16GB RAM 1600Mhz + i7-2630QM vs 16GB RAM 1333Mhz + i7-2670QM

Hi, in the Sager NP8170 which one would be the better setup ?

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
+
16GB 1600 hz RAM

vs

Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
+
16GB 1333Mhz RAM

Thanks

 

The ram clockspeed upgrade from 1333 to 1600 will result in a ~1% (0.5-1fps) increase in frame rate in games.

The cpu upgrade is pretty nice, extra 10% processing power. Some games/applications are more cpu hungry than others. After the gpu, the cpu will bottleneck the system.

Imo, the small upgrade in ram speed is not worth the loss of the processing power. 1% fps upgrade vs 10% cpu upgrade

 

The slower RAM won't make much of an impact if any on real world work. You're definitely better off getting the faster processor for the ~10% boost. If you don't have plans for 16GB of RAM off the bat (virtualization), I'd cut the RAM back to 8GB and up the CPU to the 2760QM for another 20% jump.

 

Have to agree with Blurry, I'd invest my money on the slightly better processor as you'll see more performance there.

Also, Jason Statham FTW

 

Well I'm planning to use this notebook for the next few years. And for my current one the thing that ran out first was the RAM. Since I always have a 2nd screen connected and have way more programs running at the same time than I normally do. It happens a few times already that a program crashed because I ran out of RAM So I thought the 16GB would really help compared to 8GB with a faster CPU ?

As well as the next upgrade (from Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) to Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) is 150$ more).

Thanks to you I will deff. go for the i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (so the slower RAM and the faster CPU) or maybe better. But not sure if 8GB Ram is really enough (1333Mhz). Maybe 12GB RAM will do it ;D

 

With a choice like that, you definitely want to get the better processor first. It's much easier to upgrade the RAM further down the line (or omit it completely and buy it yourself for cheaper) than it is to upgrade the processor. You definitely don't want to touch the processor unless you really have to, especially if you applied a good spread of thermal paste on it already

 

that is a very good argument.

So I guess the Sager NP8170 got 4 RAM slots?

When taking this here:
8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)

I still got 2 free slots where I could always add 2 more 4GB RAM's to get max. 16GB ?

Or I get this:
12GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (3 SODIMMS)

and have 1 free RAM slot left.

Am I right? If yes I will either go for the 8GB or 12GB and go for the
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
or
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

The next CPU upgrade would be:
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2860QM, 2.5-3.6GHz, (32nm, 8MB L3 cache)
But its 400$ more which is too much

Thanks !

 

Yes it has 4 slots. Since it's generally cheaper to buy the ram yourself (and it's really easy to install) I'd say buy 2x4Gb now, and upgrade to 12 or 16 in the future if you need it.

 

The 2760QM is the sweet spot for price/performance. Very few people have need of the 2860, but for the price upgrade from the 2670, the performance of the 2760 is a decent increase. I'd say spend a bit more and upgrade that if you're worried about maxing it out down the road. You can always add your own RAM later. 2x4GB would leave you with 2 empty slots so that you can always add in another 2 sticks

 

Well here is one more questions:

How much performance would I gain by upgrading from

i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
to
i7-2760QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.4-3.5GHz (~160$ more) ?

It would be 10% for each core?

 

You would see more of an upgrade and performance with the quicker CPU than the quicker RAM.
Compare Intel Processors

You would see a MHz performance upgrade on all 4 cores. Even more on single threaded applications. It's a great upgrade for the price.

 

If you have no specific use for it, the money spent on the processor is wasted. Why not just take the 2630QM + whatever amount of RAM you deem sufficient?

 

Specific use.. well.. I can't tell yet what I will do in 4 years ? Besides that he is right about single-core apps. Like some old games that won't support multi-cores...
Generally I do everything with that laptop. Working, playing, watching, downloading, converting, reading, writing, browsing, ......

I really have a lot running in the backround / do many things at the same time but that's not the real point. Actually it's all just about the "future" as I want to invest once for a long time... and I think this laptop will be just fine for a very very long time.

 

I don't do hardcore stuff, but hey, I have the XM!



This is your own machine, so it's best to go for what you want to go for.

We're not in your shoes, all we can do is recommend what MAY be suitable for you, but in the end, it all depends on what you feel like getting.

I've always asked others around for the best price-to-performance ratio, resellers, etc. But I always ended up wondering what it would have been like if I had just gotten what I wanted, so I got the XM, and I feel satisfied.

Not just performance-wise, but emotionally, it just feels powerful, and that is also a huge factor- satisfaction.

 

wow the XM is just too expensive for me but adding 160$ when its worth it for the next 4-5 years is fine for me.

 

I also use some old games that is single threaded and uses 1 core 100% or with some tweaking 2 cores at 50% each, usually core 1 and 3 on a quad.

For this you would need the fastest cpu speed / most powerful cpu that works in your budget. 2760qm is ideal as it is a huge improvement over a 2630qm. 2860qm price / performance increase just does not cut it, can rather spend the extra money on a SSD and have real world gaming speed improvement over a hd.
A SSD is as good as a new cpu upgrade on a tight budget.

For what you need it sounds like you can go with nv560m~ati6990m gpu.

Xcotipc has 8gb to 16gb 1333mhz ram jump ? for $50, is this price a major issue or not ? If yes then go with 8gb if not go with 16gb that easy.

Ram 8gb, 2760qm and a SSD would work best for your needs and later add more ram. You can get one of the SSD's when you buy or you can go and buy a SSD later and swap this with the default / any hard drive you chose, then used that hd in a external hd usb enclosure.

SSD is a huge gaming performance increase going from HD to SSD. Money well spent. The swap / pagefile if on SSD would compensate for lack of ram and run at ssd speed / faster than hd / slower than ram if you have a ssd drive for windows.

When you research SSD's look for one with fast write speeds and minm. 60k iops or better SATAIII, 16mb / 128mb onboard memory on the SSD, with the best user rating / least bugs / issues posted by users in reviews.
I am happy with my samsung SSD's, I will still be samsung SSD happy in 5 years. Think server and use in desktop / laptop.

This should be okay for 2+ years and after this 2 years you would either have a job / income or grant / funding for studies and would want to upgrade to something better.
What is important now and in the near future = nv560m/ati6970m/ati6990m + 2760qm + 8gb + ssd + maybe external storage / recycled hd into $20 usb enclosure.