Poll: Going to 1GB RAM - just RAM or few upgrades?

naddicott

Senior member
Jul 3, 2002
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Relevant info:
Current Mobo: Asus P4S533
Current RAM: Generic Directron brand DDR 2700 - 1 x 512Mb (board / ram combo can't do agressive timings.)
Current CPU: P4 1.6A OC'd around 2.2Ghz
Current Vid Card: Asus GF4 Ti 4400
Current Sound Card: Audigy 2
Current Hard Drive: WD SE 80GB 8Mb cache
Current PSU: Antec 430 True Power

On the whole, I somewhat feel it's too early to do much upgrading (other than the "must have the latest and greatest" impulse).

I am, however, considering upgrading to 1GB of RAM. My main motivation: hoping to improve performance in Star Wars Galaxies.

Option A (simple RAM upgrade):
1Gb Corsair DDR 3200 Low Latency twin pack. Put 'em on the P4S533 and hope going to two sticks of RAM doesn't hurt my overclock options. Not even going to bother trying a mix and match with my current crappy generic 512MB 2700DDR RAM.

Option B (partial system overhaul):
1Gb Corsair DDR 3200 LL twin pack.
Asus P4P800 Deluxe (still supports my 400Mhz FSB CPU)
WD Raptor 36Gb SATA (OS and whatever game I'm currently playing - all other apps & docs on old HD)
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu CPU cooler (noise reduction - doesn't fit on P4S533)

no CPU upgrade - I figure I can make do with the OC'd 1.6A for now and upgrade to an 800mHz FSB CPU when they're at the tail end of their run (and cheap).

Please discuss, advise, berate... :D

[edit: misplaced quotation mark]
 

cjsketchy

Senior member
Jan 23, 2002
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Hmm... I'd be a bit torn in this situation as well... I don't think you'd notice a great improvement in games, even in case B, unless you got an 800fsb cpu and a new video card too. But it would be quieter and things will load much faster... I haven't seen any kind of performance numbers for SWG though, so do some research and see if going from 512 -> 1024 ram will really help. IMO your system is still more than good enough for the game, even though I haven't played it. In the end, it will be the gameplay that determines your enjoyment, not, for example, going from 30 to 40 fps (my bro is still whoring daoc even though he's on a 1.3 tbird and gf2mx). But if you find it's really slowing down when a lot happens, and that kills the experience... I'd go for the complete overhaul if you got the money.
 

naddicott

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Jul 3, 2002
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I've seen several references here and on SWG forums that 512MB vs. 1GB makes a difference. Essentially regular paging vs. not actively paging. I was blown away a couple nights ago by the ability to traverse from one corner of Tatooine to the other corner without ever having to wait for a load delay. Things get choppy for me in the major cities sometimes, but it's not obvious whether the problem is server side or client side.

I'm not blown away by the improvements in CPU and Video card performance for my price tolerance range (I can't bear forking out $300+ for a video card). I'm also not a stickler for high fps, as I'm running on a crap hand-me-down monitor at 1024x768 which only can manage 60hz refresh frequency. A new low-response time LCD monitor is also something I'm considering, but it doesn't really play into this decision.
 

NeoMadHatter

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Nov 29, 2000
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johntwang.com
i'd get a new video card. but after looking at the system requirements for that game, i'm actually dumbfounded by how rediculous it is. then again, doom3 is probably gonna now require like a 2ghz processor and 256mb video card. good lord. i'd say just try getting just the ram first then see if the other stuff is actually needed.
 

Malladine

Diamond Member
Mar 31, 2003
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Ok.

1. Get the 1gb RAM, you can't go wrong there.
2. If the TI440 is running SWG at acceptable levels, why upgrade? Wait til the end of this year and pick up a much cheaper 9800.

The rest of your system is just fine man, and it will run HL2 and Doom3, don't fret. Just get the gig of ram and enjoy the games :)
then again, doom3 is probably gonna now require like a 2ghz processor and 256mb video card
Nah.
 

cjsketchy

Senior member
Jan 23, 2002
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yeah. with that info, I'd go for the ram first, see how that helps out. option B won't really have much of an impact w/o a new cpu...
 

naddicott

Senior member
Jul 3, 2002
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Thanks for the input. I'll try just the RAM first and hope the motherboard can handle two sticks gracefully while overclocking. If things don't work out - the RAM can still be used on an updated configuration. I'd rather be playing the game and getting work done than going through the reinstalls, XP reactivation, and re-updating of drivers that would be required for a new Motherboard.

The sweet spot for SWG, according to someone in the game's tech support forums, is 768MB of RAM - beyond that additional RAM doesn't noticably improve performance.

I'm also using the debug version of DirectX 9, which I'm sure hurts performance a little, but that's neither here nor there. I need the debug dll's for some (marginally) productive programming work I do at home.
 

NeoMadHatter

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Nov 29, 2000
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Originally posted by: Malladine
Ok.

1. Get the 1gb RAM, you can't go wrong there.
2. If the TI440 is running SWG at acceptable levels, why upgrade? Wait til the end of this year and pick up a much cheaper 9800.

The rest of your system is just fine man, and it will run HL2 and Doom3, don't fret. Just get the gig of ram and enjoy the games :)
then again, doom3 is probably gonna now require like a 2ghz processor and 256mb video card
Nah.

maybe so, but it has recommended config of: 1.5ghz and 512mb of RAM with a 64mb 3d video card. that's pretty intense for a mmorpg.
 

naddicott

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Jul 3, 2002
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Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
maybe so, but it has recommended config of: 1.5ghz and 512mb of RAM with a 64mb 3d video card. that's pretty intense for a mmorpg.

I haven't played any mmorpgs besides SWG other than about one minute of EQ at a friend's place, but relative to Morrowind (closest equivalent I can think of) SWG looks pretty good. From a rendering/networking game engine standpoint, I'm impressed. I'm not shocked by the in-practice recommended RAM being higher than 512mb all things considered.
 

AtomicDude512

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Feb 10, 2003
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I've heard that 1GB of memory helps out with BF1942 load times and Photoshop but for mosts everyday applications I can't see a difference. The only thing is now I force Windows to page it's core/kernel to the main memory instead of the harddrive which helps.
 

Fallengod

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
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I dont see how it could help with photoshop much. When I had 256mb of ram, that was fine for photoshop..
 

naddicott

Senior member
Jul 3, 2002
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Originally posted by: modempower
I dont see how it could help with photoshop much. When I had 256mb of ram, that was fine for photoshop..

Photoshop RAM use depends partly on the size of the files you're working on. 1GB should be enough to not worry about it. I don't use photoshop on my PC though. My system is purely a budget gaming rig.

I'm waffling about doing any upgrade at all. One game running less than optimally (though still well enough for me to have fun) is probably not enough reason to mess with a stable system that's performing just fine for all the other games I own.

I'll probably be lynched for this, but I'm not even concerned about how well I will be able to run HL2 or Doom3. The next potential resource hog I particularly care about is Deus Ex 2, and it doesn't look like it will have overly ridiculous requirements.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has voted on the poll. ;)