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I'm buying a poweredge T310 Intel® Xeon® X3430, 2.4 GHz, 8M Cache, Turbo, for memory should I get:

8GB Memory (4x2GB), 1333MHz, Dual Ranked RDIMM or 16GB Memory (4x4GB), 800MHz, Quad Ranked RDIMM

How would the memory bus speed play a role in this configuration?

Chopper3
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1 Answers1

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I cannot urge you more strongly - GET THE X3440 FOR THE EXTRA £40/$WHATEVER!!! - the X3430 is the only bin of that chip that has hyperthreading switched off - it's really worth the extra.

Now your question - get neither the 8GB nor the 16GB options - go for the 12GB - Nehalem's are optimised for blocks of 3 memory modules at a time (i.e 3 x 4GB). This configuration will benefit you way more that actual chip speed.

Chopper3
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  • +1 for reading between the lines – Mark Henderson Oct 06 '09 at 20:45
  • thanks for the recommendation, would X3470 be better than X3440? –  Oct 06 '09 at 20:49
  • faster yes, but a LOT more expensive - not good value, the X3440 is the 'sweet-spot' but don't be afraid to go to the X3450 if you think you'll benefit from the extra grunt - just don't go for the X3430 ok :) – Chopper3 Oct 06 '09 at 20:53
  • also at dell's configuration the only 12gb option is 12GB Memory (6x2GB), not 3x4GB as you mentioned, would it still benefit? –  Oct 06 '09 at 21:08
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    you're right, but it's the 'divide by 3 not 3' rule that's key - so yes, yes you will benefit. – Chopper3 Oct 06 '09 at 21:13
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    '3 not 2' I meant of course ;) – Chopper3 Oct 06 '09 at 21:29
  • Are you sure about this? I went to Intel and compared the X3430 and the X3440 and both say they are Lynnfield processors with support for 2 memory channels up to 32GB. I'm not sure this is a 3 channel CPU. I do see the note for the 3440 supporting twice the threads with Hyper Threading. I will admit I haven't studied this stuff in many years though. – Christopher Painter Jan 07 '11 at 00:25