Buying new RAM for friend

[AndeeG]

My friend has an emachines with something like an athlon 3800+, 512mb RAM, and no graphics card. Right now he plays most Diablo II, medal of honor, and rise of nations. He wants to buy some more RAM but doesn't really know what he's doing. How much would you recommend he buy? (2 out of four slots filled with 256). Neither of us know the type or speed of his memory. Is it important that the new stick(s) have the same clock speed? (no overclocking)

 

[ScrapSilicon]

what model # emachine ? anyway with

(2 out of four slots filled with 256)

I'd suggest getting at least a pr of single-sided 512mb ddr3200 dimms(if its ddr if its ddr2 ...I've no suggestions ..gl )

 

[Lemon law]

There are a variety of free programs that will identify what brand and type ram you have---I suggest everest 2.2---or cpuz---as initial things to try.
You can't go wrong if you match what you have---hopefully in pairs.---while 512MB total ram is fine for my wife---it won't keep a gamer happy.
And if your friend upgrades to vista---add a bunch.

You can also use system info to get your motherboard make and model---and then go to various ram websites and see what they recommend for
your motherboard.

 

[aurareturn]

If he plays Diablo II, no wonder he needs more RAM. That game is the most demanding game right now. It's pretty hard to stay above 20 FPS in the Throne of Destructions with several necromancers and 8 players. Maybe a Q6700 CPU can do it but doubtful. 🙂

 

[Ruptga]

Memory speed really doesn't matter for performance, especially if you're not overclocking. Just find what kind you have (open up the case and look at the labels, if no labels find CPU-Z) and buy more of that speed grade. If you have DDR, you'll want 400Mhz, if you have DDR2, he very likely has 533Mhz, and that is just fine.

If you want to improve the game's performance, forget some quadcore nonsense, the graphics card is far more important than the processor, especially since you have a pretty robust CPU like the A64 3800. (I mean for games, unless of course you're talking about an X2 3800, in that case you might benefit from upgrading the processor, but graphics card is still quite a bit more important.)

 

[Sniper82]

he likely does have DDR PC3200(400mhz) in his system. Best bet is to take a stick out look at the sticker on it and it should say. Go online and buy 2x512mb or 2x1gb depending on what he wants. Make sure to check the model number on the PC to make sure it supports 2gb(it should).

 

[AndeeG]

how does this look? Is there any reason to go with something more expensive than generic ValueRAM in his situation?

Edit: I'm pretty sure this is his computer

 

[Leros]

For an eMachines that is already full of generic everything, get the cheap value ram.

 

[myocardia]

Get this instead: Corsair VS 2x1GB. You can't keep the old RAM, it has to be removed, so don't buy 2x512MB sticks. At the least, buy one 1GB stick, if he can't afford 2x1GB, because 3 sticks is all he can use.

 

[Jeff H]

AndeeG, compared to most members here, I'm no gaming expert. But, IMO your friend has two bottlenecks in his system - RAM and video (as indicated by ADDAvenger). Re RAM, go w/ 1GB minimum, and that should be in a 2x512MB configuration. If he can/wants to afford it, go w/ 2GB (2x1GB). You''ve identified the memory correctly - PC3200/DDR400. For best performance you'll want to buy the memory in matched pairs.

According to the eMachine data page, the mainboard has four memory slots - "Expandable to 4GB." Considering that it would be a waste to invest in 4GB, also understand that Windows XP doesn't address 4GB efficiently.

myocardia, how did you determine the board only has 3 memory slots? As the data page indicates, it will accommodate 4GB, which I interpret to mean four slots accommodating 1GB each.

AndeeG, the other issue your friend has is video. The onboard video is going to be very limiting, re any game you play, let alone Diablo II.

The data page indicates the board has a PCIex slot, so upgrading to a faster video card is possible. At the "end of the day," your friend is going to have to decide how much it's worth it to invest in this machine.

Jeff

 

[AndeeG]

Upgrades for both RAM and a video card are definitely in his future.

Since his birthday is in a week, another friend and I were considering buying him a video card - either an x1950 pro or a 7900 gs. However, the other friend has backed out since he doesn't want to spend that much cash so now I'm considering buying him a gig of RAM. This would be purchased with the intent of him buying a graphics card for himself which he already had plans to do.

Would 1.5g be a reasonable amount for him? He's not going to upgrade to vista now and maybe not ever. Would it maybe be smarter to buy him a single 1g stick so he could upgrade more in the future?

 

[AndeeG]

Okay now we're thinking about each getting him a 1g stick. Would 2.5 be much better over 1.5 assuming he'll get a decent graphics card soon?

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Jeff H
AndeeG, compared to most members here, I'm no gaming expert. But, IMO your friend has two bottlenecks in his system - RAM and video (as indicated by ADDAvenger). Re RAM, go w/ 1GB minimum, and that should be in a 2x512MB configuration. If he can/wants to afford it, go w/ 2GB (2x1GB). You''ve identified the memory correctly - PC3200/DDR400. For best performance you'll want to buy the memory in matched pairs.

According to the eMachine data page, the mainboard has four memory slots - "Expandable to 4GB." Considering that it would be a waste to invest in 4GB, also understand that Windows XP doesn't address 4GB efficiently.

myocardia, how did you determine the board only has 3 memory slots? As the data page indicates, it will accommodate 4GB, which I interpret to mean four slots accommodating 1GB each.

