Add more DDR2 memory or replace MB question

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geepondy

Member
Jan 19, 2007
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I have an AMD Phenom II x4 945 running on an AM2 (not even 2+) MB with 4 G memory (win 7 home premium 64 bit). I don't do much gaming these days so although I always have an inkling for more speed, it really is still fast enough for me, for most tasks. The memory does get in the way though. When I have browsers and multiple apps running, sometimes when I'm photo editing with Adobe, I get an insufficient memory notice so I have to close stuff to continue. As you know DDR2 memory is not cheap these days so the cheapest I can find 8G is about a hundred dollars or slightly more. I have four 1G sticks now so I would have to replace them with four 2G sticks. Would I just be better off buying a new modern AMD motherboard and some much more economical DDR3 memory?

The points against a new MB as far as I can tell is that I would have to reformat again although this might not necessarily be a bad thing. Another reason is that should I decide to get a faster CPU in the future, are there really any cost effective AMD CPUs that are noticeably faster than my Phenom II CPU but don't cost the same as Intel i5 or i7 CPUs. It seems that in the past if you didn't need quite cutting edge, you could get better value with AMD but I don't know if that is any longer true, is it?

Also with a new MB that supports 6G SATA as opposed to current MB 3G, does it really make a difference with SSD?

Thoughts appreciated.
 
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semisonic9

Member
Apr 17, 2008
138
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So...wait. You already have 4GB of memory. Why would you buy another 8GB of memory? Why not just buy another 4GB? I assume you have four RAM slots on your mobo.

I'm in a similar boat over here. Stuck on a socket 775 board and mostly bottlenecked by 4GB of DDR2 RAM. I plugged some numbers during the sales and decided it was cheaper and more productive at this point to spend ~$70 on another 4GB of DDR2 (bringing me to 8GB) than to put ~$350 into a CPU/Mobo/RAM combo right now.

Look at your performance #s in task manager and other tools. My CPU (an old Q6600) was barely breathing hard. I was really mostly RAM limited (multitasking) and GPU-limited (gaming). I'm replacing RAM and my graphics card and expect it to extend the life of my build at least another year or two.
 
B

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
geepondy said:
The memory does get in the way though. When I have browsers and multiple apps running, sometimes when I'm photo editing with Adobe, I get an insufficient memory notice so I have to close stuff to continue.

Thoughts appreciated.
Click to expand...
Here's some thoughts...
* What resolutions are the pictures you're editing, do you edit more than one at a time?
* How much free HD space do you have (percentage)?
* What programs run in the background when you boot up your PC?
 
Charlie98

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,298
64
91
Seems like for about $100 you can get 8GB DDR2 and be on your way, assuming there is nothing else holding your system back.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148160

If you wanted to be 'thrifty,' you could buy one 2X2GB set and see if that helps.

Here's some thoughts...
* What resolutions are the pictures you're editing, do you edit more than one at a time?
* How much free HD space do you have (percentage)?
* What programs run in the background when you boot up your PC?
Click to expand...

I had very much the same problem with my old Dell... it only had 512MB DDR2 from the factory and was gagging even running XP. Knowing nothing about computers at the time, I went out and bought a 1GB stick at BestBuy and plugged it in and it made a world of difference. I found out later the major problem was a nearly full 80GB HDD, but the RAM did help. The old Dell is still upstairs happily chugging away all these years later... with a clean OS install and 2.5GB RAM.
 
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