Memory speed impact on Core i7 performance tested

Posted on Sunday, December 07 2008 @ 16:16 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
The Tech Report had an indepth look at the impact of memory speed on the performance of the Intel Core i7 processor. Check it out over here.
With three channels of lowly DDR3-1066, you're looking at a whopping 25.6GB/s of memory bandwidth. Crank the memory clock up to 1600MHz, and bandwidth jumps to an even more impressive 38.4GB/s. This fat pipe, combined with the low access latencies inherent to on-die memory controllers, gives the Core i7 a formidable memory subsystem. It also poses an interesting question: how bound by memory speed is Intel's new processor architecture?
The reporter concludes that if you're cash-strapped and don't overclock, you don't lose all that much by running the slower, more affordable DIMMs in your Core i7 rig.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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