What's your memory assessment speed?

[smarteyeball]

Guys, you shouldn't attach (ridiculously small) pictures in this thread really, there's only one value to answer this thread.

???

Perhaps try clicking the pics...

 

[ZaLiTH]

@ smarteyeball: Got a bit of a random question for you; I was looking at your winsat stats on the previous page (above my first post in this thread), and I can't help but wonder something... Which would you say contributes more to the access speed of your memory, the fact that it's DDR3 or that it's in triple channel?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm already starting to plan my next PC build, even though I'm not quite finished with my current machine, but I'm a big fan of AMD, so (Unless I'm mistaken and they do support it on AM3 for example) I'll lose out on the tri-channel setup...

Have you ever checked your RAM access speeds in dual-channel mode on your current setup?

 

[smarteyeball]

@ smarteyeball: Got a bit of a random question for you; I was looking at your winsat stats on the previous page (above my first post in this thread), and I can't help but wonder something... Which would you say contributes more to the access speed of your memory, the fact that it's DDR3 or that it's in triple channel?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm already starting to plan my next PC build, even though I'm not quite finished with my current machine, but I'm a big fan of AMD, so (Unless I'm mistaken and they do support it on AM3 for example) I'll lose out on the tri-channel setup...

Have you ever checked your RAM access speeds in dual-channel mode on your current setup?

AM3 is dual channel and no, I haven't tested mine in dual channel.

Basicaly I would say DDR3 contributes more to the overall 'speed' simply because it is capable of achieving a higher clockspeed over DDR2. Cas Latencies also play a big part in it too.

There is still some debate to whether tri-channel actually offers any 'real world' performance advantage over dual-channel and the general consensus is that it doesn't.

So if it's access speed you are concerned with, basically go for the highest mhz you can afford with the lowest stock Cas Latencies. ie 1333mhz CL7 or 1600mhz CL7/8


If you plan to overclock, you will have more 'head room' with a higher rated mhz ie 1600mhz

Going Above 1600mhz, is really only for those aiming for very high OC's.

Outside of mega-overclocks, the only real advantage to buying a 2x2GB DDR3 2000mhz kit would be to run them at a lower speed with tighter timings.

I wouldn't be too concerned about dual vs tri channel.

The only 'real' difference so far, is in synthetic benchmarks.

Hope that helped

 

[ZaLiTH]

Hope that helped

That it did, thanks... Reading reviews is all good and well, but not all of them actually give people's personal opinions on matters, that's why I like to ask around.

 

[smarteyeball]

No worries mate, happy to help

 

[Chimel]

@ smarteyeball: I only meant that there is no need for a screenshot if the only information is a number, people can as well paste the score so it's directly readable in the post, rather than forcing readers to click on the picture of each post. I don't see anything of value in the screenshots other than the score, unless I am missing something? Not a big deal, though, that was just my 2 centavos.

@ ZaLiTH: Thanks, I just checked CPU-Z. Seems to be a little buggy, though, it reports 4 modules installed in slots 1 to 4, when I definitely have only 2 x 2GB DDR2 modules (G-Skill PC2-6400 @ 400MHz).
I'll check my mobo manual to see if I can boost this memory score in winsat & WEI, 400MHz seems pretty slow, but then, it's a 3yo computer.

 

[smarteyeball]

@ smarteyeball: I only meant that there is no need for a screenshot if the only information is a number, people can as well paste the score so it's directly readable in the post, rather than forcing readers to click on the picture of each post. I don't see anything of value in the screenshots other than the score, unless I am missing something? Not a big deal, though, that was just my 2 centavos.

No worries mate. I understand where you are coming from. You do have a point when it comes to winsat scores.

However when coupled with screenshots of other apps, it's sometimes it's easier and beneficial for others to 'see for themselves'. Plus it negates any 'fake scores' that the occasional person likes to post

(P.S I find it's actually quicker to right click on the pic> and open in new tab)

I definitely have only 2 x 2GB DDR2 modules (G-Skill PC2-6400 @ 400MHz).
I'll check my mobo manual to see if I can boost this memory score in winsat & WEI, 400MHz seems pretty slow, but then, it's a 3yo computer.

Where is it being reported as 400mhz? Don't forget that DDR2 is Double Double Rate so therefore 400*2=800mhz actual.

 

[ZaLiTH]

I definitely have only 2 x 2GB DDR2 modules (G-Skill PC2-6400 @ 400MHz).
I'll check my mobo manual to see if I can boost this memory score in winsat & WEI, 400MHz seems pretty slow, but then, it's a 3yo computer.

