Hmmm... 4gb of 1066mhz or 8gb of 800mhz DDR2?

Brain101 · 9 Feb 2009 at 21:47

I have an Asus P5QC, which has four DDR2 slots... but only 2 of them support 1066mhz memory. I'm stuck between getting 2 x 2gb of 1066mhz, or 4 x 2gb of good old 800mhz. Any recommendations - speed or quantity?

For reference, I'm running Vista Home Premium 64-Bit on a E6600 Core2 Duo. Cheers!

gurusan · 9 Feb 2009 at 22:12

I found no diff running 8gb...I would just save some cash and get 4gb

Phatjayunoi · 10 Feb 2009 at 13:25

The 2x2GB 1066Mhz RAM is the better choice if you plan to do extreme overlocking with your CPU. The faster memory speed and the fact that 4GBs puts less strain than 8GB makes some difference. 8GB requires extra little tweaks like slightly more voltage increases etc.

The 8GB would be useful if you do a lot of Photoshop work or if you are a multitasking monster. Otherwise you will not notice much difference in speeds apart from some programs loading up slightly faster.

Either way and whichever is the cheapest and long term option for you, it is your choice. High overclocking ability or general use for future programs.

Sam__ · 10 Feb 2009 at 14:38

Unless your doing big video editing or running multiple VMs you shouldnt need more than 4gb.

Emlyn_Dewar · 10 Feb 2009 at 15:59

I went the 8gb 800mhz but only because I got it off a friend for a good price at the time. If I was buying new I'd opt for 4gb of 1066mhz.

JonJ678 · 10 Feb 2009 at 19:59

What clock speed do you want to run the E6600 at?
I think the E6600 is 9*266, but that's from a fairly quick google. If so, 800mhz ram will do you up to 9*400 which is 3.6ghz at 1:1 ratio.

I don't know what e6600's hit, but on four sticks id guess 3.6ghz is bloody good going. So unless you go over this, no need to 1066mhz ram.

Everything else is RAM overclocking, which I'm not going to touch with a stick as the performance benefits look slim and RAM dies fast when overvolted

So I vote 800MHz, whether 4 or 8gb depends on use of computer