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memory upgrade does not give so much higher score

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rob

20 Aug, 2011 07:06 PM

I've upgraded my 8,1 Imac 3,06 Ghz from 2 to 6 Gb memory

Results whith 2 GB memory score is: 4230
Processor integer performance 3527
Floating Point Processor floating point performance 6310
Memory Memory performance 2939
Stream Memory bandwidth performance 2002

after upgrade to 6 GB score is: 4270
Processor integer performance 3555
Floating Point Processor floating point performance 6395
Memory Memory performance 2966
Stream Memory bandwidth performance 1945

that's only 0,1% total extra performance.
Is that correct??

Rob

1. Support Staff 2 Posted by John on 14 Sep, 2011 08:22 AM

   

   Hi Rob,

   Thanks for your message, and sorry for the delay in responding to you. Adding more memory to your computer only improves performance if your computer didn't have enough memory for your applications in the first place.

   Testing for insufficient memory is difficult and highly dependent on each user's workflow. Some users only need 2GB of RAM while other users need 16GB of RAM. Instead, Geekbench tests the speed of the memory installed (i.e., how fast the RAM is at providing the processor with data). If your new RAM is the same kind as your old RAM (e.g., DDR2-800) your memory won't be any faster (or slower!) and thus your score won't change.

   Let me know if you have any other questions and I'd be happy to answer them.

   Best,
   John

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2. 3 Posted by Uri on 30 Jun, 2012 09:33 AM

   

   Hi John,

   I too was interested to see that computers with wildly differing RAM setups (and no other discernible differences) scored so closely. I use my computer mainly for Photoshop CS6, which as far as I understand, uses as much RAM as you can throw at it. My questions therefore are:

   1. Does this mean that Geekbench is not a useful tool for my specific instance?
   2. Why doesn't Geekbench measure parameters that "value" extra RAM, insofar as many contemporary applications (video conversion & editing, Photoshop, etc) definitely do benefit from added RAM.

   Many thanks for your help and apologies in advance if I am wrong about any of this - I am no tech expert! :)

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3. Support Staff 4 Posted by John on 26 Jul, 2012 04:48 PM

   

   Hi Uri,

   Geekbench doesn't "value" extra RAM because extra RAM does not always lead to extra performance (unlike faster processors, where a faster processor will almost always lead to a faster system). Applications like Photoshop only use as much RAM as they need; if you're working on only a few small files, Photoshop will not benefit from the extra RAM.

   The best way to find out if your system needs more RAM is by finding out whether your system is using all the RAM that's installed on your system. If you only have a small amount of RAM free (e.g., <100MB) then chances are your system will benefit from having more RAM installed.

   Best,
   John

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4. 5 Posted by fenom on 18 Sep, 2012 09:09 PM

   

   memory is like food, more than enough is too much

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5. John closed this discussion on 19 Sep, 2012 08:16 PM.

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