6x2GB DDR3 1600MHz or 6x4GB DDR3 1333MHz

[Sihastru]

Hello guys. I guess you won't see this question asked very often. What would you buy, 12GB DDR3 1600MHz 7-8-7-20 1.65V with heat spreaders or 24GB DDR3 1333MHz 9-9-9-25 1.5V without heat spreaders? I know that 12GB is enough for now, but I expect that by the end of next year, 12GB would be the norm for top Intel platforms.

I often use multiple VMs (2 or 3), for certain programming projects, also a heavy Photoshop (ab)user, I have multiple IDE's open all the time, a couple of database servers also an apache server with multiple modules installed and other stuff that can eat up RAM really fast.

The kits in question are made by Kingston, the only other manufacturer I trust is Mushkin. Corsair has fallen from my graces due to multiple defective DDR2 kits I had in the past.

I use an overclocked i7 930 CPU (3.5 - 4.2 depending on my needs) and a Gigabyte X58A-UD7.

As for the price of the kits, the 24GB kit is just 30% more expensive then the 12GB kit. Both kits are 6 modules, also I will not be able to buy 3x4GB now and 3x4 "later" since DDR3 kits become EOL very quickly and I do not want to run mismatched modules (I know it should work)...

 

[tinytomlogan]

12gb is plenty mate. Youll never need any more than that. Im a video editing whore and I still dont actually 'need' 12gb

Id just look at 3x4gb kits as maxxing out your ram slots will make the rig harder to overclocking and actually make it a bit slower too.

 

[Allubz]

If you look up performance vs. speed difference you will find that the difference in RAM speed is negligible for nearly all applications, hence you would be 'better' off with 24GB.

Fact remains, 24GB is, for the moment, a great overkill for nearly all systems; it's good for servers.

You need to look at your actual RAM usage at the moment. If you currently have 6GB and find yourself peaking to 100% usage and things slow down, get 12GB. It's a 100% increase which would theoretically allow you to run all your programs twice; which you probably can't keep up with anyway.

So if these are your two options, I would stick to lower latency 12GB RAM. Tinytom has a point that filling 3 RAM slots allows for better clocking, but you probably won't get far above the rated settings with 3x or 6x slots filled with 4GB sticks anyway (2GB sticks are generally better for this matter).

 

[hmmblah]

How much memory will each VM need? How large are your databases? If they fit under 12GB and still leave a few gig for your host OS, then 12 it is. One of my servers has a 24GB database so I had to go with 32GB of RAM. Two new servers I am ordering very soon will have 64GB RAM each as they will be VMWare hosts. It all depends on your needs and you are really kind of vague on what your requirements are.

Will you be running all the VMs, Photoshop, and databases at the same time?

 

[Sihastru]

Basically yes. There will be "peak" situations when I will need perhaps just a little more then 12GB, but hopefully these will be few and far between.

I will occasionally do some very large imports of data from external applications or by importing dumps from other DB's (and sometimes it's a binary dump and I will need to fiddle with it and import it in it's native DB server environment, try different export options, maybe I will need to write a small bridge application if I can't do an export into a supported target format and do a step by step export/import from one engine to another. Sometimes all I have to work with is a webservice on some distant server and I would have to write the client to access all the data and slowly rebuild it locally. It depends a lot on what I have to work with, a lot of problems might occur during and/or after the imports. Usually I deal with taking an old database from an old engine that is no longer supported and rebuild it locally on a new more advanced engine. Then rewrite their client application or integrate a new connector for their old application. Most of the time this part drives me crazy.

The VM's are required to run at the same time on the same machine (because I don't have another one available), sometimes test different OS'es for both client application deployment and also server installs. Sometimes I have to "try" concurential usage patterns from a bunch of cloned VM's. A client VM will only need from 256MB to 2GB of memory available to it, depending on the target OS, but a server VM will need a whole lot more, around 4GB, sometimes up to 8GB.

I had some imports take up to 2 days, because of a poor internet connection, and also a poor written tool. Sometimes it's not easy to write a fast and optimised tool to obtain a full workable dump of the database, if you have a very limited webservice available on the other side, that will only give you only individual records per request. And it wasn't a large database either. And in all this time I had to work on another project that used a different database engine. To get things moving I need to configure each engine to use at least 2GB of RAM, but in order to get at least some performance out of it, you need to give it 4-8GB all to itself.

And then there are the mothers of all projects, business intelligence types of projects, when you need to cache up the entire database in order to cough up the results that are usually associated with these types of projects. Most of the time they require from 4GB to 8GB, more it's just not practical for deployment.

I usually have 2 IDE's opened at the same time, documentation, the all helpful internet browser, and Photoshop. Why Photoshop? It's my distraction from all the "serious" work so I won't go crazy.

I've been known to also launch Counter Strike: Source or Team Fortress 2 while I leave some automated processes take their course on the same frickin' machine.

You'd think that this would bring loads of cash but no. It doesn't. I can't do this type of work every day. I will take one, maybe two projects, finish them and sometimes it can take up to 6 months. Then I need a break.

So... I hope that's enough details...

I can't just buy 3 sticks of 4GB and call it a day, becase I know on the back of my mind that there are three other vacant slots on the motherboard, and I will not be able to sleep, eat or work because of it. And my case has a window. I need to populate all six slots and with identical memory dimms.

So will 24GB of RAM be used at it's full capacity. Well, no... or maybe once a year... Is 12GB going to be enough? Well, maybe. Is it a smart thing to not buy 24GB of RAM now, when it's only 80 Euros more expensive then the 12GB kit that costs around 275 Euros? Well, this is why I'm asking.

 

[Allubz]

Ah, much more info, thank you.

If this is your full consideration, then try to envision whether you are going to expand your work in a year or two time; or that you are possibly buying a new rig at the end of the same period anyway, due to new technology, better compatibility etc.

80.- isn't a lot on the price named, especially considering you are nearly doubling your theoretical performance (like said before, memory speed and latencies do not make up for memory size, considering most applications, in general).

If you plan on upgrading the coming 1-2 years, I wouldn't put in another 12GB. If you want to hold out a bit longer with your current rig, go get 24GB.

 

[hmmblah]

Even if it's only used fully 1 or 2 times a year, get the 24GB. It will save you much pain and suffering in the end. As far as the speed an latencies go, you probably will only notice the difference in benchmarks. You may be able to even clock the 24GB to 1600 at relaxed latencies.

There is nothing worse than working on a huge ass project and have it all come to a crawl because you are low on system resources.

 

[Sihastru]

Some of you might think that this is not that big of a deal. But these little sums of money that you pay extra or you save up in some cases by getting the lower end part will add up, and at the end of the year you might end up with a cool 500-1000 Euros extra or less that could have been spent better.

Today my problem is about 80 Euros extra for a lot extra RAM. Next month I will probably think about upgrading my video card to perhaps dual cards in SLI. Then I will think about getting GTX470's and keep my 750W PSU or just one GTX580 and later upgrade my PSU in order to add another GTX580 (and that's where that saved up money come in if you have it).

It all comes down to helping out the economy in this depression period...

Even if at the start of the thread I was leaning towards the 12GB kit, I am now leaning towards the 24GB kit. It's still a close race. By the end of the month I will make my final decision and take the plunge.

A big "thanks" to everyone that expressed their thoughts. There is still time to comment or vote if anyone wishes to do so, I will check this thread daily.