Laptop memory upgrade?!

[stevednmc]

So im thinking about upgrading the memory in my laptop and i want some opinions.
I have 4 gig of ddr3 1066 installed and looking to expand to 8 gig. I have the option, for about the same price of going from 1066 to 1333. The diffrence is the 1066 is Cas Latency 7 and the 1333 is latency 9. So im pretty sure that lower latency is better, so would it be better to stick with the 1066? would there be ANY performance increase at 1333 with those looser timings? Thanks for your thoughts!!!

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

Hmm I'm by no means a DDR3 expert but that seems about right in terms of trade-off between CAS and frequency meaning the bandwidth and performance would probably be about the same between the two. Unless you can find someone who has tested such and posted about it the only way to know for sure is to test yourself. Reading reviews of your laptop and various DDR3 so-dimms such as the ones at which you are looking could provide more info.

Regardless, first and foremost, you should check your lappy's manu website for whether or not RAM at 1333 is even supported in the first place. If not, perhaps you have some control over speed and timings in your BIOS like on a desktop. In that case I'd say the 1333 def better as you have more room to play and tweak most likely.

 

[qamulek]

As far as I know its the actual timings that you should worry about. The lower the real timing the better, but I prefer to have it ranked such that the higher number is better; to do that take the ram speed and divide it by its latency:

1066/7=~152.3
1333/9=~148.1

There isn't much of a difference in timings, so I would go for the 1333 sticks for the higher bandwidth.

 

[stevednmc]

Hmmm, both good points. I do not have the ability in the bios to mess with timings and such unfortunately, but maybe ill try the 1333. My laptop does support it i think. Its an Asus N61JQ-X1.

 

[qamulek]

If you try 1333 then possibly bring it down to a local shop that will let you try it out before you buy(or has a good return policy) so that you don't pay shipping and restocking fees if the 1333 sticks don't work out.

 

[stevednmc]

Acording to the crucial site 1333 is compatible. Hard to find info on this laptop other than places to buy it and reveiws

 

[AsRock]

Is there a actual reason you need 8GB in a laptop ?..

 

[stevednmc]

I dunno, cuz i can i guess...im funny like that! Just like to see what i can do with what i have.

 

[stevednmc]

So, i did it. Put in 8gig of 1333 in my laptop. Kingston with the hynix chips. Popped it in, no issue. Windows recognized and fired right up, beautiful! Nice and snappy. Now for that ssd......