Do I need 1GB or RAM for gaming?

[Slappy00]

I have heard form some threads that certian games (Planetside) need 512mb and will not play smoothly with 512 or less RAM. Other ppl say that unless im opening like 5 apps at once or want to nuke my swap file 1GB is not really necessary. Future games (*cough*Doom 3*cough*) might need a minimum of 512mb but I dont know... arrg

I wanted to get the Corsair pc4000 ram but $320 for 1GIG is mucho cash, whereas I could get 512mb for $120 less...

thoughts?

 

[JackBurton]

Ideally 1GB of memory is the best. My memory usage on BF1942 is around 640MB and I only have 512MB. If you want a complete rig, I'd get 1GB, no doubt.

 

[Chaotic42]

Yes, get at least 1024MB if you're going to game.

Why is 1024MB $320, but 512MB is $200?

 

[jfall]

damn, how the heck did 1gig of ram become standard so fast, i'm still using 256 :S

 

[Slappy00]

WEll the $320 is for cosrair twinX 4000 (2x512) the 200 is (Kingston HyperX pc4000 2x256) (auctually its $192)

both from google gear which for the corsair is $40 cheaper than newegg! With free 2nd day shipping

 

[Whitedog]

Need for gaming:
1GB = Yes
PC4000 = No

If "money is an issue" which you're making it to be, than quit considering the "most expensive ram" on the market.
Get 1GB od PC3200 and be done with it. It will serve you well gaming.

 

[dullard]

512 MB is fine for the vast, vast majority of games. There are only two that people complain about: BF1942 (which uses more than 512 MB but the performance difference between 512 MB and 1 GB is small) and the old unoptimized SimCity 4 (which a new patch supposedly helps dramatically). Even the yet unreleased games will likely run fine with 512 MB - but you might find slightly better performance with 1 GB.

Me: I use 384 MB at home and have yet to find anything that won't run.

 

[Sideswipe001]

Me: I use 384 MB at home and have yet to find anything that won't run.

The question isn't "run" or "won't run". It's really about running the fastest that it CAN run.

Anyway, who wants to shut every other program on your system because you want to play a game? I have messengers, web browser, etc, almost always open.

 

[Slappy00]

WEll the pc4000 part is b/c im getting a p4 2.4c and want a lot of headroom (granted at relaxed settings when approaching 500mhz)

 

[ElFenix]

need, not really, but since windows takes like 130 and games are pushing 400 megs right now it'd be nice

 

[Slappy00]

Besides Ive always believed in buying the best at the time, I believe it saves me nickle-and-dimeing every time i upgrade a mobo. or CPU... This has always served me well in the past and my 1 year old R9700pro is testiment to that.

 

[bcterps]

What kind of video card are you using? Going from 512mb to 1024mb will no doubt make a difference, but your bottleneck could easily be your video card.

Edit: Nevermind, I missed the post about you having a 9700 Pro. Definitely go with the gig of ram, but I'd go with PC3200 or 3500 instead of the PC4000.

 

[MemberSince97]

I've monitored UT2K3 at over 900MB's ...Phew ... Pre v2225 patch

 

[Slappy00]

"Edit: Nevermind, I missed the post about you having a 9700 Pro. Definitely go with the gig of ram, but I'd go with PC3200 or 3500 instead of the PC4000."


YAh but i want to push a p4 2.4C higher than 3.0Ghertz so would the 3500 be sufficent (ive been outaa the OC game for like 3 years now )

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: dullard
512 MB is fine for the vast, vast majority of games. There are only two that people complain about: BF1942 (which uses more than 512 MB but the performance difference between 512 MB and 1 GB is small) and the old unoptimized SimCity 4 (which a new patch supposedly helps dramatically). Even the yet unreleased games will likely run fine with 512 MB - but you might find slightly better performance with 1 GB.

Me: I use 384 MB at home and have yet to find anything that won't run.

I second that. I also heard a Star Wars game needed over 512 Megs.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Planetside = memory leak ( at least it did ) so 1 gig for me.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: Slappy00
"Edit: Nevermind, I missed the post about you having a 9700 Pro. Definitely go with the gig of ram, but I'd go with PC3200 or 3500 instead of the PC4000."


YAh but i want to push a p4 2.4C higher than 3.0Ghertz so would the 3500 be sufficent (ive been outaa the OC game for like 3 years now )

The 3500 from Kingston is tested to run at 434 mhz which will give you the headroom to overclock where you want it to.

One other thing between 3500 and 4000 there is 3700 so if you cant make your goal with 3500 then 3700 is the next option.

 

[Auric]

recent thread

 

[JackBurton]

If you want the best, then PC4000 is where it's at (either Corsair or OCZ). You can always overclock with PC3500 or PC3700 but I like to keep my memory ratio at 1:1, and good PC3700 or PC4000 is a your best bet to run 1:1 at high FSB (230+). Mushkin has some bad ass PC3500 memory but I don't know how much higher it will go and it is more expensive than Corsair's PC4000.

 

[Slappy00]

well ive noticed that the "low latency" pc35/3700 ram cost just as much if not more than the pc4000 with relaxed timings. Now i think if i run the 4000 at cas 3 i could clock it down and run it at 2.5 or 2.0 (depending how far down i go). Man cosair is going to put the hurt-on though with the $320 for a gig-o-ram. I might have to hold-off on the koolance exos for a month now. But a Gig seems like a good idea, I dont think I'll be a early adoptor of LPGA (Or whatever the tejas will be packaged for) so BRING ON THE PAIN

/whips out the wallet

 

[Corporate Thug]

i have 512 right now. i will go to a gig but it isnt a priority at the moment

 

[magomago]

I don't think its ncesssary right now to have a 1 gig of ram. Unless I'm using photoshop I never see my ram usage go above 512...

But considering prices on ram are rising (as with some other hardware like Athlon Processors, etc. - I wonder if its due to the "make a computer for college" rush that brings in extra profits?) I'm not sure whether it would be wise to bite the bullet right now...

...though it sure as hell doesn't look like they will drop anytime soon also

 

[MemberSince97]

U bet magomago , RAM is just a commodity that fluctuates like most any other......

 

[billyjak]

I have 512meg now
My new sytem qill have 1 gig for the newer demanding games.
512 barely makes it now in demanding games.
I orderd 1 gig of Hyprx pc 3500 for my new 3.0 Pentium on a Gigabyte 8KNXP motherboard w/9800 Pro Ati card.
I beleieve 1 gig will be the minimum in the next couple of months.
I do Phot editing to so the more the merrier. 2 gig is next on my list.

 

[spartacuskzm]

Originally posted by: dullard
512 MB is fine for the vast, vast majority of games. There are only two that people complain about: BF1942 (which uses more than 512 MB but the performance difference between 512 MB and 1 GB is small) and the old unoptimized SimCity 4 (which a new patch supposedly helps dramatically). Even the yet unreleased games will likely run fine with 512 MB - but you might find slightly better performance with 1 GB. Me: I use 384 MB at home and have yet to find anything that won't run.

Agreed about BF1942 - I just picked up an extra 512MB of PC2100 a few weeks ago and the change is almost unnoticeable...but I'm sure it will help for HL2, Doom 3, etc.

That being said, non-gaming things (like multitasking, etc) do seem to be noticeably faster.