DFI Nf4 memory question.

[torin3]

I'll be getting the Nf4 Lanparty soon, and I was wanting to max out the memory with 4 1gig sticks. However reading about how sensitive it seems to be on which slot the memory is in, I was wondering if maxing it out will be the best option, or if I should only put 2 gigs in.

 

[torin3]

bump

 

[Enigma422]

You don't really need 4GB if your going to use your rig for gaming, IMO 2GB is overkill as well. If you plan on OCing your board you will probably have better luck with two 1GB sticks as opposed to 4.

 

[Zebbo]

Can you tell us where teh h*ll do you need 4GB of memory?!
But still, I think this is not as much as motherboard question, it's more like CPU question. And I think A64's memory controller can't handle that 4GB well.

 

[kukyfrope]

You would be better off waiting to get a Venice core with an improved memory controller to properly handle more than 2 sticks of memory. As far as motherboard capability... I know the DFI NF4 has 4 memory slots, but everybody says to use the Orange slots for performance, and I have not seen any results of people using all 4 slots for memory. In all honesty, they might not even work at the speed or reliability you want.

To echo the other posts for their valid concerns, 4GB is overkill for gaming, and 2GB is also overkill. I have 1GB of memory and when playing Half-Life 2, the memory usage is right below about 600MB (if I remember correctly) with more memory still being free. My suggestion, if you are infact using your system for gaming and not a primary rendering computer, would be to purchase 1GB set (2x512) and if it does not meet your expectations, try purchasing another 2x512 set and see if it increases your performance. If it doesn't, you can always sell the second set.

 

[torin3]

You would be better off waiting to get a Venice core with an improved memory controller to properly handle more than 2 sticks of memory. As far as motherboard capability... I know the DFI NF4 has 4 memory slots, but everybody says to use the Orange slots for performance, and I have not seen any results of people using all 4 slots for memory. In all honesty, they might not even work at the speed or reliability you want..

I was definately planning on waiting for a Venice core CPU. I would like to get the maximum benefit before reaching the point of diminishing returns though.

To echo the other posts for their valid concerns, 4GB is overkill for gaming, and 2GB is also overkill. I have 1GB of memory and when playing Half-Life 2, the memory usage is right below about 600MB (if I remember correctly) with more memory still being free. My suggestion, if you are infact using your system for gaming and not a primary rendering computer, would be to purchase 1GB set (2x512) and if it does not meet your expectations, try purchasing another 2x512 set and see if it increases your performance. If it doesn't, you can always sell the second set.

Well, actually I don't do all that much gaming at the moment, though I plan on doing more in the future. However I do do some video rendering and I was amazed how much time was cut off when I went from 512MB to 1GB. However, since I am a serial upgrader on a budget, I'm going to be picking up the memory 1 stick at a time, so when I get the 3rd one, I'll start playing around with the configurations and benchmark the system to see if I'm getting any additional benefit, or just slowing it back down.

However, as far as overkill goes, I say the more the merrier! I've got a peltier on my current system that I'm planning on moving over as well. I'm tired of having a 'budget' system, so I'm going all out with this new build.

 

[kukyfrope]

I'm not so sure I would recommend buying memory 1 stick at a time. Since the DFI NF4 has Dual Channel memory support, you would highly benefit from having a 2 factory-paired set of RAM. I would recommend buying 1 set at a time, not one-by-one.

I will agree with you that 512 to 1GB for video speed is a big jump, but I am not certain if you will see an equal performance gain with 1.5 or even 2.0GB of memory, but a performance should be seen. I have never run with over 1GB of memory so maybe somebody else could help answer that question.

 

[arklab]

From posted tests with "extreme" amounts of RAM (I wish I could remember where): Anything above one gig. DECREASES memory proformance.
MORE MEANS SLOWER!!!
From Personal Experience with a high-end Gigabyte Intel board and four DDR-500 DIMMs (I could only get these in 256M size - Kingmax TinyBGA - see Anandtech's review).
With just two I can get VERY fast timings, but with all four slots filled I can forget about BOTH overclocking AND fast timings.


Although your results may vary, I kinda doubt it.

 

[Enigma422]

Well seeing that you have a pelt in your system and waiting for the Venice core you will be OCing your system as much as you can. With 4 sticks you will more than likely be decreasing the maximum potential you will get out of your chip because now your memory controller will have to deal with addressing more memory and more DIMMs. Also 1GB memory tend not to OC as much as the smaller 512MB or 256MB varieties. More transistors so more chances of something killing your OC potential. Right now the standard for a high end rig is 1GB (2x 512MB), but if you absolutely must then 2GB, but as I said before that's more than likely not needed. You will probably see a better performance increase from a higher clocked CPU than an extra gig of memory that you will more than likely not be using.

 

[torin3]

From posted tests with "extreme" amounts of RAM (I wish I could remember where): Anything above one gig. DECREASES memory proformance.
MORE MEANS SLOWER!!!
From Personal Experience with a high-end Gigabyte Intel board and four DDR-500 DIMMs (I could only get these in 256M size - Kingmax TinyBGA - see Anandtech's review).
With just two I can get VERY fast timings, but with all four slots filled I can forget about BOTH overclocking AND fast timings.


Although your results may vary, I kinda doubt it.

Thanks, this was the information I was looking for. Looks like 1GB it is then. Which is cool, because it cuts my cost a bit.

 

[torin3]

Well seeing that you have a pelt in your system and waiting for the Venice core you will be OCing your system as much as you can. With 4 sticks you will more than likely be decreasing the maximum potential you will get out of your chip because now your memory controller will have to deal with addressing more memory and more DIMMs. Also 1GB memory tend not to OC as much as the smaller 512MB or 256MB varieties. More transistors so more chances of something killing your OC potential. Right now the standard for a high end rig is 1GB (2x 512MB), but if you absolutely must then 2GB, but as I said before that's more than likely not needed. You will probably see a better performance increase from a higher clocked CPU than an extra gig of memory that you will more than likely not be using.

Thank you. 2x512MB of the best ram I can reasonably get then. I'll spend the difference on the CPU. Speaking of which, it was my understanding that the 1MB L2 Cache on the CPU was the best option at the moment. Does anybody know if that is likely to remain the same for Venice?