Where is it being reported as 400mhz? Don't forget that DDR2 is Double Double Rate so therefore 400*2=800mhz actual.

Dang... You beat me to it. I had already opened up a quote in a new tab when I scrolled down and saw this... Lol.

By the way Chimel, just to set your mind at ease, CPU-z isn't actually that buggy... It shows mine as 440MHz for my RAM (DDR2-800 over clocked from 400MHz). But as smarteyeball said, being DDR the effective speed is twice that.

 

[Chimel]

@ZaLiTH: I didn't mean buggy about the speed, just about the slots:
I have 2 modules in 2 slots, leaving 2 slots empty, but CPU-Z says all 4 slots are used.
When I select Slot #1 to #4 in the CPU-Z drop-down list (attached), it shows 2GB in each.

@smarteyeball, ZaLiTH: You're right about the DDR2 actual speed, but CPU-Z says only 400 MHz (in the "Max Bandwidth" field attached), I would expect such a system tool to do the computation for me. Now, let's see, 2 times 400, where's my calculator? ^-^

 

[HammerHead]

Memory

here is some for comparison.

View attachment 51940

View attachment 51941

 

[defiance]

 

[bcsaji]

Memory Performance of a Dell Studio XPS 1640

Here comes the (quite disappointing) memory speed of my Dell Studio XPS 1640 notebook. Is there anything I can do (besides buying new HW) to increase this score?

A question: if my memory speed is so crappy, then why do I get a relatively high 6.1 for the memory subscore of WEI?

 

[ZaLiTH]

Here comes the (quite disappointing) memory speed of my Dell Studio XPS 1640 notebook. Is there anything I can do (besides buying new HW) to increase this score?

You might want to check what speeds your motherboard chipset supports though; it may be restricted to 1066MHz (533MHz Double Density = 1066MHz). Looking at CPU-z though, your RAM supports 609MHz as well... If your chipset allows the higher speeds, you could up the frequency in your BIOS?

 

[smarteyeball]

Here comes the (quite disappointing) memory speed of my Dell Studio XPS 1640 notebook. Is there anything I can do (besides buying new HW) to increase this score?

A question: if my memory speed is so crappy, then why do I get a relatively high 6.1 for the memory subscore of WEI?

View attachment 52839

Can you post a screenshot of the Memory tab? It does look it's @ 1066 speeds.

 

[bcsaji]

ZaLiTH: Unfortunately, my BIOS doesn't allow me to change the frequency. BTW: Its chipset is Intel PM45. Could it be that there was a (software) workaround to change the frequency?

smarteyeball: Sure, here it is (together with my CPU tab).



Is it @ 1066?

 

[ZaLiTH]

With a Socket P (478), I doubt it'll go any higher... Here's a bit of info on Wiki about it: link. Sorry, but to me it looks like that's the fastest it will go. :huh:

 

[bcsaji]

With a Socket P (478), I doubt it'll go any higher... Here's a bit of info on Wiki about it: link. Sorry, but to me it looks like that's the fastest it will go. :huh:

Bad news, but thx anyway. Another question: is my FSB/DRAM ratio suitable? It is currently 1:2 and I am wondering whether it should be 1:1?

 

[Pusspa]

heres my score, i do believe i have the dubious pleasure of having the lowest!

 

[smarteyeball]

ZaLiTH: U

smarteyeball: Sure, here it is (together with my CPU tab).

View attachment 52863

Is it @ 1066?

Yep

Bad news, but thx anyway. Another question: is my FSB/DRAM ratio suitable? It is currently 1:2 and I am wondering whether it should be 1:1?

TBH, it doesn't make that much difference. It's a moot point anyway, since you can't adjust any options in the BIOS.

Outside of the BIOS, your only really alternative is software based adjusting:

MemSet 4.1
Tweakers.fr


*NB I know it works, but I haven't extensively used it.

 

[bcsaji]

Outside of the BIOS, your only really alternative is software based adjusting:

MemSet 4.1
Tweakers.fr

*NB I know it works, but I haven't extensively used it.

Thx, it's a nice program and it works on my system, but I did not notice significant improvements in benchmark scores, indeed.

BTW: A strange phenomenon: according to "winsat mem", I gain +300 MB/s when I run the assessment while WinAmp is playing music in the background. I have tried it several times, it is always the case. If it would be the other way around, then I was not surprised... Thus, it seems that "winsat mem" is not that consistent.