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2gb memory?

lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Hi I have a p4 3.06 system that I'm loosely planning to change around the beginning of 2007. I was wondering if I should get another gb of ram wile it's still cheap. That would give me 2gb total.

The configuration would be 4*512 Corsair VS. Do you all think that will be helpful in the timeframe indicated?

When I build a new system the old ram will probably be used in a ram disk for my pagefile.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


PS this is for a gaming system, primarily UT2k4, and anything ID puts out :^).
 
Originally posted by: Kensai
2GB is fairly useful for games like BF2 and MMORPGs.

Depending on what video card you've got, a video card upgrade could be more useful.
Click to expand...



I'm not that much into online gaming except for Unreal (the perfect game :^)). I don't play that many different games, although the ones I like I play a lot. What I'm currently waiting for is a new RTCW, I'm hoping ID develops it. I think that MMORPGs would bore me, I like my action a little faster paced. My gfx is a BFG 6800oc and I don't see that changing until my upcoming system change.
So still, 2gb worth it?
 
According to your video card and the games that you play, you will see almost no increase in performance from 1GB to 2GB.

Sit it out and wait for the next game that you'll be addicted to, then upgrade for that game.
 
Question that is related...

Would it be better for me to: a) buy 2 x 512 now, and later put in 2 more 512s, b) buy 2 x 1024 now, or c) just buy 1 x1024 now and another later (though this last choice seems the dumbest because I heard you should do in pairs of 2...)

I plan on getting the 7800 GT when it comes out and if not that I'll just be going for the X800XL.

Advice?
 
No, adding memory will usually mean you need higher (slower) memory timings. Sometimes it isn't true but usually you can run faster timings with fewer modules. 1GB with fast timings will "usually" be of more benefit than 2GB with slower timings.

We're not fortune tellers though, between now and 2007 there could easily be more/newer games that benefit from > 1GB memory. Trying to cover the future with purchases today is like buying lottery tickets though, most people lose.

Frankly I'd take the $ and just put it aside then upgrade rest of system sooner than 2007.
 
I'm running 2gb at 2T and definitely notice a performance hit on my system. Though, I know BF2 benefits from having 2 gb of ram at it's disposal so that's why I run it. I'll check task manager every once in awhile and ram usage is usually between 1.2 and 1.6gb.
 
i contemplated on it 6 months ago. but the whooping 500 to 600 dollar price tag then for 2 1GB modules was a total turn off to my budget, (with respect to cas 2 modules that is)
 
I'm in the process of upgrading to 2gb simply because all of the horror stories I hear from other people with the 7800GTX, saying they were getting only like 40fps at max quality wiht 1gb, but then they upgraded and immediately saw their framerates jump up to 75ish. A, the memory leak issues, and B not having to exchange info to and from the hard drive.
 
I have one gig my plan later on is when AMD64 platforms with ddr2 when the timings get better and it becomes better than ddr2 or maybe they are making ddr3 is when I will get 2gigs.
 
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Hi I have a p4 3.06 system that I'm loosely planning to change around the beginning of 2007. I was wondering if I should get another gb of ram wile it's still cheap. That would give me 2gb total.

The configuration would be 4*512 Corsair VS. Do you all think that will be helpful in the timeframe indicated?

When I build a new system the old ram will probably be used in a ram disk for my pagefile.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


PS this is for a gaming system, primarily UT2k4, and anything ID puts out :^).
Click to expand...

i thought the future was for ddr2, so ddr would be obsolete when you upgrade....in theory. plus the 3.06 is a 533 bus correct? using pc2700 ram, or are you running pc3200? pc2700 would be a definite waste.

just play the games and see what task manager says for ram usage...
 
Originally posted by: bob4432
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Hi I have a p4 3.06 system that I'm loosely planning to change around the beginning of 2007. I was wondering if I should get another gb of ram wile it's still cheap. That would give me 2gb total.

The configuration would be 4*512 Corsair VS. Do you all think that will be helpful in the timeframe indicated?

When I build a new system the old ram will probably be used in a ram disk for my pagefile.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.


PS this is for a gaming system, primarily UT2k4, and anything ID puts out :^).
Click to expand...

i thought the future was for ddr2, so ddr would be obsolete when you upgrade....in theory. plus the 3.06 is a 533 bus correct? using pc2700 ram, or are you running pc3200? pc2700 would be a definite waste.

just play the games and see what task manager says for ram usage...
Click to expand...



Yea, it's 533fsb. I'm overclocked at the moment with 604fsb, using pc3200. I think you all have given me my answer. I don't want a performance hit by adding more ram.

I don't need the extra memory currently, but with all of the talk of BF2 needing the extra memory, I was thinking that was the direction games are heading in.

My plan for the ram when upgrading is for a ram disk for my pagefile, so ram in the new system would most likely be new.

Thank you all for your replies.
 
i went from 2 sticks 512 to 2 sticks 1024. Very noticable gain in bf2 somewhat noticable in other applications (especially loading and unloading). The 2 sticks of 512 will be used in another computer build in early fall. Cept for the intial "bite the bullet" scenerio when purchasing the additional ram, I am very content with my new ram.

Here is a pm given to me from a fellow AT'er when I had a similiar question as you...

What I would recommend is getting this pair of RAM:

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 2-3-2-5

When you buy that pair you're getting the best CAS latency and timings that are available in 1GB DIMMs. Secondly, by staying with just two DIMMs (for now) you can run memory at its fastest speed and not worry about the whole command rate issue that affects A64 processor when populating all four DIMMs. Lastly, this investment up front allows you to upgrade to 4GBs of RAM in the future when it's necessary. Speed, upgradeability, and the best overclock-ability. Overclocking with 4 DIMMs puts the most strain on the memory subsystem and the fewer the DIMMs the better. This is the RAM that I have purchased and is the choice among those seeking the best 2GB solution.


good luck

jd
 
i went from 1 gig to 2 gigs recently and saw an overall difference in everything, from games to video encoding.. Basically everything. With ram as cheap as it is now go for it. I use 4 sticks of 512meg corsair VS ram in dual channel. Runs great.
 
IMO, the overall theme here is that different user's memory usage varies. Determine whether YOUR particular uses exceed amount of physical memory (plus a little margin for filecaching) to determine if more memory is of benefit.
 
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