XPS 730x General Hardware Discussion thread

Michael -

If 2GB of memory is enough for you and you do not understand why someone would want the most RAM possible, then I do not think you understand what some people are doing with these computers - and I am not speaking of playing games.

Just to add to your informative post i quote an article from www.tomshardware.com -

"users of memory-intense processes such as video encoding and high-resolution photo editing should already be familiar with the benefits of increasing the amount of work they can store in RAM…while decreasing the amount that must be cached to a slower temporary file on the hard drive."

Hello Chris, I don't know why anyone would need 6GB of ram I think it's over kill and system would not recognized it, would be a waste of money! 3GB of Ram is efficient and enough for today’s systems! When buying a new computer look for better sound cards, hard drive space, and video memory spend more money on these features before memory upgrades, if you don't seem like you have enough memory and system freezes on pages than get an extra 1GB of memory! I am running on 2GB of memory it's more than enough for me!

With all due respect Mike, the fact that you "dont know why anyone would need 6GB of RAM" is self-defining. The reason you dont know why someone would need that is because you DONT KNOW!. What I mean by that is that you are naive (and I dont mean that in a derogatory way so please dont take offense) to what is truly "required" for optimal performance, how address space relates to system memory and what is required for certain applications (by application I mean role, not necessarily a specific program). You are running 2GB and you claim its more than enough. That may be true, but the fact of the matter is that Vistas MINIMUM requirement for all but its BASIC version is 1GB (i.e. the bare minimum) which common sense and logic dictate is not the best way to go. In addition - the amount of memory available is affected by the amount of addressable memory space (i.e. memory that can be mapped), which is reduced by devices that have portions of the address space reserved. Video cards, for example, utilize a substantial portion of the addressable memory space for their on-board RAM which, in turn, reduces the amount of addressable space available to map your system memory. Try slapping a 1GB or 2GB graphics card in a Vista machine with only 2 GB of RAM and see what happens when any memory intensive app runs (not just games).

As for "looking for better devices" other than memory - that is a nonsense argument since RAM is VERY inexpensive nowadays. Many people make the mistaken assumption (as you did) that the on-board memory on a graphics card is completely independent and unaffected by the system memory (RAM). That is completely false - especially with a 32-bit OS, where the address space limit is 4GB.

My new Rig will have 6GB of RAM since I ordered it with 2 1GB video cards. If I had the option of ordering it with more than 6GB I would have - well before a "HD or sound card" upgrade.

You may also be thinking that your physical memory (RAM) requirements may be less important since you can always increase your page file (virtual memory space on the HD) to compensate, however again - those with experience know that it is far more optimal (performance wise) to utilize physical memory over a swap file. Some enthusiasts will actually disable their swap file, though that is only recommended with large amounts of physical memory.

Again - my intent was not to "raz" you, only to suggest that you do a bit of research before making statements out of lack of knowledge.

In addition – your statement that the “system would not recognize it” (presume you meant it won’t recognize 6GB of RAM) further illustrates your lack of knowledge. A 64-bit OS will EASILY recognize that much, and substantially more RAM.

 Remember - there was a time when people thought "640 KB of memory ought to be enough for most folks"!  ;)

[quote user="Mike28001980"] Hello Chris, I don't know why anyone would need 6GB of ram I think it's over kill and system would not recognized it, would be a waste of money! 3GB of Ram is efficient and enough for today’s systems! When buying a new computer look for better sound cards, hard drive space, and video memory spend more money on these features before memory upgrades, if you don't seem like you have enough memory and system freezes on pages than get an extra 1GB of memory! I am running on 2GB of memory it's more than enough for me!

My new Rig will have 6GB of RAM since I ordered it with 2 1GB video cards. If I had the option of ordering it with more than 6GB I would have - well before a "HD or sound card" upgrade.

 Remember - there was a time when people thought "640 KB of memory ought to be enough for most folks"!  ;)

[/quote]

Actually.. I believe it was 640k was the most anyone would ever need.. :-)

Anyways, I agree with Josh here.  I would have ordered it with 12GB RAM if I could have.  I considered doing a second 1GB vid card, but it's not going to do a whole lot for me.  I was also just going to buy my own SATA drives later since I can get them much cheaper... but I'm lazy and didn't feel like doing it.

I want the RAM because I'm going to be doing a lot of high def video editing.  The quad HT cores in the i7 will be the biggest speed influence, but RAM is significantly faster than HDD caches... that's why when you're doing things that are memory intensive, you want as much RAM as you can have.

