memory score and cpu scores lower than expected.

[Lakesidezx]

Hello,

I notice that almost all of my scores for vista are up around 5.6 to 5.9
except my CPU and my RAM.

My cpu is only scored at a 4.9
and my RAM is at 4.6

I have an AMD 64x2 4600+, surely this should warrant a higher score than 4.9

As far as the ram is concerned, I think I know what it is but wanted other
opionions.

I have two sticks of 1GB pc3200 and two sticks of 512MB pc3200. Im guessing
that because I have 2 sticks that are 1gb each and 2 sticks that are 512mb
each this may be causing a bottleneck, does this seem about right?

I have no problem removing the extra 512MB sticks of ram out of the machine
if it will not impact performance on vista home premium edition , 32bit. I
only put the 2 512mb sticks in because they were laying around and I had 2
extra slots that were unfilled.

Opinions? Would performance degrade by removing the extra 512MB sticks of
ram or would it actually improve because all the memory would then be sort
of matched.

 

[Steven Wimer]

Core 2 E6400 scores a 5.1 so your score sounds about right. DDR memory
doesn't have as much bandwidth as DDR2 so your score will be lower in that
regard. I use DDR667 memory and my score is ~5.9 (should be within .5 of
that).

I wouldn't remove any memory. The gain of having fewer chips is offset by
the demands of the OS.

 

[LaRoux]

One thing you might check is to make sure that your ram is matched with the
sticks that are the same size. Most systems will gladly run with 2 single
channels, one with 2gb and the other with 1gb while just by swapping two of
the sticks you will have 3GB dual channel.

You'll need to check you mobo docs on what the correct answer is.

 

[Dale]

I started with a pair of 512MB sticks of DDR2-800 memory and had a memory
score on an Intel board of 4.2 or 4.3 - I forget which now. Simply adding a
second pair increased my score to 5.6. But still not the 5.9 you're seeing.
I think there is more than just type or speed involved. Clearly even just
the amount makes a difference.

Dale

 

[David Hearn]

Take a look at
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/pages/458117.aspx to see
what MS say about the calculations used.

"The Memory Score

The memory score measures the bandwidth of moving data into and out of
memory in mega bytes per second. The higher the bandwidth, the better
the memory.

Not having enough memory is a limiting factor on performance. As a
result, the amount of memory in the system constrains the score value.
The amount of system memory is determined by the overall system memory
minus any memory reserved for graphics (if any).

The amount of memory limits are:

Amount of memory Highest possible score
Less than 256 MB 1.0
Less than 500 MB 2.0
512 MB or less 2.9
Less than 704 MB 3.5
Less than 960 MB 3.9
Less than 1.5 GB 4.5"

So, you'll see a reduction in score if you have < 1.5GB. In your case
you have 3GB so you'll have no reduction because of memory capacity, so
the score is purely down to the bandwidth of your memory.

Thanks

David