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Gone are the days when 1GB of RAM and 400MHz of speed were considered to be a luxury specifications for a PC. 1GB RAM used to cost RM300-400(USD 115) 4-5years back, depending on the RAM timings and brand. Paired it with an AMD Athlon FX-55(best processor at that time) and you’ve got yourself a very fast PC. Fast forward to present time, suddenly this 1GB DDR 400MHZ RAM and FX-55 pairing seems better suited for word processing and your mum’s daily recipe on youtube. The fastest processor was just being dethrone last week when intel releases Core i7 975 Extreme to replace the 965 Extreme.

If you’ve got a Core i7 system, regardless of the fastest 975 Extreme or the slowest Core i7′s family 920 processor, you may come across of different memory configurations. Few queries may pop up in your head;

-How much RAM capacity do I need?

-Do I need the faster and pricier DDR3 1600MHz RAM?

-Do I need the much hyped triple channel configuration?

The answer for the first question is pretty much straight forward, 2GB is the minimum for a decent system. This holds true for any system you planning to build, be it an AMD Phenom II system, Core 2 Duo or Core i7. 2GB is the minimum standard of today’s. Moreover, the price for 2GB DDR3 just cost a fraction of your total system cost as DDR3′s price has gone rock bottom in recent months (though still 20-40% pricier than DDR2).

The optimum RAM bandwidth that was needed for a Core 2 Duo system would be a 1:1 ratio to the system’s front side bus (FSB) bandwidth. However, this no longer holds true for Core i7 as the architecture is so different and is more reminiscent to AMD’s Phenom/Phenom II design. First, the memory controller was build in the CPU’s die, memory bandwidth is thus increased and latency was reduced. The FSB was being replaced by a faster point to point interconnect – QPI. Thus, you don’t have to run in 1:1 ratio anymore for Core i7.

Theoretically, performance on Core i7 system will increased accordingly with every increase of memory bandwidth. However, in real case scenario, Core i7 needs a balanced memory timing and bandwidth. Faster memory with triple channel doesn’t benefit much for Core i7. It was best to get a dual channel configuration for Core i7 as there were very little performance boost going to triple channel over dual channel configuration. You saved RM125++(USD 35) for opting with dual channel instead of triple channel. A DDR3 1066MHz with 6-6-6-18 timing running in dual channel is the recommended configuration for the best price/performance configuration for Core i7 system.

1600MHz DDR3 cost a lot more and you only get very little or in some cases, no benefit of faster performance for your system. You wouldn’t go wrong with a 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM for your Core i7. When applications started to benefit from higher bandwidth, you always got the option of getting an additional one stick of RAM to run in triple channel.

So that’s it, Nahalem Core i7 is the king of CPU of today and it will remain so for at least 1.5 years before Intel ‘Tock out’ the next generation CPU architecture end of 2010. Do you need a fast memory for Core i7? Absolutely no, and the much hyped triple channel is much more of a marketing gimmick. Well, maybe it’s time for applications developer to take advantage of the available bandwidth in triple channel configuration.

Have a quick check in Plaza Lowyat price’s list, if you don’t mind to burn a big hole in your wallet, the Core i7 965 Extreme cost RM3950 (about USD 1,000).

Of course, my facts aren’t without reference as I don’t have the opportunity of testing the hardware with my own hands, these are my sources:

Tweaktown

Tom’s Hardware

Ninjalane (synthetic benchmark only, but with very detail view of the RAM bandwidth in different configurations)

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