My rig still hasn't shipped, btw.  That makes me a saaaaad panda.

As I have one right here I can tell you that the motherboard is a Foxconn

Hello,

If you need more than 6GB of Ram than find, but my system came with 512GB of Ram before I updated to 2GB recently! I still think 6GB of ram is over-kill and not needed and of waste of your money! If your doing gaming than I would suggest you buy a gaming system that plugs into your TV!

Have a nice day!

Mike

Not really sure why you're in here trying to tell people who are ordering the newest, fastest, most expensive technology available that they don't "need it" and are crazy for wanting it...

It's not really an opinion. . . it's a fact that having the extra ram will boost performance in systems that can utilize it.  It's fine if you have the opinion that you don't care about having the best performance or the fastest system available, but ...trying to say it's overkill and it doesn't do anything to bolster performance is wrong.  Go read some speed tests. . . and maybe take it to a forum topic that isn't dealing with the latest and greatest.

In other news.

Still no shipment of my system.  Still no response from Dell as to why people who ordered a week later had their ship already.

And thank you for confirming my Foxconn theory.

Hello, If you need more than 6GB of Ram than find, but my system came with 512GB of Ram before I updated to 2GB recently! I still think 6GB of ram is over-kill and not needed and of waste of your money! If your doing gaming than I would suggest you buy a gaming system that plugs into your TV! Have a nice day!  Mike

Well, I certainly give you credit for standing firm in your ignorance! lol. I guess we are all entitled to our "opinions". As for purchasing a console gaming system to "plug in to a TV" - no thanks, I have no need for a toy. I use my TV to watch television shows - imagine that. I use my computer for many other purposes in addition to gaming (which I admit is a big part of what I use it for). For example - I also use my computer for work, CAD and also to browse Internet forums to help educate the uninformed on the benefits and cost effectiveness of performance upgrades.

You admit you QUADRUPLED the RAM in your computer. Tell me - why did you do that? If it CAME with 512 MB and turned on and worked, then what POSSIBLE reason would you have to "WASTE YOUR MONEY" and purchase more? lol! (You see where I'm going with this?) If you knew at the time you purchased your 512 MB computer that you would someday need 2GB and had the opportunity to purchase it for less than it would likely cost later, then wouldnt you have done it initially?

My current RIG has 4GB of RAM. It works ok, but looking at many benchmarks I regulary run as well as substantial logging information on the size of my swap file has told me what I already suspected - for what I DO (including Gaming, CAD, etc...) I NEED more than 4GB. Period. You see - its called educating yourself by doing research and running tests to actually make a factual determination of what hardware is or is not needed. I prefer that method as opposed to following suggestions that are simply blanket statements made with absolutely NO facts, experiments or research to back it up (i.e. making a naive statement like "6GB is overkill" or that one should "increase video memory", which doesnt even make sense since you cannot increase the memory on modern graphics accelerators - you can only replace the card which is typically FAR more expensive than a RAM upgrade).

Even a brief google search shows the following:

Article showing how inexpensive RAM has become (ex shows 4GB for as little as 25$!):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr2-ram-memory,2079.html

Article showing substantial difference in peformance on I7 systems with 6GB RAM versus 3GB:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/corsair-triple-channel-ddr3,6614.html

Again - not trying to bash - just trying to educate! You have a nice day as well! 

I think I see why your system hasn't shipped There is a 6 day lead time on the following GeForce GTX280 1024MB vidGeForce GTX280 1024MB video card

Can anyone tell me how to get the systems lights to flash when receiving E-Mail, also I do not see a teaming option in the broadcom software. I know both of these things should be able to do on the 730x

Other people who ordered the same card the same day as me already had their system ship.  At the time I ordered (11/20) there wasn't an extra delay due to that graphic card. . . at least none mentioned by the system configuration tool.  Even if there were a 6 day lead time, that's come and gone.  I think really it's just because I complained that other people were starting to get theirs that ordered after I did.  Now they just want me to sit it out because they have the power to do that.  (I like conspiracy theories)

Still shows a ship date of 1/12/09. 

Hey, XPS730X, have you had any luck getting your system powered up?

No such luck - so they are sending me another one which I hope will in fact work properly.

No offense, but if you get your second one before I get my first... especially since you ordered your first one a day after me... I'm going to be pretty irked.

I do, however, hope that your next one is fully functional :-)

I can't believe that they won't respond to me regarding this.  No one wants to give me a reason why my particular order is delayed.  They just want to say they "understand my concern regarding this issue"

No such luck - so they are sending me another one which I hope will in fact work properly.