Added benefit of doubling ram

[MonKENy]

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($108.03 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($202.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($560.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1674.06

I may have an opportunity to double the RAM. Will I see any real world benefits by doing so?

 

[Cerb]

That depends on whether or not you'll use enough of that 16GB.

 

[MonKENy]

I doubt it, I just plan on Gaming mostly and I dont think anything will utilize the 16 let alone if I upped to 32

 

[BonzaiDuck]

In my case, I went to 16 from 8 because Media Center was showing a "memory leak" of some kind. After any DVR capture, RAM usage would approach 70% until I terminated MC and restarted it.

And I also upgraded because "I could."

I've since discovered that the surplus memory can be very useful: For RAM-caching my boot-system SSD. How much that means between skeptics and advocates, only the benchmarks may measure. But the benchmarks sure are profoundly better the more RAM available for it.

 

[Hulk]

Two years ago I built a computer for my daughter and took 8GB out of my desktop computer (signature rig) and put it in the new computer. So I went from 16GB to 8GB. My main applications are Office, Sony Vegas Pro, Presonus Studio One, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Coreldraw X5, and Microsoft Web Expressions 4. I haven't noticed any difference in system performance.

 

[TechWiz365]

More RAM can help if you're using a lot of high resource applications at once, if not, then don't worry about it. And if you ever need more RAM, be assured that the option to upgrade is available.

 

[OrionMaster]

640K ought to be enough for anybody

 

[Blue_Max]

Simple rule: More RAM ONLY speeds things up if you've run out.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hmm. Newegg had a 16GB GSkill kit on sale for $94.99 today. I ordered some to upgrade my two main machines. So, I guess I'm moving from 8GB to 16GB. It will be interesting to see if it makes any difference. I generally hover at around 4-5GB used out of my 8GB currently, but given memory leaks, my commit charge can get higher than 8GB.

 

[OrionMaster]

Simple rule: More RAM ONLY speeds things up if you've run out.

Its not easy to tell if you run out. I used to open a crapload of applications and windows would show 7GB used out of 8GB. Then I upgraded to 16GB, it started to show 8.5GB used out of 16GB. The same applications were open

 

[MonKENy]

I am hearing about converting extra RAM in to a sort of SSD type thing. Ram Cache. This is a MB specific thing correct?

 

[Ketchup]

I run VMs, and it's nice to be able to give them plenty of RAM without sacrificing the host system's performance.

 

[Hulk]

640K ought to be enough for anybody

64Kb is complete overkill.

I had an Atari 800. The GOOD one. The one with 8Kb RAM.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I am hearing about converting extra RAM in to a sort of SSD type thing. Ram Cache. This is a MB specific thing correct?

We thought so, with the advent of the Z68 and later chipsets. But even that features involved caching an HDD to a small SSD. That is, ISRT caches a slower, larger storage device to a faster and smaller one -- but not to RAM.

When Samsung produced their Magician software with the RAPID feature, they -- too -- were saying that it was a "proprietary feature." In that case, only a single Samsung SSD would be cached to RAM. In benchmarks and in a system fitted with 16GB of RAM, it would show an increase in sequential read/write performance from ~ 500MB/s to ~6,000MB/s.

Then we discovered that Marvell was getting into the act with its Hyper-Duo feature for some of its controller chips of PCI-E SATA cards. It, too, was SSD-caching of a large hard drive, and it also seemed to be a "proprietary" feature like Intel ISRT. But as I said, those features cached large HDDs to a small SSD.

But somebody -- a software outfit named Romex -- has been selling a license to a program called Primo-Cache. Their competitor -- SuperSpeed LLC in Massachusetts -- offers Super-Cache.

This allows you to RAM-cache any SSD OR HDD in the system to RAM, with a user-chosen allocation of RAM as opposed to Samsung RAPID, which "does its own thing." Further, the same software also has an "L2" feature allowing you to create an SSD cache of any size, for one or more HDDs or HDD arrays -- in either AHCI or RAID mode. So you can have two tiers of caching, and -- as far as Magician or RAPID is concerned -- do what Reverend Gene Scott once said about disruptive folks during his Sunday sermon: "Throw the Mothers OUT!"

None of those features ever needed to be "proprietary."

I can say I tested Primo on a laptop and two desktops through the 90-day trial period, and then bought the 3-PC license for it. It's rock-solid reliable.

I think either Hyper-Duo (Marvell proprietary) or Primo-Cache allows you to do HDD acceleration/SSD-caching with any size SSD. And I don't know if the 60GB restriction for ISRT has changed with Z77 and later chipsets.

But you don't need any special chipset to do either type of caching with Primo; you don't need mandatory AHCI-mode (RAPID) nor RAID-mode (ISRT) with Primo; and it caches at the block level.

Skeptics and naysayers aside, you can download their 90-day trial and try it on one of your computers. Then -- you be the judge.

 

[BFG10K]

With this sort of question, if one has to ask, you probably don't need it.

 

[bradley]

I run Primo Ramdisk, Primocache and VirtualBox, which puts my 32GB of DDR3 to good use every day. VMs are especially RAM hungry.

