Is it worth getting 512Mb Ram, rather than 256Mb?

[UKspace]

I am looking to build my first PC very soon.
The specs will be something like:


Emerald Midi Tower Case ATX inc. PSU
Abit KT7 Pro Duron/Thunderbird + o/b raidcard ATA100 ATX
AMD Thunderbird 1GHz (200 MHz socket A)
Taisoal upto 1.2Ghz AMD Duron/Thunderbird Cooler
256MB PC133 RAM
Creative 3D Blaster GeForce II MX 32MB DDR Retail
45 GB IDE IBM 7200rpm ATA100
45 GB IDE IBM 7200rpm ATA100 **Total of 90Gb**
LS120MB 2X Floppy Drive
19" Iiyama A902MT 0.25mm Vision Master Pro 451
Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer USB
Hitachi 12x DVD Drive IDE
CD Rewriter Plextor 12x10x32 IDE "Burn Proof"
SoundBlaster Live 1024
Creative SUB Woofer & 4 Spkr. Set Surround Sound

I was just wondering if it is worth getting 512Mb of Ram instead of 256Mb. I have heard that upto a point the amount of Ram your system has doesn't really matter. Someone even told me that having too much Ram can actually slow down the system.

The price different is about £98. Im not sure what this is in dollors, but its probably around $65.

Is their really that much of a performace difference between the two sizes of RAM?

Is the motherboard that I have selected good? I am torn between the Abit KT7 Pro RAID and the Asus A7V. I have seen about five different reviews comparing them, but in some cases the Abit is seen as better, in others the Asus. Any suggestions? The most important things to consider are stability and performance.

Also has anybody seen the new Iiyama SM900MT1, budget 19" monitor? I can't find any reviews for it. Has anyone used it? I am thinking of getting this rather than the Vision Master Pro 451, because it is over £150 cheaper!

Thanks, I really appreciate any help.

 

[AndyHui]

What do you want to do with your system?

High end CAD or very large photo manipulation?

If you answered yes to any of the above 2 criteria, then you may consider buy 512MB of RAM. Otherwise, 256MB is certainly sufficient.

 

[Smbu]

Which OS are you going to be using? Win2k can always use more RAM, but the increase in RAM, I've heard, isn't as noticeable in Win9x systems.

 

[Mday]

not really

 

[Erasmus-X]

I'd switch the LS120 out in favor for a plain-Jane floppy drive. Reason? They're about a 1/10 of the cost and plus, you'll get much more use out of the CDRW (my old Zip100 drive from 1998 instantly became useless when I bought a CDR). You also might want to consider a Pioneer DVD in place of the Hitachi. Finally, I'd spend a little extra and at least get a GTS, if you plan on doing any serious gaming.

You haven't really described what you'll be doing with this system, but I really doubt that you need 512MB unless you do heavy graphics work or run a small server. I'd go with 256MB and invest the savings in a better video card like I mentioned above.

 

[aUt0eXebat]

If you want to do some big time graphic editiing of moving editing, or even a server then, the more RAM the better. But 256 is fine. You must have some $$$ to get all that sweet stuff!

 

[Cknyc]

I would buy a gigabyte if I had the cash to throw away.

 

[Pete]

£98 = $160, last time I was in London (August). So it's not worth it.

Nice rig, but I'd definitely dump the MX (don't get an MX with DDR--they're slower than the SDR ones!) and go for a GTS or Radeon. If you're buying an MX to tide you over until NV20/Rampage--well, both of those are going to be groin-grabbingly expensive when they come out, so take that into consideration. You might have more fun buying near the top-of-the-line now and not buying the next-gen immediately after its release.

Finally, why not go with a Dolby Digital speaker setup, especially since you have a DVD-ROM? Might as well go whole-hog.

 

[Packet]

I agree with Eramus,
I would lose the ZIP, its not worth the cost if you have a RW. I have a slow 2x non-rw burner, and I still just use that instead of zips. Its much easier to use a 50cent cd that holds 6 times that of a ZIP disk that costs $15.

and as far as ram, I would spend more money on getting a Geforce DDR, or GTS before getting 256 more megs of ram.

 

[Pete]

Oh, and I'd also drop the LS120 for a floppy. Spend the money you save on that on a ZIP drive, a better sound card, more RAM, or better speakers.

 

[UKspace]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I will probably drop the LS-120, for a standard floppy and a Zip drive.

What would be the best way to connect all ths stuff up to an the ABIT kT7 RAID?