• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

2GB RAM & 6600GT vs. 1GB RAM & better vid card?

H

Hrochard

Member
I've read some of the discussions related to 2GB RAM and BF2, but I'm still having some qualms about what to do with a new build. For the record, I don't play BF2, but I do play other games, including most new FPSes. This system will be used for both work and gaming, but I can't decide whether to get a 6600GT and get 2GB RAM or spend the extra $100 and get a better vid card.

After all of my research, here's the core I've decided upon:

Athlon 64 3500+ Venice
Epox EP-9NPA+
2GB Corsair ValueSelect PC3200 RAM
MSI NX6600GT

Any thoughts on whether I should go with 2GB RAM or 1GB and a better card? If you think a better card is a better option, what card would you choose? That would be in the $250 ballpark. Also, if I went with only 1GB RAM, are two 512MB sticks better than one 1GB stick?

Thanks...
 
Hm, I'd get the better video card (preferably a 6800gt or higher) and 1gb ram...when you have money after that, get more ram
 
The 2gb of ram doesn't really benefit all games as of right now. For me, I can only tell in BF2. Get a better video card and 1gb of ram. If you feel it lagging a little then just upgrade from there.
 
Definitely get the 6800GT (or X800XL) and 1GB of RAM (especially so if you're planning on playing at higher resolutions). Most people will tell you that nothing outside of BF2 needs 2GB of RAM right now, and you'll notice way more of a difference with a 2x faster video card. Not to mention, it's always easy (and not too expensive) to throw in another 1GB stick later...not quite so easy and cheap to upgrade your video card 😉
 
I just played the demo of BF2 and I did so with 2gb, but I'd imagine that like with most things you can turn a few options down and get away with the program not using a full gig of system ram. The same goes for just about any game, they may be able to make use of more ram but you can generally turn things down and get away with less just fine. Most likely a faster videocard will get you more than an extra gig of ram will in just about any game at this point or in the near future.

So I'd say a new videocard is the way to go, and checking pricewatch it looks like that the best you will get for $250 is an x800xl, with a 6800gt for a bit more than you wanted to spend and a 6800nu with 256mb for notably less. All three would be good deals an a nice step up from the 6600gt you would otherwise be getting, take your pick. But before Hans gets up in arms I suppose I should point out that the nVidia options have SM3. 😀

As for wether to get one stick of ram or two, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 1gb sticks at this point. Sure dual channel is a good thing and it can look really impressive in some synthetic benchmarks, but when it comes to game benchmarks I have never seen it come down to more than a few fps even on lower settings. So having only one stick won't really hurt much at all and it leaves you the option for more upgradability later.
 
$240 Radeon X800XL

or if you really want to get 2GB of ram, consider the X800 or X800GT, they are only a couple more dollars more expensive than the 6600GT
 
I'm in the same boat right now, sell my X800XL and get a 7800GT or keep x800xl and get 2GB, its tougher for me because I have to quit my job and won't have anymore income during university 🙁 so I'm stuck with whatever I go for a year.
 
Originally posted by: TheSnowman
I just played the demo of BF2 and I did so with 2gb, but I'd imagine that like with most things you can turn a few options down and get away with the program not using a full gig of system ram. The same goes for just about any game, they may be able to make use of more ram but you can generally turn things down and get away with less just fine. Most likely a faster videocard will get you more than an extra gig of ram will in just about any game at this point or in the near future.

So I'd say a new videocard is the way to go, and checking pricewatch it looks like that the best you will get for $250 is an x800xl, with a 6800gt for a bit more than you wanted to spend and a 6800nu with 256mb for notably less. All three would be good deals an a nice step up from the 6600gt you would otherwise be getting, take your pick. But before Hans gets up in arms I suppose I should point out that the nVidia options have SM3. 😀

As for wether to get one stick of ram or two, I wouldn't bother with anything less than 1gb sticks at this point. Sure dual channel is a good thing and it can look really impressive in some synthetic benchmarks, but when it comes to game benchmarks I have never seen it come down to more than a few fps even on lower settings. So having only one stick won't really hurt much at all and it leaves you the option for more upgradability later.
Click to expand...


Nope. The sticks I linked to= single sided sticks. Later on, you can upgrade to 2x more single sided sticks, either 512 or 256 mb sticks. That will let you choose between 1.5GB, which won't cost as much but will still be good for bf2, or 2GB.
 
Thanks for all the great opinions, everyone! I appreciate it. It looks like I'll be getting the better video card and sticking with 1GB RAM for now.
 
I don't know... personally I'd rather get the RAM now with a midrange card, then just get the next midrange card later. Though the main reason is because I completely turn off virtual memory, so the RAM is much more dire for more uses than just gaming.

The RAM would never need to be upgraded, either, where as getting the two midrange cards might be the most efficient thing to do, if you're willing to hold out on the latest bleeding edge game technology.

By the way, I've seen dual channel memory make a 10% performance boost in some games. Of course, it would be much more expensive to upgrade the RAM if you only had 2 slots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top