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What RAM sticks should I use?

donttrustevery1

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Hey, I am running x64 bit version of windows and I was wondering what would be better...

I have 4x1gb sticks of OCZ DDR2 800 ram and I can push their timings @ 4-4-4-12 @2.1V

I have 2x2gb sticks of Cosair XMS DDR2 800 ram that run at 5-5-5-15 @1.8V

Should I go with half and half so I can have 6 gb of memory? Or should I stay at 4 gb of memory and have the faster speeds?
 

donttrustevery1

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Only 1 bump per 24 hr period please.
Personally, I'd go wth the 4x1gb due to their timings.
 

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donttrustevery1

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No no. I already have these two different memory sticks. I'm not purchasing anything.
 

donttrustevery1

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department76

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i ran 6gb for a while and didn't notice any improvements, so i dropped to 4gb with lower timings (see my system specs).
 
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i would use the xms ones, sell the other and buy 4 more to complete the 8gb set
 

donttrustevery1

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i ran 6gb for a while and didn't notice any improvements, so i dropped to 4gb with lower timings (see my system specs).

did you notice an overall faster response time in gaming and just doing desktop stuff?
 

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You wont get any difference in performance between 4gb & 6gb of ram not in a home pc anyway you would have to be running loads of apps all at once to get anywhere near filling your 4gb of ram.

But then if you do want 6gb you should be ok with one OCZ & one Cosair XMS in channel A & same for channel B. The 2 sticks in each channel dont av to be identical just have to be stable at same timings. Both your sets are good quality so you should be ok. I'd go for 5-5-5-15 @ 2.0v for that set up. Then you should still av scope for overclocking.
 

department76

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did you notice an overall faster response time in gaming and just doing desktop stuff?

nope, no speed difference anywhere. i game, use photoshop, etc.

only obvious thing was a lower ram utilization :wink: with just vista ultimate just booted, 6bg was around 24% and with 4gb is around 30 or 40%

also, i had trouble running lower timings with 6gb (2x 4gb vipers + 2x 1gb mushkin enhanced) even though both sets are capable is used on their own. thats the primary reason i dropped to 4gb.
 
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but should i have 6gb for more memeory?

You should only go after more ram if you plan on benchmarking and such. I doubt there will be a significant difference in video games, that usually depends more on the graphics card though.
 
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