1GB of RAM instead of 512 on WinXP for gaming any use ?

[xdaishanx]

Just wondered if anyone had been using 1 GB RAM in a PIV Machine with XP -

my basic setup is

PIV 2.0 northwood oc'd to only 2.2 right now
ABIT TH7II ( non raid )
512 MB PC800 RDRAM
Gainward GEF3 TI200 128MB RAM oc'd to 500 level ( amazing how great those gold samples are )
Audigy etc etc
windowsxp

anyway noticed that PC800 RAM is quite cheap right now and could add 512 more for less than 100 and wodered if anyone saw any noticeable use of it ? I have all the tweaks enabled loading more of the kernel into ram etc -

one game in particular was wondering about was EQ - with its expansion being such a resource hog have heard that people with gig of ram actually see it being used - anyway not just for EQ but anyone have any experience in using the gig of ram for gaming with xp


thanks in advance

 

[vash]

Going to 1gig of ram sounds pretty nice, but its only a benefit when you run something that can max out more ram that you currently have. Basically, if some application, or game, goes over your amount of memory, your hard drive with swap for more memory. At 512megs, I would bet there are only a few games (if any), that go over your amount of ram. You won't get additional FPS (usually), but going more, so its not a benefit there.

With all the things I run, I don't usually go over 512, but being over 512 would still put a smile on my face.

vash

 

[KenAF]

There is no point to more than 512Mb memory...unless you are going to be running a game server with more than 20 users.

You would do better to spend your money on a faster hard drive. Memory is measured in nanoseconds...hard drive performance is measured in milliseconds. It's funny how people worry about whether their memory is CAS2 or CAS2.5...and we're talking nanoseconds there...yet could care less whether there hard drive is 40% slower than what else might be available.

 

[jmitchell]

I slightly disagree... I find that even with 500 megs, (in xp) My ram is utilized completely by games such as RTCW and MOHAA... It takes waayyy too long to get back to my desktop after I leave the game. (ok a few seconds isnt that long, but..) I would much rather have a gig in my system, and be more prepared for the upcoming games which are sure to require 512 to run at their absolute best...

 

[xdaishanx]

Thats what I was thinking as some games ( albeit a very few ) are actually beginning to have 512MB as the recommended spec and I know its being a freak but being right at only the recommended spec just doesnt suit me but seriously did wonder if anyone had seen any use of the extra ram especially with all the tweaks you can do in the registry in XP to basically force it to keep the entire kernel in ram etc for faster OS performance - and its just hard to pass up Corsair PC800 RAM for 47.00 for 128.00 MB - who knows when it may go back up

 

[Haribo]

Any game TODAY that has 512mb as recommended must be programmed by monkeyz!

also plz show me a linky of one!

 

[BlakkIce]

i just paid $230 for 2 256mb PC 800 rdram sticks u know where i can get some cheeper i would like to have a gig

 

[tigerbait]

<< nyway noticed that PC800 RAM is quite cheap right now and could add 512 more for less than 100 >>



where?

 

[rwalterk]

Even 512 is probably overboard for almost any game. If you want proof, maybe borrow 512 from a friend and run some benchmarks.

 

[Tol]

The latest Everquest expansion, Shadows of Luclin, *requires* 512MB of ram in order to view all their new models.

 

[mchammer187]

not for games , but it goes a long way for bragging rights

 

[JackBurton]

MOST games don't need it, but it looks like the newer GOOD games enjoy using ALL MY FREAKIN' MEMORY! :| I usually like to listen to MP3s while playing online, but when I was playing RTCW and MMJ running in the back ground, I was using 519MB of my 512MB memory!! Without MMJ I was using 499MB! WTF?! I'm DEFINITELY getting 512MB more memory. You can get some VERY good RDRAM (Samsung) at googlegear.com for ~$77 per 256MB stick. Not bad considering Crucial is selling their PC2100 for $88. Most of the time you'll problably be under 200MB, but some of these newer games that are coming out are eating memory like it was candy! LOAD THAT P4 MOBO UP!

 

[Skibby9]

Call me crazy, but do you guys thing that regular defragging and registry maintainance would have a greater impact than increasing from 512--->1024MB RAM?

Also, while I digress, what do you think of Norton Speeddisk? Is it better than the defragger included with XP?

 

[Sunner]

I think it would be a total waste for gaming.

256 is just fine for 99% of the games out there, cept maybe a few will take a few seconds more to load.

If you have unlimited find, why not, but otherwise, I can think of many other things I'd spend my money on before 1 GB of RAM.

 

[Jerboy]

freaking GAME wants 1GB of RAM? Talk about inefficiency and crappy return. Not that I'm surprised though because PC's are general purpose digital equipment that can do many different things and often time not very good at each thing they do. Consoles use the system much more efficiently and easily smoke PC's with its specifically optimized RISC processor running on 64 or 128bit architecture.

 

[Insidious]

<< Consoles use the system much more efficiently and easily smoke PC's >>



Speaking of smoke......... I'll have some of whatever this guy has been smokin'

 

[acidvoodoo]

he's right because consoles processors are designed for games, not general use

 

[Insidious]

While the argument may seem compelling on paper... I've got to ask again just what are Y'all smoking?


I own an XBox and my GF has PS2. While these systems are tremendous fun and offer a great gaming

experience, I am amazed that anyone could believe either the graphic quality, flexibility of gaming experiences,

input device choices (controllers) or ability to play with people outside your living room can hold even a flickering

candle to what we are able to experience with our PCs.

I suggest that if we are only talking about Donkey Kong, you may be ever so correct....... However, I don't remember

that particular game at the last LAN I attended.



edit:

My point is this, yes consoles do some things very well, however they can not do all the things needed to

support a gaming experience beyond the simplistic.

In terms of effeciency, if I do not turn on my car, a tank of gas will last for years..... Is this effecient?

Stripping out functionality is not effeciency!

 

[x86]

1024MB of RAM is ALWAYS good to have, especially when you are multitasking. Let's say that you want to edit some video from your TV tuner, and burn it on to a DVD-R simultaneously, this would take up 512MB easily. Let's say that you wanted to listen to MP3s and burn them on to a CD-R while doing all of that, you will DEFINITELY NEED THAT EXTRA RAM!!! Remember when 128MB was way too much? Having 1024MB is another way of planning ahead.

-x86

 

[erikiksaz]

<< The latest Everquest expansion, Shadows of Luclin, *requires* 512MB of ram in order to view all their new models. >>



Everquest doesn't count. It looks, feels, and RUNS like crap on every system i've seen so far. I'd say it was coded by monkeys, fo damn sho.

 

[jmitchell]

<< he's right because consoles processors are designed for games, not general use >>



Xbox uses a P3 733 with 128k cache... (not designed for games specifically)

 

[CocaCola5]

I say go for it.

 

[Mavrick007]

Mmmm 1Gig of ram.. two words.. ram drive.
Ever think about loading a program into RAM and run it from that, well it would be possible with 1Gig of ram. Alot of programs anyway, and it would be alot faster than your hard drive but it would disappear as soon as you turn your machine off.