Increasing laptop RAM for better gaming?

cnk

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Jan 28, 2014
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10,510
Hi, I have a Dell Latitude E6230 with the Core I7-3520M CPU @ 2.90GHz and Intell HD 4000 graphics. I was wondering, if i increase the RAM with http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009PV1ELO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Will I get a better gaming experience? As in better FPS and cooler CPU and GPU? I had 4gigs of RAM already, but upgraded on of the RAM cards with a 4gig, but didnt notice much difference. I was reading something about Intel HD graphics using duel channels but only with 2 of the same kind of RAM. Ive done a lot of research, but cant find anything to confirm. Thanks!
 
Solution
Increasing the amount of RAM on a desktop or laptop will not improve the FPS you have without a better RAM. RAM will only affect the system performance and stop the stuttering you have.

Read this thread to help you.
http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1091311-in-what-way-does-adding-extra-ram-help-pc-gaming-performance/

Some games will require more RAM than others. Like how Battlefield requires more than Minecraft. I would like to quote this in.


Phew...that was a lot of benchmarking! Two systems, ten different games, three memory amounts, and lots of runs of each benchmark. And what can we conclude? Well, it seems that the initial findings based on our first test system hold true - RAM amount simply doesn't make a big difference...

Joeteoh99

Estimable
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Jul 20, 2014
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Increasing the amount of RAM on a desktop or laptop will not improve the FPS you have without a better RAM. RAM will only affect the system performance and stop the stuttering you have.

Read this thread to help you.
http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1091311-in-what-way-does-adding-extra-ram-help-pc-gaming-performance/

Some games will require more RAM than others. Like how Battlefield requires more than Minecraft. I would like to quote this in.


Phew...that was a lot of benchmarking! Two systems, ten different games, three memory amounts, and lots of runs of each benchmark. And what can we conclude? Well, it seems that the initial findings based on our first test system hold true - RAM amount simply doesn't make a big difference for performance - we witnessed at most a 4 percent difference in average frames per second jumping from 4GB to 8GB, and no boost to average FPS jumping to 16GB. Furthermore, part of the 4GB systems' deficits could have been due to running in single-channel mode. Based on our findings, we're confident saying that if you're on a tight budget, whatever money you spend on more than 4GB would definitely be better spent on the next level of video card, or perhaps a quad-core instead of a dual-core processor.

But there is a caveat, and it's a big one - you really have to "manage" your RAM more with 4GB. First of all, you'll want to limit background tasks. All of our tests were performed with the minimum of applications running in the background - if you tend to have a number of programs running while gaming, having just 4GB may be an issue. Also, keep in mind that you need to allow Windows to run a substantial page file when you have 4GB - our attempts to benchmark with the slim 1GB page file we use with 16GB of RAM led to running out of virtual memory upon launching some of our games with only 4GB of physical RAM.

So what's our advice? 8GB is probably the safest bet, not because it adds much to performance, but because it will allow you to do more with your system. As for 16GB - we'll stick to our guns here. We might run it in our test rig, but in no way, shape, or form do we recommend it to users who are only interested in maximizing gaming performance. The extra $60-70 is much better spent on other components. Maybe one day, if memory drops back down to $4/GB, which it hit in December 2012, we'll say "RAM is cheap, get 16GB," but until then, 8GB is our target for any reasonably-priced gaming system.


http://www.techbuyersguru.com/Ramgaming2.php
 
Solution

cnk

Honorable
Jan 28, 2014
2
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10,510


Thank you for this detailed answer. Ive decided to just upgrade my tower with a new processor, ram, psu, and graphics card instead. It will cost me a bit more money, but will be better than paying almost 200$ just to stop shuttering in my games. Thanks again!

 

Joeteoh99

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Jul 20, 2014
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That will be a wise choice. By the way I do not write the whole thing up it was by a fellow member from Tom's. ;)
 

javagrand101

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Aug 26, 2014
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4,510


Well i would recommend Corsair 8gb for a person on a budget. I've never had any problems trying to run games on my laptop with 8gbs of ram. Here is what i suggest you buy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YUF8ZG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002YUF8ZG&linkCode=as2&tag=redrocair-20&linkId=TTOG267M7RQYJ4H7