I also cache extra for my onboard GPU. Eventually I want to get into photo capture and video editing. Otherwise you likely don't need more than 8-16GB.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I run Primo Ramdisk, Primocache and VirtualBox, which puts my 32GB of DDR3 to good use every day. VMs are especially RAM hungry.

I also cache extra for my onboard GPU. Eventually I want to get into photo capture and video editing. Otherwise you likely don't need more than 8-16GB.

It's interesting. SuperSpeed's "Super-Cache" only offers a 1-month trial (correct me, but -- pretty sure). It only caches storage devices to RAM; there's no "L2" feature. There's no 3-PC license, and the single-PC license costs as much as the former option of Primo-Cache.

SuperSpeed markets itself as a "Microsoft Partner" or whatever it's called. They're in Massachusetts. Romex is in Shanghai.

Romex tech-support has been tip-top. Like some other software programs, if you have it installed on the third PC and choose to replace all of that system's hardware with a re-installed OS without uninstalling the Primo from the old hardware and OS, re-installation on the replacement will throw up a license error.

I sent an e-mail to their tech-support, and the third leg of my license was restored in less than three hours afterward.

Of course, you could get paranoid about Chinese software and the Peoples' Army Cyber-Division, but

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Useless topic's.

Off topic why would you pay top dollar for a 980 when the price is about to drop?

 

[myocardia]

With this sort of question, if one has to ask, you probably don't need it.

Exactly, and unless you are running more than one virtual machine, or are working with multiple high-megapixel RAW files in Photoshop, 16 GB is more than enough, and will be for years.

 

[flexy]

I just got 16GB, mainly for GTA V but to be honest I think I could've done with only 8GB as well. In "normal" use of my PC I don't even (remotely) use 8GB, let alone the 16GB I have now. I am having a hard time to imagine that someone would even require 32GB, let alone 64GB...unless they are video editing professionals or do whatever special tasks that would 32GB+ memory.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I just got 16GB, mainly for GTA V but to be honest I think I could've done with only 8GB as well. In "normal" use of my PC I don't even (remotely) use 8GB, let alone the 16GB I have now. I am having a hard time to imagine that someone would even require 32GB, let alone 64GB...unless they are video editing professionals or do whatever special tasks that would 32GB+ memory.

I don't disagree with any of that.

With 8GB a couple years back, my memory usage reported in Task Manager could go as high as 65%, and maybe one time here or there I saw 75%. The first thing I did was order the same 2x4GB memory kit for probably $60. Since I'm replacing some old machines for the fam-damn-ily, I replaced the two kits with a 2x8GB DDR3-1866 kit, putting the original kits aside. One is now again in use with my Bro's system upstairs.

On another system, I'd picked up a 4x4GB Corsair XMS3 kit for ~ $100 -- retail price at that time was $190.

Being able to use the extra RAM for the caching is a tangible benefit to me or anyone else for whom I maintain a system.

 

[MonKENy]

Useless topic's.

Off topic why would you pay top dollar for a 980 when the price is about to drop?

Youre one of those types that likes to go around pissing in peoples cheerios arent you?

If I have a question and dont know the answer and post a question to get answers its not a useless topic is it?

You answered your own useless topic, because its "ABOUT" to drop, unless you have some crazy access to a time machine its a little hard for me to pay for price drops that havent occurred yet now isnt it?

Now let me make an observation. Did you see anyone else come in with a negative attitude? Anyone else go off topic? I posted a thread specifically asking for input on buying parts to build a new machine, Next time instead of derailing a thread with your shitty attitude you could make relevant posts in the threads that might benefit from them.

Now theres the door, please do let it hit you in the ass on the way out.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

[Poor Phil! I thought maybe his last post was a slap to my remarks about Romex/Primo. He must be feeling off-center today . . . ]

MonKENy's retort reminds me of a Jack Nicholson line to a waitress in "Five Easy Pieces."

To which the hitchhiking girl from New York -- on her way to Alaska because "everything is clean there!" -- says "Wow, man! You really laid that down on her so good!"

But here, I'm just a bystander . . . Moral of the story: "Try not to ruffle any feathers!":biggrin:

 

[MonKENy]

[Poor Phil! I thought maybe his last post was a slap to my remarks about Romex/Primo. He must be feeling off-center today . . . ]

MonKENy's retort reminds me of a Jack Nicholson line to a waitress in "Five Easy Pieces."

To which the hitchhiking girl from New York -- on her way to Alaska because "everything is clean there!" -- says "Wow, man! You really laid that down on her so good!"

But here, I'm just a bystander . . . Moral of the story: "Try not to ruffle any feathers!":biggrin:

I was looking at his posts in other threads and he has a lot of these snotty remarks, He probably thinks hes being witty and sharp but it just comes off as being a douche. Not sure if anyone else has ever called him out. Doesnt matter, Im not going to push it further no need to.

 

[Cerb]

19.7GB free, 23.3GB available. :hmm:

As one might surmise, I haven't run Virtualbox in a bit. I've gotten up to 19GB used (not counting cache) since going to 32GB, so I'm track for an upgrade to DDR4 before my CPU is too slow, just for 64-128GB max RAM . If you don't use it (cache included), it's doing you no good, and might even slightly slow things down (that's a lot more 4K pages to manage!). If you could use it but don't have it, your SSD will not save you.