Memory Quantity and Windows XP

[krickster]

I'm currently constructing a new system and will use WinXP for the first time. I'm looking for a couple of bits of information:

The proposed setup is:

ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Mobo
Athlon XP 2700+
Corsair TWINX DDR400 Memory - 2 sticks of 256 MB
Western Digital SE 120 GB drives - 2
MSI GeForce2 Ti4200 128 MB (I'm not really a gamer - prefer to do photo editing, etc.)
Antec TrueBlue 480W power supply
Plextor Combo Drive


First question:
Am I likely to be happy with 512 MB of high performance memory? Doubling this is getting astronomically expensive. I realize nobody is weeping for me out there......

Second question:
If I'm not happy with 512 MB, how likely is the system to perform well with another 256 MB of the same memory (albeit not tested and matched like the TWINX) in the third slot?

Thanks

 

[ProviaFan]

To have 512MB is probably going to work fine. It's what I have (albeit with Windows 2000, but there's not much difference between the two), and with extensive Dreamweaver MX, light Photoshop, and some 3DSMax, along with plenty of other smaller apps, I still can't go much over 512MB. The benefits of 768MB would probably not outweigh the disadvantages of not having dual channel memory access (I haven't seen benchmarks, so I can't be sure, though).

Also, I'd suggest that, if you're doing more photo editing, you forego the GeForce 4 Ti4200 in favor of an ATI Radeon 9000 or 9500 (haven't checked prices so I don't know what's equivalent) on the grounds of 2D image quality. If you're going to be using a CRT (as you probably should for photo work), and you don't plan on playing any UT2003 or Doom 3, you might consider a Matrox G400 or G550 video card. Those supposedly have the best 2D IQ of any card (save the Parhelia, and it's most likely way too expensive for your budget).

 

[Sushi]

On the video card subject. I got a 128MB Radeon 9000 (Excalibur Brand on the box).. I didn't know this when I bought it last week at Compuvest, but the card itself IS a Radeon 9000 128MB DDR and came retail with the ATI CD. I got it for $87.00 + Shipping.

Very good price for a great card!

 

[KaGee]

Originally posted by: krickster

First question:
Am I likely to be happy with 512 MB of high performance memory? Doubling this is getting astronomically expensive. I realize nobody is weeping for me out there......

I saw a Tech TV segment on THE SCREENSAVERS regarding RAM cost / performance benefit. In their opinion, benchmark results show a drop off in performance gains after 512mb.

Bottom line... add all the RAM you want or can afford, but the sweet spot seems to be 512mb. After that, you will see no real benefit in additional system speed but, you will have more memory if you need it for photo/video, grapics, CAD or multitasking.