[Roentijen]

I'm going to be building a desktop soon and I know for most applications and games that 8gb is probably the most recommended amount of ram to get. And most people don't really need more than that unless they're going to be doing a lot of multitasking etc.

For me though, I happen to be one of those people who likes to tweak the UI of their computer with an almost complete disregard for the performance hit that ensues. That, and I often find myself with a browser window open, and sometimes another program or two as well, while I'm playing TF2.

To get to the point, I'm wondering if 8gigs would be fine for someone running something like this or if 16gigs would be a better idea. Keep in mind that I'd be running that pretty much all the time, along with whatever applications I had open. I'm fully aware that having 16gb is better for multitasking than having 8gb is, but I'm curious of whether or not 8gbs would suffice for someone running rainmeter and a dreamscene along with a web browser and a game like TF2. Or another scenario would be rainmeter, dreamscene, and a game like Crysis 2.

Any thoughts you'd be willing to share on this subject are greatly anticipated and appreciated, thank you.

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8GB is the alleged "sweet spot" however google results reveal all sorts of opinions, see http://www.ramseeker...omputer-memory/ and http://forums.gametr...ave-rig/1204277 I personally do not need more than 8GB but I don`t exactly work my systems hard.

NB: Consideration should also be given to whether the Ram is dual or triple channel.

[phillpower2]

8GB is the alleged "sweet spot" however google results reveal all sorts of opinions, see http://www.ramseeker...omputer-memory/ and http://forums.gametr...ave-rig/1204277 I personally do not need more than 8GB but I don`t exactly work my systems hard.

NB: Consideration should also be given to whether the Ram is dual or triple channel.

[Roentijen]

8GB is the alleged "sweet spot" however google results reveal all sorts of opinions...

Alrighty then, thanks for the tip and links. I checked Google myself, but I was a little overwhelmed by the number of results and varying opinions. From the looks of it I'd be inclined to agree that 8gb will do well for my purposes, even with the memory hogging UI elements I mentioned earlier. If anyone else thinks otherwise please speak up.

I do have another question about RAM now that I'm thinking about it, which will also help me with another topic elsewhere on the forums and that is what specific type of ram to go with. By that I mean what's the "sweet spot" in terms of clock speed and cache latency? It looks like the most generic is something like 1600 CL9 RAM but would 1333 suffice in terms of clock speed? And is CL9 okay or would there be a significant improvement with going to ram with a lower cache latency ah la CL7?

[phillpower2]

The lower the Cas latency the better, couple that with the fastest Ram available for your MB and it can be rather expensive though, for the benefit of others who may read this topic, I previously post the canned speech below at your other topic;

For the best and most stable performance you should where possible purchase a CPU and Ram that have been tested and approved by the motherboard manufacturer, this is referred to as the QVL ( qualified vendors list ) understand though that there are too many products released for them all to be tested so other hardware will be compatible but not proven to be.

Some examples for you;
MB: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157295
MBs QVL: See memory support tab http://www.asrock.co...=Specifications
4GB Ram: http://www.newegg.co...7000CL7D-4GBXHD

[rshaffer61]

Just to add to this topic myself.
I have a movie playing, a game playing(BF3), A virtual box of Win8 running, FF with 27 tabs open, a Excel worksheet open along with background apps that check my system for drivers and programs updates every hour. I have 8 gigs of memory installed and have no problems with any of my applications running with no hesitation at all.

[Roentijen]

The lower the Cas latency the better, couple that with the fastest Ram available for your MB and it can be rather expensive though.

Some examples for you;
MB: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157295
MBs QVL: See memory support tab http://www.asrock.co...=Specifications
4GB Ram: http://www.newegg.co...7000CL7D-4GBXHD

Just to add to this topic myself.
I have a movie playing, a game playing(BF3), A virtual box of Win8 running, FF with 27 tabs open, a Excel worksheet open along with background apps that check my system for drivers and programs updates every hour. I have 8 gigs of memory installed and have no problems with any of my applications running with no hesitation at all.

