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Memory bandwidth / cost

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:27 am
by VHSobsessive
I know you guys have mentioned more than once that system memory bandwidth is a very important factor in predicting performance of NV.

A new PC build is in the back of my mind and I wanted to know if the expensive high-end motherboards (the ones with quad-channel memory) are worth paying for over regular dual channel mainstream boards (with correspondingly lower cost processors).

It's a matter of balance no doubt - avoiding a situation where the CPU is data-starved due to inadequate memory bandwidth, but also not wasting money on e.g. high speed quad channel RAM if 2133MHz dual channel RAM will provide as much bandwidth as a good quad core Intel CPU can use.

So ...

A) can you give me a clue about how much NV would make use of a drastic increase in memory bandwidth ? I'm thinking perhaps an Intel 3820 (Sandy Bridge Extreme) with a socket 2011 motherboard and four DDR3 sticks.

I considered a fast GPU as an alternative but they don't hold their resell value particularly well over time.

B) how much difference does memory latency/timings have on NV performance ? Worth paying extra for RAM with better timings ?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 12:11 pm
by NVTeam
I recommend to get 1600/1866/2133MHz memory whenever possible. That typically offers 10-20% increase in the render speed as compared with slower RAM, and not only in Neat Video.

A 6-core CPU will make better use of that faster RAM than a 2- or 4-core one, so if you get 6 cores, make sure you choose faster memory modules.

Also consider Ivy Bridge, it will probably run a bit faster too.

Hope this helps,
Vlad