Is 1 gig of RAM a waste of $$?

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MagnumR6vet

Junior Member
Jan 17, 2003
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I just got a new 865pe mobo with dual channel capability and need to buy RAM now. I am using WinXP home edition and use my computer primarily for playing games such as Raven Shield, SOF2, Delta Force BHD, and other FP shooters. I was wondering if I should go with 2 sticks of 256mb or 2 sticks of 512 mb? Would the 2 stciks of 512 be overkill and a waste of $$?

On that same note.....I am trying to decide between Corsair XMS TwinX LL and Kingston HyperX. I will be using an ABIT IS7e mobo.

Thanks
 
SoulAssassin

SoulAssassin

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2001
6,135
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Hot topic right now, I would say you probably don't need more than 512 but whether it's a waste of money is a question for your personal wallet. I would say most people, sans pshop, 3dsmax, and video editor type users, don't need it.
 
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Sabreguy

Member
Aug 16, 2000
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Well some of the new games eat up ram, take planetside for example, lots of people on their forums, and myself have slowdowns w/ 512mb, regadless of CPU, most of their problems, and mine too, went away when we upgraded to 1 gig.

The game is such a memory hog that they even included a $50 cupon for Kingston's online store.

I can only imagine new games like Starwars: Galaxies will be just as taxing on the memory.
 
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Gerbil333

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2002
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512mb is fine for me, but my most demanding game is Tribes 2. I'd go for Corsair TWINX XMS3200LL. That's what I'm using, and I upgraded to that from 2 sticks of Kingston 256mb HyperX PC3000. The HyperX was much less impressive as this TWINX. I think the TWINX is worth the higher price.
 
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AtomicDude512

Golden Member
Feb 10, 2003
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I have 1GB of memory, it's Kingston ValueRAM overclocked to HyperX timings. I have to say it's more for bragging rights right now but I find it nice to know it's there. Call me silly...
 
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maluckey

Platinum Member
Jan 31, 2003
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UT2003, depending on settings, preferences, and resolution, can use over 512mb RAM. My guess is that other games will soon join the club. More than a GB? I doubt that for some time to come, it won't be used except by professionals.
 
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ahsia

Golden Member
Oct 3, 2000
1,031
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Not a waste of money, IMO...

Especially since prices are low right now.....
 
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The_Lurker

Golden Member
Feb 20, 2000
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I don't think getting 1gb of ram is a waste of money, although if you spend a high premium to get the higher rated ram, I personally think is somewhat a waste. Maybe it's because I get lucky with generic ram though (my generic stick does 200mhz FSB @ 2-3-3-7, nt the greatest timing but FSB is more important I think).
 
Vonkhan

Vonkhan

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2003
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not a waste of money ... for games like Ut2K3, BF 1942, Simcity4 - its worth it
 
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Fallengod

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
5,908
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Originally posted by: Vonkhan
not a waste of money ... for games like Ut2K3, BF 1942, Simcity4 - its worth it
Click to expand...

Yes it is....You can have your own opinion and all but, 1gb IS a waste. 512 is more than enough for any current game out or program. If you have money to burn, great....but its not going to help much.
 
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pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
2,503
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It is certainly not a waste........especially if you are getting it for me :)
 
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gramboh

Platinum Member
May 3, 2003
2,207
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If you are going to be playing new FPS games coming out in the next 6 months on that system then it is certainly NOT a waste. Many of today's games (examples given above, Planetside, BF1942, UT2003, Simcity 4 etc) mostly the FPS ones too, will use over 512 if you are using high detail settings and I would be very surprised if Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 didn't benefit greatly from 1gig (in both load times and better frames due to less texture swapping/hard drive thrashing in game).

As for price vs performance, the extra cost of low latency memory is nowhere near worth it (at least from benchmarks I've seen) but personally I wanted the fastest possible so I wasted the extra money on Corsair :) I was also sceptical if generic would run dual channel on an 865 based board as well since they seem to be so picky about RAM. The XMS 3500 was approx 60% price premium over generic CAS3 PC3200 and from synthetic testing (Sandra, with 3-4-4-8 timings vs 2-2-2-5) the difference is at most 7 or 8%.
 
beatle

beatle

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2001
5,661
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Not a waste, IMO. Try playing Unreal 2, BF1942, SimCity 4, or Planetside with 512 and keep an eye on your memory usage. They can easily top out a 512 meg computer. Most people will be satisfied with 512, but it really makes a difference in some of the newer games. With prices going up, I suggest stocking up! :)
 
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SpideyCU

Golden Member
Nov 17, 2000
1,402
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I'm just upset that Windows dips into my virtual memory so frequently even though there's still plenty of physical RAM free! Stop using that swap space Windows, I have 1 GB for a reason!
 
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Fallengod

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
5,908
19
81
Originally posted by: SpideyCU
I'm just upset that Windows dips into my virtual memory so frequently even though there's still plenty of physical RAM free! Stop using that swap space Windows, I have 1 GB for a reason!
Click to expand...

You can disable that you know.
 
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Naruto

Senior member
Jan 5, 2003
806
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Too bad you can't use older sticks if you have nforce dual channel. I got 2 x 256mb sticks, upgrading will force me to get 2 x 512mb sticks only and dump my 256mb sticks.
 
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pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
2,503
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Originally posted by: Naruto
Too bad you can't use older sticks if you have nforce dual channel. I got 2 x 256mb sticks, upgrading will force me to get 2 x 512mb sticks only and dump my 256mb sticks.
Click to expand...

What's the problem with using the 2 256Mg Dimms?

Quote

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Originally posted by: pspada
It is certainly not a waste........especially if you are getting it for me
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haha..why where do you work at?

I have my own company. But you'll need my address to send the 1 gig to me, right?

 
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gramboh

Platinum Member
May 3, 2003
2,207
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I've read that you can't truly disable virtual memory, since some applications require it to exist no matter what? I read an exhaustive article on optimizing memory/virtual memory in XP but I can't find the damn link now (argh).
 
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tallman45

Golden Member
May 27, 2003
1,463
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Windows will pick the least utilized disk and use it for the virtual disk. Having 2 drives in any system is a great benefit for this feature alone.
 
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SpideyCU

Golden Member
Nov 17, 2000
1,402
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Originally posted by: modempower
From what I have read you can. It is supposed to anyways.
Click to expand...
That's just the thing. "It's supposed to". I know of that registry hack, it's listed on every "Optimize WinXP!" site out there. However, Windows still dip a few hundred MB into my swap space when I've got 600 MB of physical memory free. It's ridiculous.
 
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Fallengod

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
5,908
19
81
Originally posted by: SpideyCU
Originally posted by: modempower
From what I have read you can. It is supposed to anyways.
Click to expand...
That's just the thing. "It's supposed to". I know of that registry hack, it's listed on every "Optimize WinXP!" site out there. However, Windows still dip a few hundred MB into my swap space when I've got 600 MB of physical memory free. It's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I dunno, I dont use winXP so....You could be right. I use Win2k.
 
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