1600 MHz CL8, or 2400 MHz CL11?

[Speed of flight]

I've been reading a bit, and it seems like I'm at a critical juncture:
I don't really need any more computer parts! So, as a final desperate act of a technology hoarder, what to get now?

I was considering an SSD, but am still unsure of them. You can buy so many "factory refurbished" ones, which beckons the question, "already?"
So I'm looking at RAM. Particularly, some with a 2400 MHz clock. First off, very elusive, and expensive. I'm using 8 GB of Kingston HyperX 1600 now, and love them. However, it's hard to compete with the 50% bandwidth gain.

Question: although FSX won't need it, other games will. Is there an advantage to using the newer stuff? From what I understand, if the speed is 50% faster, but the latencies are 50% slower, what's to gain?

Just a thought...

[OldAirmail]

This is just my take on what you've said. Someone with real knowledge probably knows better.

First off, you have really good specs. No question about it.


One of the things that I've noticed with my own computers is that once you have enough memory, most improvements in memory speed don't make that much, if any, difference.

Although you can run all kinds of speed tests that show one set of RAM is better than another, you should be asking yourself "Can a human being notice it at all?"

Bragging rights are fine. Many seem to have taken it up as a hobby. And if you have the money to burn, I say go for it. BUT "Can a human being notice it at all?"

If you're working with huge CAD files, yeah, faster and more memory is needed. If you're creating large billboards, the same. If you're gaming with 16 screens. Ayup, go for it.

I'm not knocking speed tests. I use the FPS in FSX to gage whether or not I have it tuned right. If I get more than 30 FPS I up the eye candy until it drops back down to 25 or 30 FPS. But a high FPS itself isn't the goal.



"I was considering an SSD..."

Absolutely go for it!

The 2 biggest improvements that I have ever made have been fast drives and fast graphics cards.

I'm using a 250 GB Samsung 830 SSD (mostly) for my OS and FSX. The SSD usually has about 100 to 110 GB free. Almost everything else goes on a fast spinner.

In fact, I just replaced the second drive, a WD Caviar Black, with a better WD Blue. The old WD Black was 500 GB and had more than enough room on it. The problem was that it only had 16mb of cache and was SATA II. The new one, even though it's a blue version is faster with 64mb, and is SATA III.

The biggest difference (assuming spin rate and cache are equal) between Black and Blue, is in the speed of reading/writing small files. There isn't much difference in the handling of large files, one from the other.


My HD setup was with the SSD SATA III on a SATA III motherboard connection, and the WD Caviar Black SATA II on a SATA II motherboard connection.

I cloned my old WD Caviar Black to the new WD10 EZEX (the WD Blue) which was on a SATA III motherboard connection.

After resetting everything to the proper configuration (C: and E: drive letters) I received a very noticeable boost on startup and shutdown, as well in windows operations such as starting and running many programs.

BTW - ever since getting up my SSD I've had the page file set to the E: drive.


Another BTW - after a couple of tests and a few days of use, my old drive will replace an even older drive as a backup drive.



"You can buy so many "factory refurbished" ones, which beckons the question, "already?"

In the US it's against the law to sell a returned item as "new". So if it was opened, even if it wasn't actually used it gets marked as "refurbished". Buying something "used" on the other hand may take some thought.

Reading the one star negative reviews in Amazon it's very clear that often the problem wasn't in the product, but with the idiot reviewer.

So when there's enough of a discount between "refurbished" and "new" I have no problem buying the "refurbished" item. Unfortunatly on Amazon, you often see only a $10 or $15 difference between the two on a product that is selling for $100+.

Amazon does give you the right to return a "refurbished" product (no charge and they pay the shipping back to them) just as easily as a "new" product. So if that $10 or $15 difference is important to you, it probably is a good deal.


I know that I didn't answer your question, but I hope I presented a different way of looking at things.



End note - My system isn't the fastest by any means. And I know that many people laugh at the Windows 7 speed test. But I think that within my budget I'm doing ok.



Hummm. When the i7 drops down to $100 I'll buy one.

[Speed of flight]

Well thank you for the input! It is appreciated.

Just to clarify, I'm not really shooting for bragging rights. I'm not an extraordinarily brilliant guy, with all the tech know-how I should have to be having this good a result. No, rather sheer determination and stubbornness has yielded these specs. I've skimmed through quite a few articles to get just the info I was looking for, not so much to really understand what I was doing. Had I been, I could really get this thing cooking, and perhaps genuinely earn the bragging rights.

Also, I am not of extravagant means. It has been a calculated sales pitch (and a little tantrum) that obligated my wife to give the go-ahead to buy these dang parts in the first place.

Hard drives and ram are the last two functioning parts of an old build that I cannibalized to complete this one. I'm kind of at a loss as to which to replace next. For me, it isn't necessary to do this for work, or anything. It is really a hobby. I like having a pile of go-fast parts. Be they in the PC, the motorcycle, a car, whatever. I am definitely a sucker for more power.
What I was really wondering was if I would really notice a difference, but as you say, probably not.

So, maybe the elusive quality of this newer RAM is a sign that I really may not need it.

Next question, do you think that I could get this stuff to perform at that speed, if I loosen the timings and raise the voltage sufficiently? Or perhaps the better question to ask is, would it be worth it to even try?

[Speed of flight]

BTW, my windows score is not that high at all, because of the slow data transfer rate of an old spinner.

Those i7 are certainly great chips, though. I wonder how the 4th gen does against the 3rd...

[Speed of flight]

BTW, my windows score is not that high at all, because of the slow data transfer rate of an old spinner.

Those i7 are certainly great chips, though. I wonder how the 4th gen does against the 3rd...

[OldAirmail]

Great me repeat themselves.

[OldAirmail]

I think that you answered my unspoken question of why you were looking for that little extra bit of speed;

" I like having a pile of go-fast parts."

That need for speed and its requirement of constantly researching the latest answers will be a never ending hobby in its own right.


"Next question, do you think that I could get this stuff to perform at that speed, if I loosen the timings and raise the voltage sufficiently? Or perhaps the better question to ask is, would it be worth it to even try?"

I'm sure that there are some here that are into getting the most out of their components. You may have to wait for them to check in and spot your questions.

But I'm wondering if this site will get you the answers that you need.

Have you tried Extreme Overclocking? Check out their Memory articles.