question on ram speed

[randomone05]

hello. i just order a new Alienware Aurora R3 yesterday with 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz. my current ram is running at a stunning 336MHz. it, also, is 8GB. just out of curiosity, how big of a jump am i going to see with my new PC when it arrives?
here are the main specs for the new PC:

(please dont say "oh its alienware its shit...etc")
Intel Core i5-2400 (6MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.6GHz
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache
Matte Stealth Black Alienware Aurora w/ 525W Multi-GPU Approved PSU

[Deleted]

How on earth you have managed to get that sort of speed on your current RAM is beyond me.

The jump in speed should only be noticeable if you're using the ram, it allows for a lot more multitasking, and for overclocking as well (but you'd really want 1600MHz ram to do that with). Generally I don't think you'd see a straight up improvement just using WoW, but if you had WoW open with youtube, skype, and irc and everything open, you'd probably see it improve.

I'm not gonna say Alienware is shit, but Dell are a nightmare to work with I'm sure you could build it for a lot cheaper and stuff a lot more stuff in there, but that's 100% up to you.

Good luck with the new computer

[doesnotcare]

how is your ram that slow?

herp derp ignore that

and if it is you should see a HUGE jump, it sounds like your old ram isn't work properly if its that slow

[Xeraxis]

how is your ram that slow?

you should check and make sure that your MoBo is compatible with your ram first just in case

and if it is you should see a HUGE jump, it sounds like your old ram isn't work properly if its that slow

hello. i just order a new Alienware Aurora R3 yesterday with 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz. my current ram is running at a stunning 336MHz. it, also, is 8GB. just out of curiosity, how big of a jump am i going to see with my new PC when it arrives?

Bolded the answer to one of your questions/observations. His ram is probably that slow because you can still believe it or not run WoW on computers that are nearly a decade old.

[Deleted]

hello. i just order a new Alienware Aurora R3 yesterday with 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz. my current ram is running at a stunning 336MHz. it, also, is 8GB. just out of curiosity, how big of a jump am i going to see with my new PC when it arrives?
here are the main specs for the new PC:

(please dont say "oh its alienware its shit...etc")
Intel Core i5-2400 (6MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.6GHz
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache
Matte Stealth Black Alienware Aurora w/ 525W Multi-GPU Approved PSU

This is such an outdated piece of metal. jeeez man, you should donated it to the museum already. I don't think WoW will run on that machine.. maybe 800 x 600 wiht no AA

User was infracted for this post.

[noteworthynerd]

I know you ask us not to beat on Alienware, but I urge you to reconsider... They are simply too highly priced for the performance you receive. A friend owns an Alienware that cost her $1500 more than my custom PC cost me to build, but my PC runs circles around her's.

As for the difference you'll see: It really depends on the rest of your current PC (CPU, GPU, etc). With an i5 and a GTX 460, you'll certainly be able to run WoW on ultra without any problems (as long as you keep multisampling low).

[Djinni]

but but alienware has some really cool skins and logo's etc...

Heck if I had the money, i'd buy a cheap alienware just for the skins, logos and themes, then swap out all the hardware for some decent stuff :P

[noteworthynerd]

but but alienware has some really cool skins and logo's etc...

Yeah, pretty much all you get when you spend that extra $1500 (since their support sucks d***)...

[Deleted]

I don't think WoW will run on that machine.. maybe 800 x 600 wiht no AA

That's such an overexaggeration, WoW will run on anything...how well is the question.

I think we should leave him about his Alienware thing, he's already ordered the computer, not much we can change about that (as much as we want to) :P

Scryus.

[Spl4sh3r]

As for the difference you'll see: It really depends on the rest of your current PC (CPU, GPU, etc). With an i5 and a GTX 460, you'll certainly be able to run WoW on ultra without any problems (as long as you keep multiplexing low).

How big difference is i5 to i7, since I got i7 with GTX 275 and run WoW on max on everything :P

As for the alienware "debate" it costs alot because its a popular brand in computers. To be "popular" you have to use more cash ;P

[noteworthynerd]

How big difference is i5 to i7, since I got i7 with GTX 275 and run WoW on max on everything :P

As for the alienware "debate" it costs alot because its a popular brand in computers. To be "popular" you have to use more cash ;P

i5 to i7 isn't really that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things. It ultimately depends on what generation we're talking about, newer i5(s) like the 2500k or 2600k are even sometimes better than old i7(s) like my 950. Also, I doubt you run WoW on max with multisampling turned all the way up. I run with it set to 2x, setting it to 8 brings my FPS to a CRAWL.

