4 or 8gb RAM - what is the difference ?

steveinspain

steveinspain

steveinspain

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So, my new pc has 4gb of this stuff...
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)
What difference would another 4gb make in real terms - I don't game, but I edit photos a little - in what way would it make a difference ?
The mobo is an Asus P5QL with 8400 processer - unclocked !
Currently using xp, but my vista premium 64gb is coming tomorrow !
Thanks !
 
From what you're describing it doesn't sound like you'll get anywhere near the limit of your 4Gb let alone 8Gb.

However, seeing as...

1) the RAM in question is so cheap

2) you're not overclocking anything

3) you've already got Vista 64bit on order

...then you may as well get some more and slap it in but only if you really do have just shy of £40 burning a hole in your pocket...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...l Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)


It's only going be at that reduced price until sometime tomorrow morning since "This week only" offers are Weds to Weds :)
 
I use ACDSee and a little bit of photoshop 7, so nothing heavy..
Timko - I am happy not to spend another 40 notes, as my cheap rebuild has already taken 4 times as much as was planned...
 
In that case I doubt you'll see any performance increase with an extra 4GB. Neither program will be able to address the extra memory so, for the time being, you're probably better off sticking with the 4GB you already have.

Is there any reason why you've decided to upgrade to Vista? What are you running now?
 
Glitch - I am using my old copy of xp, and was persuaded that vista might be good, plus legal...
As for timko saying vista had consumed the money - I was only looking for a slightly faster pc than my 7-8 year old one, and now have a totally new pc and monitor (24" dell 2408) - the only old stuff is the case, soundcard and keyboard.. A 650 corsair wasn't planned, not were new fans, cooler, or 2nd hard drive (nor was the NAS that is coming soon...)
 
So your last upgrade was when XP first came out all those years ago then? With those pieces you've listed in the first and last post you have a great upgrade on your hands and is definitely going to be more than "slightly faster" :)
 
..and the best thing is that the old pc has never had any problems, gets choked full with dust having 2 case fans running at full speed.
The new one is so much faster, quieter (now I have disconnected the heatsink fan..) and the case seems almost empty. I may fit a third hard drive as it is spare (a 750gb spinpoint) and load a few cds onto it..
As with so many of the things I am interested in, it all gets expensive very fast once you join forums...!
 
Now, what do I do..?
I have re-installed my old copy of XP Pro onto my new pc while waiting to get my new vista home premium 64 bit software. It has now arrived, but I have also had my copy of xp verified/registered/whatever by microsoft, so assume it is ok to keep on using it.
So, do I leave the vista in its box and return it for a refund, or should I keep it and use it ??
 
steveinspain said:
So, do I leave the vista in its box and return it for a refund, or should I keep it and use it ??
Click to expand...
XP is only able to address (i,e. use) a maximum of 4GB of memory for the whole system. That includes your RAM and any onboard memory in any attached devices; CPU, graphics card, etc.

So I'd say the key factor is just how much of this 4GB of RAM you're going to be able to use. And that pretty much boils down to what graphics card you are running and how much onboard RAM that has.

Having said that, even if it's running 512MB or more, you'll probably not notice a massive decrease in performance. Unless you're a relatively heavy editor of photos and use lots of layers and effects, the drop in performance over being able to use all 4GB of your system RAM won't be great.

If it was me, I'd send Vista back and recoup a little bit of money.
 
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