Help with improving a gaming rig

[warpigeon]

I think I'm getting somewhat crappy stalker performance because I have only 1 gb ram.

Here's my system in brief: a64 at 2.8, x1950pro agp, 2x512 ocz el plat rev 2 at 1:1 w/ 2.5-3-3-8 timings. LCD monitor at 1280x1024.

It looks like if I simply got 2 more 512 sticks of the same ram I would lose out on:
1. dual channel
2. The nice oc I have on my 4000+ (2.4 to 2.8)
- But I want confirmation of this... going to 4x512 is a bad idea, right?

So, if that's true I guess I need to sell my 2x512 ocz's and buy 2x1042, right?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

ha, stalker is a great game, but performance is shaky with any amount of memory. what are the FSB, HT etc? 4x512 would mean 2T command rate, but you should still have dual channel. it's possible you might give up some CPU speed to keep the mem controller running, but it's a gimme: you must run 2 GB of RAM. i wouldn't bother spending the money on 2x1GB, DDR is nearing the end of the road.

 

[warpigeon]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
ha, stalker is a great game, but performance is shaky with any amount of memory. what are the FSB, HT etc? 4x512 would mean 2T command rate, but you should still have dual channel. it's possible you might give up some CPU speed to keep the mem controller running, but it's a gimme: you must run 2 GB of RAM. i wouldn't bother spending the money on 2x1GB, DDR is nearing the end of the road.

This is an a64 4000+ san diego running at ~2.8.

FSB is 240
Multi is 12
HT is 4
Memory is at 240 (1:1) 2.5-3-3-8 at stock voltage
Vcore is raised

"it's possible you might give up some CPU speed to keep the mem controller running"

I think you've a found a weak point in my knowledge here because- woosh... hand goes over my head- you lost me.

I would much rather just get 2 more 512 sticks than going to 2x1gb but I thought I wouldn't be able to oc with 4x512's.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it's likely the chip won't OC as high with 4 sticks of any size. the mem controller is built into the A64, so as you stress out the chip, you're stressing the controller as well, even if the memory is runing at 200MHz. my advice is to minimize or eliminate any further spending on your CPU/mobo/RAM. since there is a need for additional memory, i would add 2x512 to achieve 2GB at minimal cost. it's either spend $80 and give up a few MHz, or $200 to keep current speeds (ish). i say keep the $120 in your pocket. even if you give up dual channel mode (check mobo website), the boost in games from 2GB is worth it.