And you're correct, Alienware PCs cost so much because they are a popular brand. Unfortunately, that extra cash does not get you any extra performance, just fancy cases and lights, and that alien-head logo on the front.

[randomone05]

my current RAM is that slow because my pc is 3 years old. its a dell xps 420. it came with 4GB of ram when i got it and put 8GB in last year or the year before. that was before i knew what the MHz difference was. i currently run WoW on ultra graphics setting. i can run that and firefox without much trouble. my FPS arent very high, but i dont notice it much anymore since ive seen it like this for 2 years.
like i said in my first post, dont bash my choice of machines. all i want is opinions on the RAM.

[haxartus]

This DDR3 1333MHz is likely to operate at 667Mhz while yours operates at 336MHz.
It will make a difference, but you will see a much bigger jump from the upgrade Core 2 Duo ---> i5.

[Dashield28]

How on earth you have managed to get that sort of speed on your current RAM is beyond me.

The jump in speed should only be noticeable if you're using the ram, it allows for a lot more multitasking, and for overclocking as well (but you'd really want 1600MHz ram to do that with). Generally I don't think you'd see a straight up improvement just using WoW, but if you had WoW open with youtube, skype, and irc and everything open, you'd probably see it improve.

I'm not gonna say Alienware is shit, but Dell are a nightmare to work with I'm sure you could build it for a lot cheaper and stuff a lot more stuff in there, but that's 100% up to you.

Good luck with the new computer

Just because your RAM says it can run at 1600 MHz, it doesn't mean that is the case. It largely depends on your motherboard.

[noteworthynerd]

like i said in my first post, dont bash my choice of machines. all i want is opinions on the RAM.

You can say that til you're blue in the face, but that doesn't mean people won't give their opinion (like myself), especially when we feel like a fellow MMO-Cer is getting ripped off - the fact is, when you buy Alienware you're paying more for the brand name than for performance (I know firsthand, my first PC was an Alienware). We're only trying to help.

Anyway, you wouldn't see that big of a difference if you were simply swapping the RAM, but since you're upgrading to an i5 and a GTX 460, you should see a decent improvement.

[Djinni]

Just because your RAM says it can run at 1600 MHz, it doesn't mean that is the case. It largely depends on your motherboard.

true... but more often than not people's RAM speed is "self-capped" IE, getting a machine with 1066mhz ram, then putting an extra 1 or 2gb in at 400mhz, causing it all to run at 400mhz.

[randomone05]

You can say that til you're blue in the face, but that doesn't mean people won't give their opinion (like myself), especially when we feel like a fellow MMO-Cer is getting ripped off - the fact is, when you buy Alienware you're paying more for the brand name than for performance (I know firsthand, my first PC was an Alienware). We're only trying to help.

Anyway, you wouldn't see that big of a difference if you were simply swapping the RAM, but since you're upgrading to an i5 and a GTX 460, you should see a decent improvement.

well, if i could get bits and pieces from here and there, i would. but the credit line is with dell. and since im unemployed, i have to put it on my fathers credit line and pay him back slowly. i just hope it gets here sooner than it says in the order status...my GPU sits at 82 C. yea, showing its age much? lol.
just as a reference, i'll post the current specs of my PC.

CPU: intel core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
RAM: 8GB Dual channel DDR2 @ 398MHz (i had it wrong in my first post)
GPU: 512MB GeForce 8800 GT

there. think its time for an upgrade? lol

[haxartus]

You have DDR2 800Mhz and you're upgrading to DDR3 1333Mhz.
The upgrade from Q6600 to i5 is much more significant.

[randomone05]

You have DDR2 800Mhz and you're upgrading to DDR3 1333Mhz.
The upgrade from Q6600 to i5 is much more significant.

this is where i get confused with RAM. if i check Speccy, it says its running at 398MHz. but the actual speed or w/e the 800MHz is what its made to run at? and, if im thinking right, the reason it says it runs at 398MHz is because my current motherboard will only run it at 398MHz? sorry for my confusion. RAM has always been a bit of a mystery to me.

[Havermeyer]

RAM speed hasn't been much of a performance bottleneck since the original DDR (double data rate) SDRAM spec. For what it's worth, 400MHz DDR2 runs at an effective 800MHz, just like 1333MHz DDR3 is actually clocked at 667MHz.

I would have just upgraded the video card; my Q6600 is far and away the best processor I've ever owned. The upgrade bug has bitten me too, but the driving force is mostly to re-purpose this machine and replace an old (~5 years) Athlon 64 Venice-core.