Amount of Ram recommended

[SeAnCoLd]

Hello all bros, I just placed an order for a dell laptop Studio XPS16, and I'm wondering how much ram I should get subsequently and where's the best place to get them? Below are the specs of my purchase:

Windows(R) 7 Professional 64bit (English)
Intel(R) Core(TM ) I7-720QM Mobile Processor (1.6GHz, turbo up to 2.8GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
Memory 4GB Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB)
Video Card ATI Mobility RADEON(R) HD 4670 - 1GB
Hard Drive 500GB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
Slot Load Fixed Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW Combo Drive
Integrated CREATIVE Sound Blaster(R) X-Fi MB Audio
Primary Battery 9-cell (85WHr) Lithium Ion Primary Battery
16.0" UltraSharp(TM) Full High Definition (1080p) RGBLED Display with TrueLife(TM )

I didn't opt for more ram simply because it was too expensive - around $300+ more for 6gb instead of 4gb. 8gb is priced even higher at 800+ more (or was it 1000+. can't remember exactly).

Main use of this laptop would be for photo processing using DPP and Photoshop CS4. Will be using it for gaming occasionally, since there's 1gb of video - might as well put it to good use ;p

I reckon the more ram I have the faster it runs, but 8gb is way too expensive. Anyone knows how much would a 4gb piece of Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM cost at Sim Lim square? I checked out the price lists on HWZ, but this wasn't listed. Thanks for your help!

 

[agentxq49]

ouch, i think you got your purchase wrong if you wanted to upgrade your ram externally. 2X2gb, and from what i know, XPS16 has only 2 slots. this means that for you to upgrade to 8gb, you need to throw away a 2 gig of DDR3 ram OMG!

ask them if they can provide a single stick of 4gb ram instead.

oh and AFAIK, 4 gig of ddr3 and 6 gig of ddr3 doesnt do much diff as ddr3 is very fast to begin with. only programs like photoshop + a stitch of 10 24mp shots would benefit from it.

 

[SeAnCoLd]

Thanks for your reply bro

In that case, I guess I'll stick to 4gb for the time being and save some money. My camera's only 10mp. ;p

 

[kurtlim]

the 6GB option is 1x4GB + 1x2GB and need to add $365.94. these modules are 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, not exactly fast in desktop standard and actually slower than DDR2 1066MHz--latency. i7-720QM has a dual channel memory controller built-in, using single RAM module will handicap it to single channel--essentially cut the memory bandwidth to half the max speed. one of the reason why older Core i7 is faster than the new i5, the desktop Core i7 has triple-channel memory controller.

just stay with 2x2GB, upgrade when needed and modules available, sell the 2x2GB.

 

[rsphase]

4gb of RAM is definitely enough especially your camera only have 10MP. Should be able to handle PS and heavy editing pretty well. Just don't handle video editing as well at the same time.. I think even 4gb might not be enough :bsmilie:

 

[Octarine]

You don't need more RAM. Processing images requires CPU power (you have already 4 cores), newer versions of Photoshop can also utilize the GPU (although some members here reported side effects with profiling tools). For more RAM you can look at Best Bargain, Sim Lim 5th floor. Do check the details about RAM modules and technical specs as recommended.

 

[SeAnCoLd]

Thanks a lot bros. I'll stick to 4gb for now.