Jeff

Umm, because I know alot more about computers than you do, specifically Athlon 64's, it seems. AMD never made any single core Athlon 64's that could run 4 sticks of RAM @ 200 Mhz, at least not Socket 754 or Socket 939. It makes absolutely no difference which motherboard you mount the processor on, nor does it matter which chipset the motherboard uses; that applies to all of the cores that aren't dual-core (Windsor, Venice, Manchester, & San Diego, along with every Skt. 754 chip). They will only run 4 sticks @ 166 Mhz, with a 2T command rate, which is horrible, performance wise. Only the dual-core A64's are able to run 4 sticks @ 200 Mhz, albeit @ a 2T command rate.

Originally posted by: AndeeG
Okay now we're thinking about each getting him a 1g stick. Would 2.5 be much better over 1.5 assuming he'll get a decent graphics card soon?

2GB is all you need for any gaming machine, as long as it's running Windows XP. 2.5GB would be fine, as long as it only involved 3 sticks of RAM, but it wouldn't perform as well as 2.0GB would, because then you wouldn't be in dual-channel mode. Like I said in my first post, you can't keep the old sticks, unless you buy only one 1GB stick.

Of course, I'd personally rather have 1.5GB of RAM, plus a $109 7600GT (@ newegg right now). The 7600GT even comes with a $20 or $30 mail in rebate, but it's $109 before the rebate. So, you might want to consider having your other friend get him this 1GB stick: link, and you get him the 7600GT. BTW, I wish my friends would buy me upgrades for my computer!😀

 

[AndeeG]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Jeff H
AndeeG, compared to most members here, I'm no gaming expert. But, IMO your friend has two bottlenecks in his system - RAM and video (as indicated by ADDAvenger). Re RAM, go w/ 1GB minimum, and that should be in a 2x512MB configuration. If he can/wants to afford it, go w/ 2GB (2x1GB). You''ve identified the memory correctly - PC3200/DDR400. For best performance you'll want to buy the memory in matched pairs.

According to the eMachine data page, the mainboard has four memory slots - "Expandable to 4GB." Considering that it would be a waste to invest in 4GB, also understand that Windows XP doesn't address 4GB efficiently.

myocardia, how did you determine the board only has 3 memory slots? As the data page indicates, it will accommodate 4GB, which I interpret to mean four slots accommodating 1GB each.

Jeff

Umm, because I know alot more about computers than you do, specifically Athlon 64's, it seems. AMD never made any single core Athlon 64's that could run 4 sticks of RAM @ 200 Mhz, at least not Socket 754 or Socket 939. It makes absolutely no difference which motherboard you mount the processor on, nor does it matter which chipset the motherboard uses; that applies to all of the cores that aren't dual-core (Windsor, Venice, Manchester, & San Diego, along with every Skt. 754 chip). They will only run 4 sticks @ 166 Mhz, with a 2T command rate, which is horrible, performance wise. Only the dual-core A64's are able to run 4 sticks @ 200 Mhz, albeit @ a 2T command rate.

Originally posted by: AndeeG
Okay now we're thinking about each getting him a 1g stick. Would 2.5 be much better over 1.5 assuming he'll get a decent graphics card soon?

2GB is all you need for any gaming machine, as long as it's running Windows XP. 2.5GB would be fine, as long as it only involved 3 sticks of RAM, but it wouldn't perform as well as 2.0GB would, because then you wouldn't be in dual-channel mode. Like I said in my first post, you can't keep the old sticks, unless you buy only one 1GB stick.

Of course, I'd personally rather have 1.5GB of RAM, plus a $109 7600GT (@ newegg right now). The 7600GT even comes with a $20 or $30 mail in rebate, but it's $109 before the rebate. So, you might want to consider having your other friend get him this 1GB stick: link, and you get him the 7600GT. BTW, I wish my friends would buy me upgrades for my computer!😀

Interesting that Athlon 64's can only really take advantage of three sticks. I've never heard that before you. Good thing you mentioned it though otherwise I would have definitely gone with four sticks. I take it the performance hit of running four sticks would be more significant than sacrificing dual channel with three?

I'm considering your suggestion about buying a single 1g stick and a 7600gt. However, is that card any good or is it really just an "I only have 100 bucks to spend what do I buy" type thing? I don't want to get my friend a card that he'll want to upgrade just a couple of months later.

 

[lobbyone]

Originally posted by: AndeeG
I'm considering your suggestion about buying a single 1g stick and a 7600gt. However, is that card any good or is it really just an "I only have 100 bucks to spend what do I buy" type thing? I don't want to get my friend a card that he'll want to upgrade just a couple of months later.

For playing Diablo 2, the 7600GT will EAT IT!!

 

[AndeeG]

Originally posted by: lobbyone

Originally posted by: AndeeG
I'm considering your suggestion about buying a single 1g stick and a 7600gt. However, is that card any good or is it really just an "I only have 100 bucks to spend what do I buy" type thing? I don't want to get my friend a card that he'll want to upgrade just a couple of months later.

For playing Diablo 2, the 7600GT will EAT IT!!

lol... the idea is for him to be able to play something just a bit more intensive than Diablo II 😉

 

[imported_AndyT]

Your budget will obviously dictate your upgrades. I would say a 2gb kit of some budget memory and the best video card you can afford will have to to. The 7600GT is not enough power fo intensive games though.