Thank you both so much for your input. Phill, I have to say it's a bit uncanny, but I was looking at the same mobo you suggested in your example, and given the ASRock QVL and what rshaffer61 mentioned, I've gone ahead and added this chipset to my parts list and will update my other topic soon. I've also bookmarked that ASRock board as it seemed to be one of the best looking out of the Z77 selection on newegg.

Just a question for rshaffer, what clock speed and cache latency is your RAM? The sniper chips I linked to are CL9 1600 which, from what I can tell, is sort of the standard.

[rshaffer61]

Here you go for the info you requested.

[Roentijen]

Grazie messer. I'll look into higher clock speeds then. Unless you think that 1600 would be fine. Perhaps if I selected a 1600 CL7 chipset. I don't mean to keep bugging you gentlemen about this I just want to be sure I'm making the right choice.

EDIT: The 2000 clocked ram is a bit pricey for me so I just settled for the 1866 version of the Sniper chips I selected before. I suppose I could OC them if I really needed higher clock speeds but I don't think I will. They weren't too much more expensive either.

Edited by Roentijen, 08 April 2012 - 08:39 AM.

[phillpower2]

A good choice, cost and on the MBs QVL http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231460
I am not a fan of overclocking and your proposed Ram would be plenty fast enough for me

[Roentijen]

Good to know. Thank again so much for all your help. I'm currently in the process of revising my parts list with the suggestions made and I've decided to change a few other things as well (different case w/ extra fans). While I like the price point of the 1600 better, an extra 10 bucks isn't too big of a leap to get the 1866 which should ensure speedy experiences in most any situation.

[phillpower2]

Make sure any potential case purchase has removable/washable dust filters for better cooling, after comparing your previous case to others (size -cost-cooling etc) I suggest that you consider the Antec 300 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129066

[Roentijen]

I suggest that you consider the Antec 300

I was definitely looking into the 300. Either the one you linked or the base model (I'd purchase separate red LED fans if I chose the latter). But the case I have my eye on currently is the BitFenix Shinobi. I'm trying to decide between the windowed version or the non-windowed version. I'd prefer the non-windowed but I'm not sure if it would get too toasty in there. I was planning on purchasing fans for all the available fan mounts in either case (7 in the windowed, and 6 in the regular). I don't know about dust filters, but the Shinobi is a strikingly good looking case and apparently very well made and solid for the price.

However if the Shinobi doesn't look like it would be good, I'd be willing to go with the Antec 300. I just prefer the appearance of the BitFenix case.

[phillpower2]

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129042 if it had the cooling fans that the blue LED version has I would choose this as I prefer things to a bit more discrete.
I read all the marketing hype regarding the Shinobi and with the exception of listing it can accommodate larger add on video cards I see nothing that would encourage me to purchase it over the Antec 300, your choice of course but personally I cannot see myself in ninja mode when working in the office or here on the forums

[Roentijen]

Yeah, I was thinking I'd either get the Antec 300 base and add some fans or the Shinobi. The only reason I mentioned getting red LED fans was that the mouse and keyboard I selected have red lighting elements so it would kinda match like a set. But I don't really care too much about that and would probably just get regular non-LED fans. After all I'm not going to be looking at the tower when I'm using the computer. I really like the look of the Shinobi better, but I'm not sure about whether or not it will breathe very well.

If I were to go with the Shinobi, would you recommend the windowed version or the windowless version?

...also I've updated my other topic with the new parts list. A few things are still missing, but it's getting closer to completion.

[phillpower2]

Have you considered the time and cost of adding the additional cooking fans to the Shinobi, see below;

Cooling Front 2 x 120mm (optional)

Cooling Rear 1 x 120mm (included) or 1 x 92mm (optional)

Cooling Side Panel N/A

Cooling Top 2 x 140mm or 2 x 120mm (optional)

Cooling Bottom 1 x 120mm (optional)

One review of the Shinobi (to show I am not biased )

"The Antec 300 was our previous favourite but, thanks to better design, cooling options and versatility; this is now the case to buy if you want quality without breaking the bank."

PC Pro - August 05, 2011

If me I would choose the windowless version and cooling fans without LEDs.

NB: Off to check your other topic now