Would 512mb RAM vs 256mb RAM really make any difference in 3d gaming?

[MrJ]

Please don't think I am stupid for asking this question, but I wonder if using 512 RAM vs 256 RAM really makes that much difference in gaming. I figure it would in graphic environments such as CAD; however, would it really make much of a difference in 3d gaming? I remember reading somewhere at one time that anything over 256mb was a waste of money in 3d gaming. Comments>???

 

[SleepyGuy]

I'll tell you in about a day or so... just ordered 512 MB of CAS2 PC133 Crucial stuff from their site! Currently have Cas3 256 mb PC133 Generic. All i do is play games (JA2, Q3, UT) do work (office 2K), play around with Photoshop 6 and Painter 6. Photoshop Will probably benefit but nothing else. Bragging rights though, eh?

 

[chexi]

I bought a second crucial 256mb pc-133 Cas2 dimm and slapped along side its twin in my Abit K7T-133a and ran 3dMark-2000. Absolutely no difference in scores between 256 and 512. It's not worth it. In fact, this was after I got the bugs out. Going to 512 can cause some issues. At first, my performance was significantly worse. Now I have an extra Dimm. Oh well. Time to build a new computer.

 

[ninjazed]

I'll agree, bragging rights are what will benefit the most. But RAM is cheap now and who knows what the next generation of software will need. Besides, my DIMM slots look neat all filled up. I had no conflicts with mine. I believe that all memory should be good quality stuff and not mixed (i.e. 1 stick o this & 1 stick o that) for best results.

 

[polar]

no real difference, unless you run a lot of crap in backround

 

[Taplight]

Under windows 9x, it doesn't make much of a diff if any, unless you're opening and closing a huge number of different programs within the same session(between bootups). Opening too many programs at once will cause lockups, crashes, etc because windows 9x has only a certain amount resources available which is independent of how much ram you have. it won't come near 512 for multitasking. Under 2000 however, it may be utilitized, but 2000 is not very good for gaming, which is the subject of your question. So the answer is no.

On a side note, if you do have more than 128mb of ram and want a little system boost for free and can stomach changing your sytem.ini file, run system.ini and under the [386enh] heading type in "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" without the quotation marks. Make sure not to change or delete anything else. Save changes and this will cause windows to use all available ram before it starts writing to the swap file. I run ME and this is one of the most helpful performance boosts I've found.

 

[DragonFire]

Doesnt make a difference in 3d gaming? Hes asking about 3d gaming not 3dmark2000. The only thing I'm going to say is this: If your going to play UT with S3 textures, then 512 megs will be much better. As for all you people saying its not worth it, how cheap is ram right now? If you can get that much you might as well.....I wonder how much memory Win XP is going suck up....

 

[DarkMajiq]

Hey Taplight, thanks for the tip man

 

[Taplight]

DarkMajiq,

Cool, it works. I just made that up to see if anyone would do it. Go here if you want to get more tweaks.

Taplight

 

[BurntKooshie]

With that much ram, run most any program you want inside a RAMDISK, and it'll fly.

 

[potz]

if you're running windows 2000, 512 would be great. for 9x systems, it won't make much of a difference

 

[BadThad]

I agree with DragonFire.

 

[RTSgod]

I have been using Win2K PRO SP1 on my Asus A7V 1.1ghz Tbird. Quake3 plays awesome and does AOE2.
Quake3 I set the cg_hunkmegs "256" this allows q3 to use 256 to load the program.

I love Win2K PRO!!

 

[MrJ]

Thanks for the info peeps, and thanks for the TIP Taplight. I love tweaking, (My comp that is..hehe) so thanks again.