Help Buying Memory - 8 or 16 Gigs?

Current System:
Mobo: Asus P5NSLI - rated to 800 (correction: 667) MHz memory - 16 gigs
Processor: Q9550 - stock - no O/C (yet)
Current Memory: DDR2 667 = 4 sticks of 1.5 gigs = 6 gigs

More Mobo Info:
FSB range = 133MHz to 400MHz at 1MHz increment
Memory range = 533MHz up to 1200MHz at 1MHz increment

This is an upgrade for a client of mine, and I really could use your help.

Which one?

2 x 4 gig DDR 800 = 8 gig total
4 x 4 gig DDR 800 = 16 gig total

2 x 4 gig DDR 1000 = 8 gig total
4 x 4 gig DDR 1000 = 16 gig total

2 x 4 gig DDR 1066 = 8 gig total -------- < This one? >
4 x 4 gig DDR 1066 = 16 gig total

4 x 2 gig DDR 1100 = 8 gig total
or something else?

The reason I ask is the bottleneck seems to be the FSB / memory.

So it seems to me a faster setting if possible with 2 sticks of memory would be the way to go. Right?

Any suggestions on what 4 gig sticks of memory to buy? Thanks

Anybody got any ideas on this?

Pretty sure there is no such thing as a 1.5gb stick of ram.

If the board is rated for 800 and no higher, buying higher speed ram is a waste of money.

Thanks for the reply. The system shows 6 gigs and there are 4 sticks of memory. So it seems to be 1.5 gig sticks. I don't recall what brand off hand, maybe Micron.

Correction: the board is rated 667, not 800 as originally posted. So apparently 667 would be the ticket.

Any idea if 2 or 4 sticks would work best?

Maybe 4 sticks would be best if the memory is run at stock speed?

Or 2 sticks would be best if overclocking?

Is that the right analysis for deciding this? Thanks

Bobnova said:

Pretty sure there is no such thing as a 1.5gb stick of ram.

If the board is rated for 800 and no higher, buying higher speed ram is a waste of money.

Click to expand...

Maybe he has 2x 2gig stick and then the rest are 1gig...?
Never heard of 1.5gig sticks of RAM in my life... seems kinda strange...

That seems more likely.

But the matter at hand remains. Upgrade to 2 x 4 gig - or - 4 x 4 gig ?

Which would be more productive?

CompuTamer said:

Maybe he has 2x 2gig stick and then the rest are 1gig...?
Never heard of 1.5gig sticks of RAM in my life... seems kinda strange...

Click to expand...

Most people dont use 4gb. Even fewer use 6gb.

Youd be throwing money out the window for sure @ 16gb, especially given your CPU.

Also, just a quick peek and it seems your board can OC the memory above 667, so Youd be ok with RAM up to 1066 I believe.

Right. I am well aware of this. Yet, I post for help anyway.

doz said:

Most people dont use 4gb. Even fewer use 6gb.

Click to expand...

OK, so 2 x 4 gigs would be better than 4 x 4 gigs.

doz said:

Youd be throwing money out the window for sure @ 16gb, especially given your CPU.

Click to expand...

That's what it seemed to me, which is why I ask --- 667 if no O/C and 1066 if overclocking the memory.

doz said:

Also, just a quick peek and it seems your board can OC the memory above 667, so Youd be ok with RAM up to 1066 I believe.

Click to expand...

Id go 2x4gb if you really need more than 8gb.

And O/C the memory is a loose term. Technically your board will support 667, but itll accept up to 1066 overclocked. Ram is technically sold "overclocked". Basically, the ram is spec'ed out to run faster than 667mhz and will do so without an issue, you will just need to manually set it most likely.

1Time said:

That seems more likely.

But the matter at hand remains. Upgrade to 2 x 4 gig - or - 4 x 4 gig ?

Which would be more productive?

Click to expand...

is a 4 x 2 gig setup out of the question? Unless they really have a need for very large amounts of RAM (there are a few people who do) 8 gig should be good for a while, most likely through the major life of DDR2 I'd say.

A quick check on new egg for matching sets of either 2 x 4 gig of DDR2 800 5-5-5-15 and 4 x 2 gig of the same shows a price difference of $90 in favor of the 4 x 2 gig setup.

eRR, thats what I meant. 4x2gb , not 2x4gb.

I decided to go with 2 x 2GB = 4GB total because I now don't think there will be a benefit of going over 4GB. And then if that changes, I'll get another 2 x 2GB.

Please see my other thread about which 2 x 2GB to buy. Thanks

jaymz9350 said:

is a 4 x 2 gig setup out of the question? Unless they really have a need for very large amounts of RAM (there are a few people who do) 8 gig should be good for a while, most likely through the major life of DDR2 I'd say.

A quick check on new egg for matching sets of either 2 x 4 gig of DDR2 800 5-5-5-15 and 4 x 2 gig of the same shows a price difference of $90 in favor of the 4 x 2 gig setup.

Click to expand...