16GB RAM 1600Mhz + i7-2630QM vs 16GB RAM 1333Mhz + i7-2670QM

[zakazak]

Hi, in the Sager NP8170 which one would be the better setup ?

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
+
16GB 1600 hz RAM

vs

Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
+
16GB 1333Mhz RAM

Thanks

[Blurry]

The ram clockspeed upgrade from 1333 to 1600 will result in a ~1% (0.5-1fps) increase in frame rate in games.

The cpu upgrade is pretty nice, extra 10% processing power. Some games/applications are more cpu hungry than others. After the gpu, the cpu will bottleneck the system.

Imo, the small upgrade in ram speed is not worth the loss of the processing power. 1% fps upgrade vs 10% cpu upgrade

[Anthony@MALIBAL]

The slower RAM won't make much of an impact if any on real world work. You're definitely better off getting the faster processor for the ~10% boost. If you don't have plans for 16GB of RAM off the bat (virtualization), I'd cut the RAM back to 8GB and up the CPU to the 2760QM for another 20% jump.

[J.P.@XoticPC]

Have to agree with Blurry, I'd invest my money on the slightly better processor as you'll see more performance there.

Also, Jason Statham FTW

[zakazak]

Well I'm planning to use this notebook for the next few years. And for my current one the thing that ran out first was the RAM. Since I always have a 2nd screen connected and have way more programs running at the same time than I normally do. It happens a few times already that a program crashed because I ran out of RAM :P So I thought the 16GB would really help compared to 8GB with a faster CPU ?

As well as the next upgrade (from Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) to Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) is 150$ more).

Thanks to you I will deff. go for the i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (so the slower RAM and the faster CPU) or maybe better. But not sure if 8GB Ram is really enough (1333Mhz). Maybe 12GB RAM will do it ;D

[Catan]

With a choice like that, you definitely want to get the better processor first. It's much easier to upgrade the RAM further down the line (or omit it completely and buy it yourself for cheaper) than it is to upgrade the processor. You definitely don't want to touch the processor unless you really have to, especially if you applied a good spread of thermal paste on it already

[zakazak]

that is a very good argument.

So I guess the Sager NP8170 got 4 RAM slots?

When taking this here:
8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)

I still got 2 free slots where I could always add 2 more 4GB RAM's to get max. 16GB ?

Or I get this:
12GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (3 SODIMMS)

and have 1 free RAM slot left.

Am I right? If yes I will either go for the 8GB or 12GB and go for the
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
or
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

The next CPU upgrade would be:
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2860QM, 2.5-3.6GHz, (32nm, 8MB L3 cache)
But its 400$ more which is too much

Thanks !

[Hubris2]

Yes it has 4 slots. Since it's generally cheaper to buy the ram yourself (and it's really easy to install) I'd say buy 2x4Gb now, and upgrade to 12 or 16 in the future if you need it.

[Anthony@MALIBAL]

that is a very good argument.

So I guess the Sager NP8170 got 4 RAM slots?

When taking this here:
8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)

I still got 2 free slots where I could always add 2 more 4GB RAM's to get max. 16GB ?

Or I get this:
12GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (3 SODIMMS)

and have 1 free RAM slot left.

Am I right? If yes I will either go for the 8GB or 12GB and go for the
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
or
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

The next CPU upgrade would be:
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2860QM, 2.5-3.6GHz, (32nm, 8MB L3 cache)
But its 400$ more which is too much

Thanks !

The 2760QM is the sweet spot for price/performance. Very few people have need of the 2860, but for the price upgrade from the 2670, the performance of the 2760 is a decent increase. I'd say spend a bit more and upgrade that if you're worried about maxing it out down the road. You can always add your own RAM later. 2x4GB would leave you with 2 empty slots so that you can always add in another 2 sticks

[zakazak]

Well here is one more questions:

How much performance would I gain by upgrading from

i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
to
i7-2760QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.4-3.5GHz (~160$ more) ?

It would be 10% for each core?