 27, 2011
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  8. ramgen

    ramgen -- Morgan Stanley --

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    Actually the difference between "6gb (4+2gb)" and "8gb (4x2)" is not just the additional "2GB" of memory.

    Your MCH is currently operating at async dual-channel mode. If you do the upgrade it will operate at sync dual-channel which may give you slightly more performance increase than expected.


    --
     
    ramgen, Feb 27, 2011
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  9. ekam

    ekam Notebook Consultant

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    Not worth the price difference. Spend it on a SSD drive instead.
     
    ekam, Feb 27, 2011
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