RAM preferences: capacity vs speed

[jmcewen]

How much does RAM clock matter in Vectorworks?

 

I got a new desktop at the end of the year (specs in signature.). It is all stock as I purchased it still.  It is super fast compared to my old laptop (also in signature) while doing focused work, but I am running into some problems multitasking on it because of RAM capacity. When I have web browser open with several tabs, and Photoshop going to edit some images for a texture, and a YouTube tutorial showing me something I don't  understand yet(all this is common for me) it chews through my RAM pretty quickly  compared to my huge pile of relatively slow RAM on my old laptop.

 

My MOBO only has 2 RAM slots, so my options are limited.  The MOBO is meant for overclocking and gaming enthusiasts who value speed but don't  generally need huge RAM capacity. I cannot find RAM to match my current clock in a 64 or 96GB kit, but I can find it at 6600mt/s.

 

But is the 6600 mt/s necessary? Am I just as well off in VWX with  even slower RAM.  I got a great deal on the desktop, but it still cost a chunk of change. I will be happy  I can save a few pennies on a slower clock without sacrificing much performance in my primary purpose. 

 

[grant_PD]

I've never even considered RAM clock speed when buying computers.  Photoshop and your browser will hog a lot of RAM, and also VRAM.  I would think you would be better off with more RAM, regardless of the speed.  

[grant_PD]

Forgot to mention, you should make sure your graphics card drivers are up to date if you're getting issues.  9 times out of ten if I'm having a bad VW day, it's because my driver wants to be updated.  The other 1 time, it'll be bad geometry....

[Ross Harris]

It's probably not the ram clock that's the issue... 48gb is an odd number, meaning that the two sticks are not a matched pair and can't read and write in interleaved mode. Which as far as I can recall means it writes to both sticks simultaneously - when it can't there is a reduction in speed.

I'd look at getting a matched pair of ram sticks with the rated clock speed for your CPU. Matched pairs go up in multiples - 16gb, 32gb, 64gb etc.

If you've not overclocked, DDR5 5600 or higher(assuming the board is a DDR5 board) should do the business. 

We've got two matched pairs of 32gb DDR5 5600 for 64gb in our 13900k rigs and they are flying with multiple acrobat docs, photo viewer, chrome tabs and occasionally YouTube running. 

Edited January 30 by Ross Harris

[jmcewen]

15 hours ago, Ross Harris said:

It's probably not the ram clock that's the issue... 48gb is an odd number, meaning that the two sticks are not a matched pair and can't read and write in interleaved mode. Which as far as I can recall means it writes to both sticks simultaneously - when it can't there is a reduction in speed.

I'd look at getting a matched pair of ram sticks with the rated clock speed for your CPU. Matched pairs go up in multiples - 16gb, 32gb, 64gb etc.

If you've not overclocked, DDR5 5600 or higher(assuming the board is a DDR5 board) should do the business. 

We've got two matched pairs of 32gb DDR5 5600 for 64gb in our 13900k rigs and they are flying with multiple acrobat docs, photo viewer, chrome tabs and occasionally YouTube running. 

It is 2 sticks of 24... It sounded funny to me too, but sticks come in 24 and 48 now. All the major players are making it now-- Crucial, Corsair, GSkill, though it is still less common. And it isn't  only budget minded memory.  There is some really high end stuff out there.  Here is what I currently have: https://www.gskill.com/product/165/374/1680070678/F5-8000J4048F24GX2-TZ5RK

 

And I am looking at kits of 64 and 96 (2x48).  If I find the right person to sell my old RAM to, and if I buy 5600, then it might not cost me much at all.

 

But I will take the speed advice.  That puts me squarely in a more budget-friendly territory.  

[Ross Harris]

Wow! I've not seen 24gb sticks before... Just checked my usual retailer and there they are! They certainly weren't there a month ago when I specified a rig - most sets are on back order so I presume it's a recent development/availability here. There's more 96gb sets coming through than 48gb though, and not to stupidly priced.. which is great for ITX builds with only two slots, which I'm keen to do 

Which makes your issue puzzling cos they should be interleaving... 🤔

I  just built a 14900k/4090/64gb rig late last year to run VW+Interiorcad and Enscape with with two 42“ monitors for a colleague... It doesn't break a sweat; Interiorcad can can be heavily taxing with a buildings worth of fully detailed cabinetry on top of piping out to Enscape for real time rendering.

Is there anything loading at startup that's sucking the life out of the machine?

[jmcewen]

10 hours ago, Ross Harris said:

Wow! I've not seen 24gb sticks before... Just checked my usual retailer and there they are! They certainly weren't there a month ago when I specified a rig - most sets are on back order so I presume it's a recent development/availability here. There's more 96gb sets coming through than 48gb though, and not to stupidly priced.. which is great for ITX builds with only two slots, which I'm keen to do 

Which makes your issue puzzling cos they should be interleaving... 🤔

I  just built a 14900k/4090/64gb rig late last year to run VW+Interiorcad and Enscape with with two 42“ monitors for a colleague... It doesn't break a sweat; Interiorcad can can be heavily taxing with a buildings worth of fully detailed cabinetry on top of piping out to Enscape for real time rendering.

Is there anything loading at startup that's sucking the life out of the machine?

The 96 makes more sense than 48.  Most use cases for 48 could scrape by with 32 or can afford the little bit extra needed to reach 64. There is a much wider gap between 64 and 128 that I think more people will find worthwhile.

 

I haven't had huge slowdowns or lockups, but I do broadly keep an eye on resource usage.  I have hit 75% capacity quite a few times, and haven't necessarily been in my biggest baddest drawings. 

 

Mostly, I am trying to avoid plunging over the cliff several steps before my toes are at the edge.  I fully recognize the First-World nature of my problem.  A few years ago when I was at a regular job at a regular office, I would not have even seen this as a potential issue.  But now that I am out on my own I want to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of the tool that represents 65% of my income while also making it as reliable as possible.

[jmcewen]

Pulled the trigger and upgraded to 96 gb at 6400. It was the right choice.  My RAM usage graph is looking much safer now.