How much memory??

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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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Hey,

I'm looking at building a computer right around christmas and I need a little help.
Here's the line up I'm looking at getting:

ASUS A8N-SLI
AMD Athlon64 3000+ (939)
GeForce 6600 GT
RAM?
Seagate Barracuda 80 Gb 7200 (8 mb buffer)
350 watt power supply
CD/RW drive

OK, I'm pretty much looking at a high end Mid-Range system. I'm getting SLI so in the furture I wont need to make any MAJOR upgrades I could just get another 6600 GT, I think the CPU should be sufficient.

MY QUESTION IS:

Right now I'm playing Americas Army and am about to get UT 2004, do i need a gig of RAM or will 512 still give me good frames? (PQI 512MB DDR 400 PC-3200 Dual Channel)
 
RussianSensation

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Originally posted by: pjwinkler
OK, I'm pretty much looking at a high end Mid-Range system. I'm getting SLI so in the furture I wont need to make any MAJOR upgrades I could just get another 6600 GT, I think the CPU should be sufficient.
Click to expand...

Fair enough but...

SLI motherboard costs $200 instead of $120 for a normal 939 board.

2 6600GTs are slower than 1 6800GT which still costs less than both of them.

So it would be much better to just invest the differences into a better videocard in the first place, a faster cpu, or 1 gig of ram (instead of getting sli for bragging rights).

Think about it, 2 6600GT wont be better than 1 6800GT. So your sli option is useless. If you plan on getting 2 6800GTs later, then just buy 1 6800GT now or it'll be like buying 6600GT for nothing right now and throwing $200 out the window.

If you plan on getting 2 faster cards a lot later, then you can always get the SLI setup and those cards when you get the money. Chances are 6800Gt will last you for 2 years, and for $500 you'll be able to buy a card 2x as fast with R500, making SLI costly and useless once again. In my eyes SLI is utterly useless unless you have the money to buy a 6800GT right now and plug in another 6800GT later.
 
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Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
1GB would be best, IMO 512MB isn't enough for those games.
I used to use 900+MB when I played UT and had 1Gig, now I have 768MB and use 763MB when I play.
They like RAM.
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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now wait, how can you say 2 6600 GTs are slower when only one test showed that. Second the A8N-SLI is supposed to be around 200 american, and its not just for SLI it has an nForce 4 chipset. Finaly I said IF i need more graphics power in the future I could get another 6600 GT (and it would be much cheaper by then) IM NOT TALKING HIGH HIGH END gaming here. I want to be able to run around 50 frames on UT 2004 on 1024x768 and atleast 50 on Americas Army. In the future 150 bucks for a graphics boost sounds worth it to me, and 200-240 bucks also sounds worth it for the option to do that alog with nForce 4 (look at nForce 4 benchmarks, they comfortably beat nForce 3 Ultra everytime)

Please prove me wrong on the above, I'm on a budget so you'll have to be convincing (I will go for quality over spending 100 bucks less).

I still would like to know about memory :D
 
JBDan

JBDan

Platinum Member
Dec 7, 2004
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I've played with both in many situations. Best off with 1 gig for gaming.
 
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thegimp03

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2004
7,420
2
81
you will want a gig, otherwise the game plays much slower. a friend of mine have similar setups but he has a gig and i have 512 mb...my load times are significantly longer than his.
 
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Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Get the Gig--you'll be glad you did. If you don't, you'll be kicking yourself every day until you eventually break down and upgrade to a Gig anyway--then you'll be kicking yourself another year later when some new game likes 2 Gigs and all your RAM slots are already full.

An Aside: I can't beleive nobody's said that you need a 550 watt PSU yet. ;) (Actually, a quality 350W is almost always fine. The Fortron FSP350-60PN, for example, has been proven to be underrated by up to 60 watts in numerous reviews; you also shouldn't have any trouble with the 350W Antec Smartpower units included with many Antec cases.)

EDIT: I just read your other thread. The Antec TruePower 380W included with the Antec Sonata is another great choice. The TruePower line is a cut above the SmartPower line; when you choose the Antec Sonata over, say, the Antec SLK3700-BQE, most of the extra money is going into the PSU upgrade (with some going for the glossy finish as opposed to the matte finish on the BQE).
 
nick1985

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
gig

and you better make sure that 350watt PSU is a quality one. if its generic, you will have some problems
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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lol thanks for your help guys, the whole thing with the Nikeo Ogre case is I asked for it for christmas a week back or so and just told the parents the Antec Sonata would be better. Either way it looks ok if i get the Ogre I'll jsut by a high quality PSU and If I great the Sonata.. Even better. thanks again these forums are awesome! :laugh:
 
SonicIce

SonicIce

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2004
4,771
0
76
512 is perfectly fine for any game. 1 gig is for people who want to eliminate hard drive swapping completely.
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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now, why would I believe that after all these other people have told me otherwise. BACK UP YOUR ANSWER!:disgust:
 
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ssvegeta1010

Platinum Member
Nov 13, 2004
2,192
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Originally posted by: pjwinkler
now, why would I believe that after all these other people have told me otherwise. BACK UP YOUR ANSWER!:disgust:
Click to expand...

of course 512 will be fine, even doom 3 has minimum requirement of only 384 MB
what everone else said was that a gig is worth the extra money, not 'required'
 
BFG10K

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,709
3,003
126
These days I wouldn't go lower than 1 GB as there are plenty of games that like that amount.
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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Ok but if you look at what Im getting (parts) above... now if I had 512 mb of RAM would I be able to play UT 2004 at 60 FPS?
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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Oh and also answer this before replying, If I had a gig would I be able to PLAY UT 2k4 at 80 FPS? (I'm talking 1024x768 on all graphic settings atleast on normal)
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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lol another quick reply :p If the extra memory won't give it that big of a boost, about how many more FRAMES (I'm more intrested in frames per second then making my settings ultra high) would I get from getting a gig instead of 512?
 
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Sonic587

Golden Member
May 11, 2004
1,146
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Originally posted by: Computer MAn
Go with one gig. From what I've heard UT2004 is a memory hog.
Click to expand...

This man speaks the truth.

You won't get any extra FPS from upgrading to 1GB, but your load times and stuttering (HDD swapping) will be drastically reduced. This may not sound like much, but imagine this:

1. You are playing CTF.
2. You had to wait so long for the level to load, that your team's flag was already taken by the time you spawned.
3. Cursed 512MB RAM!
 
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pjwinkler

Member
Dec 2, 2004
135
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ok, yeh. but just a question. with that set up how many FPS would i get? (1024x768 and all graphic settings atleast on normal)
 
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