RAM, RAM, RAM...


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Hello. New to this forum. I need your advice please. Soon... I am purchasing an HP ENVY 17t, Intel Core i7 4710HQ Quad-Core, Intel HD 4600 Graphics w/ 12 GB RAM. I plan on upgrading to a 1TB 5400rpm Hybrid drive w/ back-lit keyboard and an upgraded battery from 41Whr to 48Whr. I'm spending about $120.00 for these upgrades, but that's my limit... There is an upgrade to 16GB RAM, but I just don't think I need that much. I surf the 'net, run a couple of programs occasionally, play NO games and listen to a little music. It has the Beats audio. Do you think w/ the 12 GB RAM, Hybrid drive & great processor, I need the extra RAM? I hear too much can go unused? I have OCD & this is bugging me to no end... 

Please offer me your sage advice & help end this obsession... Thanks & best, LeRoy

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If you're not doing things that are memory intensive (I assume you're not opening 4000 tabs in your browser), you should be more than fine.

 

For reference, I have a Hyper-V server with 16gb of ram, and four VMs (DHCP, DNS/AD, CS:Source, and a Plex(which is assigned 6 gb static)) running 24/7. I never run out of memory.

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I have 16GB in this system I'm on now, the only time I get even remotely close is if I have a few virtual machines running. Regular usage I very rarely even hit 8, and that's with gaming, IDE, browser, mail client, a bunch of background services running etc etc all at the same time. Daughter's system has 8 (it was extra memory I had laying around), I doubt she ever goes over 2GB.

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My only question is, isn't 8GB and 4GB = 12GB breaking the Dual Channel setup of the memory and thus slowing the system down, even if it's just a bit.

 

Seems like going with 16GB would keep the config in Dual Channel config for performance.

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16GB for doing zero memory intensive tasks is just a waste, at the moment; heck even 12GB seems kind of too much for doing low memory intensive tasks. Better save up and beef that laptop in the future when you really need more RAM (and by then the RAM prices are going to be more cheaper).

 

Also that laptop is kind of overkill, isn't? that i7 is going to sit idling...

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16GB for doing zero memory intensive tasks is just a waste, at the moment; heck even 12GB seems kind of too much for doing low memory intensive tasks. Better save up and beef that laptop in the future when you really need more RAM (and by then the RAM prices are going to be more cheaper).

 

Also that laptop is kind of overkill, isn't? that i7 is going to sit idling...

For some reason i5's aren't popular for higher end laptops. Pretty much every manufacturer throws i7's into their performance lineups.

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For some reason i5's aren't popular for higher end laptops. Pretty much every manufacturer throws i7's into their performance lineups.

 

yeah, but then again i've seen quite a few Lenovos and Vaios with i5 and pretty good specs (SSD, fullhd, backlit keyboard, 8GB RAM, etc.), but they are 1k+ and with a screen of less then 15", which can be a turnover for some people (unless paired with a monitor, it can be really tiresome for the eyes to use it).

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My only question is, isn't 8GB and 4GB = 12GB breaking the Dual Channel setup of the memory and thus slowing the system down, even if it's just a bit.

 

Seems like going with 16GB would keep the config in Dual Channel config for performance.

 

More RAM (if you are using it) is always better than worrying about Dual Channel. You'll get like 2-5% performance boost with DC which is imperceptible unless you using some memory intensive stuff already. In his case, 12GB would still be better than 8GB and DC. In any case, all new machines will run in DC still, even if it's 1/2 of the 8GB stick. So it would be 4+4GB in DC then the rest just be there. Having 12GB though isn't better if you are paying for it and not using it however but if it's "free" then i'd take that over 8GB any day!

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My only question is, isn't 8GB and 4GB = 12GB breaking the Dual Channel setup of the memory and thus slowing the system down, even if it's just a bit.

 

Seems like going with 16GB would keep the config in Dual Channel config for performance.

On newer Intel chips it won't break it as it does support Dual and Triple Channel on disparate sizes, but it will only do so on the matched portion.

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