Notebook memory question (CAS-Latency-Alienware)

hi everyone,
I was going to get a m17x R2 with 8GB ram but recently saw folks here getting it with only 4GB to than replace it with 4GB HyperX memory ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104158 ) because of lower Timings ( 7-7-7-20 ) and lower CAS latency ( 7 ). Unfortunately I couldn't find any 2 x 4GB modules with those timings or latencies (are there any?).

I believe that I don't necessarily need 8GB but I thought it's better having it than not having it for the relatively cheap ram price compared to the european one.

Could someone please explain Timing and CAS latency and where a 4GB module with CAS 7 and 7-7-7-20 Timings would have a positive effect on, compared to the advantages/disadvantages of a possibly slower 8GB module with CAS 9 and 9-9-9-24 Timings? Or further for which type of application you would need 8GB over 4GB ram?

Thanks alot!

 

You can use thaiphoon burner to flash lower timings onto the ram.

But the timings don't really mean much in terms of fps.

 

Just keep your current RAM modules. lower timings won't help in the game FPS.

 

I think some of those Alienware owners are getting the Kingston HyperX 5-5-5-15 RAM and running it at 7-7-7-20 so that they can get higher overclocks on their CPU's. Loosening the timings on the 5-5-5-15 RAM allows them to raise FSB to higher frequencies along with changeing the CPU's multiplier in BIOS. AFAIK, you don't need taiphoon burner because Alienware has RAM timing options in BIOS.

 

More memory is only beneficial if you have programs which can use it such as Adobe Photoshop. No game right now really needs more than 4GB. Timings make no difference in any real life situation, so don't worry about that.

 

I notice that you are getting the new Alienware with i7. I would be interested as well what if any difference memory timings would make with that system. Do i7 systems even use FSB? I have seen memory benchmarks on i7 systems are much better than previous core2 duo and quad systems.

 

i7 systems do NOT use FSB but DMI. Memory timings still do not make any difference in real life situations (though you are correct in benchmarks they are higher). The reason why in real life you see no benefit is because the memory is never the bottleneck in the system.

 

Thanks for the info! So would you suggest to just stick with the stock ram (ddr 1333mhz) or are there any other aspects of ram that I should consider and probably switch to another manufacturer?

 

Honestly, if you have 4GB already (and aren't consistently maxing it out), then you're fine and do not need to do anything. Timing, speed, and manufacturer doesn't matter that much as the first two don't affect real world performance much (unless you're on a desktop and want to overclock) and the latter usually get their memory from the same few suppliers (Micron, Samsung, Hynix, etc.)

 

Crysis uses alot of memory -- I don't know if it is a memory leak or it just uses alot of memory but I have had crashes from low memory warnings.
If you have Vista or Windows 7 you can check memory bandwidth by running an elevated command prompt and typing winsat mem.

 

So what can u do with the below info if u have problems with crysis?

 

would like to know that too..