Win XP. Gaming. 2gb DDR2 1066+ or 4gb DDR2 800?

[Dazed and Confused]

Just wondering if it'd b worth it to have 2gb DDR2 1066 - 1250 or 4gb or straight up DDR2 800 that doesn't OC worth a crap. I play pretty much all the newer games like Crysis, GoW CoD4, CoH and stuff and wonder if it'd b worth it to move to 4gb of slower ram or go with some real high speed stuff and push it as hard as I can.

 

[tcsenter]

more RAM > faster RAM

 

[andrei3333]

i was wondering the same almost question.

what about the same quantities of ram? , if the max my mb supports is 1066MHz ram shuold i get it or the regular chreaper ddr2 - 800 ?

 

[Drsignguy]

This question can really be answered by you as to what your needs are or what your rig needs.

An example: if you are overclocking and running pc 6400 @ 1:1 ratio, and it is overclocked to like say 850ish or so, then you might want to consider purchasing 1000 or 1066 for a probable higher overclock if you can and this will give you a bit more headroom on your memory.

This is the only reason I bought PC8000 (1000mhz) for my Q9450 rig. I was at 425 FSb and my Pc6400 (800mhz) was overclocked at 850. All was good but I wanted more headroom on my memory and I want to try to push my chip to 3.6, and I wasn't going to get it with my 800Mhz ram....So, as it sits right now, I have a bit more to play with when the time comes.. As for performance gains, well that is another question...Do I see the differance...not yet........

 

[andrei3333]

i see, i guess you get what you pay for in this case

 

[DSF]

The only real effect RAM speed has in the gaming arena is allowing a higher FSB if you're overclocking a chip with a low multiplier. If you don't need to push your RAM past 800MHz for your overclocking endeavors, save your money.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

MORE RAM

 

[Wuzup101]

So long as the ram is fast enough to run 1:1 with your processor (include possible need for overclocking), I would go with more ram (especially when the jump is from 2gb to 4gb in Vista. You can get some pretty good speeds out of certain ddr2-800 modules.

 

[andrei3333]

well mine run at 960MHz @ 2.08V or so with really loose timing, 5-5-5-18

but i have been too lazy to try and squeeze a little more because i doubt ill see any difference

 

[18 Is Number 1]

Running with a higher divider (1:1.25 or 4:5) will provide the opportunity for greater RAM speed (MHz) and more bandwidth. This does give greater performance when measured with Everest (Read, Copy, and Latency) or other performance assessment program like SuperPi. Whether or not you notice an improvement in your applications I can't say.

 

[andrei3333]

i cant chooose my divider ( i dont think i can) in my bios - i can change setting that affect the divider i think thats the way my bios works, unless its an option thats named differently

right now at 960MHz CPUZ is showing i have 5:6 divider what does this mean ?

 

[SolMiester]

I those 1066 was really 800 anyway!!

 

[andrei3333]

^ huh i dont get it

 

[taltamir]

more ram is ALWAYS a better purchase then faster ram.

 

[andrei3333]

ok so since i already got 2gb of this corsair XMS2 C4 ram i have to hunt down the exact same kit somewhere...thanks guys

 

[mpilchfamily]

Skimming threw this thread it seams an obvious point has been missed.

Are we talking about 32-bit XP or 64-bit XP. If we are talking about 32-bit then you really don't need more then 2 gb and the OS won't recognize more then about 3.5gb anyway. But if we are talking 64-bit then go with the 4 gb of RAM. You'll need it. BTW if you are running 64-bit XP you would be better off upgrading to the 64-bit version of Vista.

 

[18 Is Number 1]

Originally posted by: andrei3333
^ huh i dont get it

DDR2 1066 is based on the same ICs that DDR2 800 use. They are binned (sorted) for higher performance. That is why (check my sig.) DDR2 800 can sometimes OC well past 1066 (mine are stable to 1115 MHz).
I'm pretty sure your mobo has a provision for OCing the RAM for greater performance. As to whether 2GB more will assist you (assuming you have XP 32 bit) I can't say. It helps me run graphics programs much faster even though my 32 bit XP only sees about 3.5GB (as mpilchfamily pointed out).

 

[andrei3333]

i am on 32bit XP now and everything seems OK but its not like i have something to compare to..

even if it sees max of 3.5GB thats still almost two times more ram - ok let me rephrase this question:

Aside from the argument that 4GB is obviously better than 2GB in the long run ( since i never know when/if i will upgrade to Vista or wait for another broken windows to come out...)
WHAT SETTINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT for gaming and general computing:
A) Ram Timings (5-5-5-18 VS 4-4-4-12) or variants
or
B) Ram freq (800MHz VS 1066 MHZ ) ove variants in between

Benchmarks i have seen confuse me: gamespot reports that 2GB VS 4 GB made no difference in Crysis, somewhere else i read that freq (800/1066) makes no visible difference

SO WHATS THE DEAL ? Get a NEW kit 2x2 at 1066 ORRRR just add another 2x1 to my 2x1 800 kit ? (granted my ram now is overclocked but not optimized

 

[18 Is Number 1]

Originally posted by: andrei3333
WHAT SETTINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT for gaming and general computing:
A) Ram Timings (5-5-5-18 VS 4-4-4-12) or variants
or
B) Ram freq (800MHz VS 1066 MHZ ) ove variants in between

SO WHATS THE DEAL ? Get a NEW kit 2x2 at 1066 ORRRR just add another 2x1 to my 2x1 800 kit ? (granted my ram now is overclocked but not optimized

The higher the speed (MHz) the greater the bandwidth. Intel processors love the extra bandwidth and will almost always perform better with greater bandwidth over tighter timings. The 1066 kits have ICs that were tested and shown to run faster than standard 800 speed. There are some 800 kits that will run much faster speeds (see my sig.) than what they are rated.
RAM with higher speed allows the processor and RAM to run asynchronously. This means a 400 FSB doesn't have to be 800 MHz in RAM speed, but a strap (divider) can change the ratio between the two. A 4:5 ratio would run the proceesor at 400 and the RAM at 1000 MHz. The advantage is
Faster RAM=Greater Bandwidth=Happy Intel Processor
Here is an example of the difference between 1:1 and 4:5 with the exact same FSB but looser timings: http://www.ocforums.com/showpo...p=5787855&postcount=22

The bottom line is 1066 RAM will give you the capability to OC your system more effectively and the flexibility to run at what ever RAM speed and timings work best for your system. Running a performance diagnostic program like Everest can quantify the changes you make and let you know if they have a positive or negative impact on your performance.