Will 4GB be beneficial?

[JSK07]

I am in the process of building a new system and need some ram advice. I have chosen the Q6600, Abit IP35-E and 8800GT as my foundation. I will be running Vista 64 Ultimate as my OS. I plan to OC the Q6600 to 3.0-3.2Ghz.

I am currently trying to decide how much ram to install. My computer gets used for gaming, web surfing, photos/video/music, etc. I also dabble with Photoshop and Visual Studio from time to time.

I can't decide whether to start with 2x1GB or just bite the bullet and go with 2x2GB. If I start with 2x1GB and then decide to add another 2x1GB later on does that effect system performance in any way assuming all 4 sticks of ram are the same?

 

[JSK07]

And one other thing, someone told me that a rule of thumb is 1GB of ram per CPU core. Would that be accurate?

 

[myocardia]

Since you're planning on overclocking, 2x2GB would definitely be the way to go. Of course, that's coming from someone with a Q6600, paired up with 2x1 GB of RAM. It's just that 4x1 GB of RAM is quite hard on the northbridge chipset, and overclocking the FSB only makes that worse.

 

[chizow]

Definitely go with 2 x 2GB now if you can. 2GB simply isn't enough for high resolution gaming nowadays and it looks like you do some multimedia work which will also make use of that extra RAM. You've got the rig and OS for 4GB, well worth it imo.

 

[JSK07]

Thanks for the replies. I will go with the 4GB!

 

[JSK07]

Just ordered some G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-800 from Newegg for $169.99. I couldn't afford to get too expensive with ram and the 4-4-4-12 timings on the G.Skill made this decision for me.

 

[JSK07]

Double post