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BigFattee · ‎09-30-2012

I've had my G74(i7-2630 and bios 203) for awhile now and I've decided I want to upgrade my ram and to add a ssd HD. I've been searching and reading alot here, and I can't decide what kind of memory to get. I would really like to have at least 16gb RAM @ 1600mHz, but I don't think that's possible. I've read that any memory I install will run at a max of 1333mHz, unless the memory is XMP ready it will run at 1600mHz, but only if I don't use all 4 memory slots. Is that correct? I'll assume it is, and if so these are my options. two XMP ready 8gb sticks @ 1600mHz = 16gb RAM @ 1600mHz. the probelm here is I can't find any XMP ready RAM in a 8gb stick. Do they exist? 4gb@1600 is the only XMP RAM I can find and if I use all 4 slots it will run @ 1333mHz anyways. So, should I forget about the 16gb@1600 and go with 24gb or 32gb@1333 instead(yes, I realize an uprade to pro or ultimate would be required)?

JamesNgkk · ‎10-01-2012

Hello.

What you've described in your post is correct and there is sadly no way to run 16gb of ram @ 1600mhz on the G74SX at this moment (as far as i know). Truth be told, the difference between 1333mhz and 1600mhz would be so tiny that you would notice no change at all in performance in real world usage of your laptop unless you're intending to run benchmarking and is just out for some benchmark score.

Personally, i really think that 16gb of ram at 1333mhz would be more than enough to run whatever game that is out in the market which would run smoothly on the G74SX. Unless you are using your laptop for more complicated tasks and 16gb of ram is really not going to be enough. I am using G74SX as well for all my gaming needs and also for work. So far the 16gb of ram @1333mhz is way more than enough for me. Since i thought that 16gb was really way more than i ever needed, i decided to "upgrade" my ram to something faster @1600mhz with 8 gb of ram. After several months of usage (gaming and work), my honest opinion is that it really doesn't make any difference to me or at least enough that i could feel. So if you are currently using 16gb @1333mhz, don't bother about spending extra money to upgrade it to whatever @1600mhz. Take that money and get a better SSD instead. You would feel the difference much more.

Good luck! 🙂
James

fostert · ‎10-01-2012

You will not be truly upgrading (i.e, increasing the capabilities of your machine) if you put in a lesser amount of RAM @ 1600MHz versus a greater amount (i.e.24 or 32GB) @ 1333MHz. The difference between 1333 and 1600 MHz in practice is not noticeable *at all* even if you benchmark your programs; the variation in times from run to run will overwhelm any performance difference and your miniscule improvement will be lost in the noise. More RAM however will increase the capabilities of your G74, which is the point of an upgrade, no?

Better: get 24 or 32GB, and make a RAM disk out of it. A RAM disk is always the fastest possible medium in a computer, and it makes sense to direct the OS to read/write its temp files there. For example, in Linux I have made 8GB into a RAM disk and mounted /tmp, /var/run, /var/lock in it (where Linux places all its temp files). It also has the advantage that all temp files are erased upon reboot, so no garbage is left floating around yoru filesystem.

Best: live with 8GB if you can (i.e. do you really ever max out the RAM usage while you're working/gaming?) and save your $$ for a (bigger) SSD. Best possible performance-per-unit-dollar you can buy today.

--
G74SX-CST1-CBIL, i7 2630QM 2GHz
32GB DDR3 RAM @1333MHz
GTX560M 3GB DDR5 (192 bit)
17.3" LED 1920x1080
Sentelic TP, BIOS 203
Debian Linux Wheezy (Testing) Kernel 3.2, NVIDIA 295.40

BigFattee · ‎10-03-2012

thanx James and Fostert. i'll go with the 16gb since I only play games, and i guess that's not even necessary. i'm definitely gonna get a ssd too(any brand and/or model suggestions for the g74?). i never considered a ram disk. that sounds like a good way to go too. i've been reading about and looking for different ram disk software. there's a few out there that are free. one that interests me is a program that allows you to use any extra ram that windows 7 doesn't recognize(or maybe most ram disk programs do that? more research is required). so i guess i could get even more then 16gb without upgrading windows. do you think i should go that way, or should i just use 8gb for the system and 8gb for the ram disk?

SeventhAngel · ‎10-05-2012

Make sure you get the right speed of 1333 there is 3 deffernt speeds.
The G74SX use's DDR3 1333 PC3-10600. Just to keep everything the same.

edited had the wrong speed. lol

royengland · ‎10-11-2012

fostert wrote:
You will not be truly upgrading (i.e, increasing the capabilities of your machine) if you put in a lesser amount of RAM @ 1600MHz versus a greater amount (i.e.24 or 32GB) @ 1333MHz. The difference between 1333 and 1600 MHz in practice is not noticeable *at all* even if you benchmark your programs; the variation in times from run to run will overwhelm any performance difference and your miniscule improvement will be lost in the noise. More RAM however will increase the capabilities of your G74, which is the point of an upgrade, no?

Better: get 24 or 32GB, and make a RAM disk out of it. A RAM disk is always the fastest possible medium in a computer, and it makes sense to direct the OS to read/write its temp files there. For example, in Linux I have made 8GB into a RAM disk and mounted /tmp, /var/run, /var/lock in it (where Linux places all its temp files). It also has the advantage that all temp files are erased upon reboot, so no garbage is left floating around yoru filesystem.

Best: live with 8GB if you can (i.e. do you really ever max out the RAM usage while you're working/gaming?) and save your $$ for a (bigger) SSD. Best possible performance-per-unit-dollar you can buy today.

For this do you actually get a drive in my computer for the allocated space from memory? With use of a SSD how much of a difference would this make?

fostert · ‎10-11-2012

royengland wrote:
For this do you actually get a drive in my computer for the allocated space from memory? With use of a SSD how much of a difference would this make?

A RAMdisk behaves like a normal disk partition, its just a part of the RAM that is allocated to storage and is under the user's read/write control. So yes, you get an extra (small: 16-28GB) partition that has the amazingly blazing bandwidth of your memory (i.e. ~25 GB/s) which is about 50x faster trhan the fastest SSDs (~500 MB/s), and you can put whatever you want on it. Again, system temp files should be written to and read from a RAM drive, if possible. It doesnt mean your whole system will go 50x faster of course; just routine R/W operations done by the OS.

--
G74SX-CST1-CBIL, i7 2630QM 2GHz
32GB DDR3 RAM @1333MHz
GTX560M 3GB DDR5 (192 bit)
17.3" LED 1920x1080
Sentelic TP, BIOS 203
Debian Linux Wheezy (Testing) Kernel 3.2, NVIDIA 295.40

G74sx memory upgrade