1st gen REX and memo question

I've been running this build since the gen 1 REX came out, with
2x2gig sticks of HperX. My profile is utd. At that time 4gig sticks
weren't available, so I used 2x2gigs @1600MHz. Now that RAM
is much cheaper and software writers are getting sloppy, 8 gigs
would work much smoother I'm sure.

Question then. Has anyone ran 2x4gigs in my set-up? The REX
is very memo finicky. I never could get this rig stable at 4.0MHz.
And that's even with water and a 4x120mm fan radiator. I suppose
with 8gigs I'll have to trim the memo speed down since the q9650
multiplier is locked. I'm also assuming 2x4gigs is more stable than
4x2gigs.

I'm getting interested in a new build but I've been away from
the scene, so to speak, for awhile now. I have catching up to do.
Thought I'd just throw in more ram for now until I get more serious.
Thanks. -keithallenlaw

For your system, 4gb is fine. The trend is moving towards more efficient programming (mobile). I would get a complete platform upgrade before a RAM upgrade.

i'd get 8 GB myself

Curious about your mobile comment. I am talking desktop set-up. I'm sure
you mean something I'm not aware of.

Tsumi said:

For your system, 4gb is fine. The trend is moving towards more efficient programming (mobile). I would get a complete platform upgrade before a RAM upgrade.

Click to expand...

I mean in that your comment about software writers getting sloppy is wrong. It is the opposite. The trend towards mobile and low power devices means software writers try to make their program perform well in devices with limited amounts of RAM and CPU power.

Maybe in gaming, but your system is not powerful enough to need more than 4gb in gaming.

Speaking of which. Where do you feel the bottleneck is with modern
desktop systems now days? Obviously when I built my set up it was
the FSB.

Maybe the time is closer than I imagined on a new build. Suppose
my chipset and cpu is that out dated. I play FNV moderately modded.
I would like to run some more texture mods but my system gets
memo locked and the game crashes. I have to make sure I turn
my real time anti-virus and malwarebytes off before I play. I also
think my system bottlenecks my dual video cards. Dunno. I can
build these things but don't understand a lot of the compatibilities.

Thanks.

Tsumi said:

Maybe in gaming, but your system is not powerful enough to need more than 4gb in gaming.

Click to expand...

For most modern systems, it's the hard drive. An SSD greatly improves overall responsiveness, but does not improve in-game performance. As for gaming, it depends on the game. Most games are GPU limited. Some are CPU limited. And of course, there are GPU setups powerful enough that can cause CPU limitations in GPU limited games, though that usually requires tri or quad SLI.

Modern systems do not have anything close to a FSB. Intel's modern memory controller is so efficient that performance gains are not seen with memory speeds above 1866 mhz CAS 9. For you, I would say your whole system is a bottleneck for modern games. You will want CPU, motherboard, RAM and GPU upgrades, as well as possibly an SSD. Upgrading just one or two of the components will do little to improve your performance, though upgrading the CPU should help your multitasking issues. Upgrading RAM and SSD would be lowest priority. Though if you're running into memory limits, then a memory upgrade might be higher on the priority list.

Thanks Tsumi. Good info. Here are my stable choices.

3600MHz core speed with 1600MHz memory 2:1 ratio
or
4000MHz core speed with 890MHz memory 1:1 ratio

Best I can do. Unless I could push my vCore higher.
Temps are 34c idle @ v1.320. I would hope this
4x120 rad could do better than what I'm doing.
Hell, ppl are doing better on air. -keith

I'm not familiar with overclocking LGA775 systems. You should ask in the overclocking subforum for guidance on optimal settings.

Fair enough.