Just installed windows 7 x32 with 2gb ram, should i purchase another 1gb stick?

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 01:21

as the title says, is it worth upgrading to 3gb ram, will that not that then stop it from running in dual channel mode? i can get another stick for 26 quid so if it will make a difference then i will get it...pc is mainly used for gaming

Memphis · 1 Apr 2010 at 01:32

Chuck another 2GB in.

You may only be able to use 3.5GB of it, but it will maintain dual channel and provided you with the most performance you can get out of the specification.

Unless you're doing something daft like running a x86 OS on a machine capable of x64

.

stulid · 1 Apr 2010 at 01:33

Get another 2gb kit.

Adding just one stick will stop the dual channel mode.

As your gaming, 4gb is minimum.

What's the pc spec.

modo77 · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:10

get an extra 2 gig and stick win7 64bit on, assuming you have a 64bit cpu

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:16

System spec is:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB)
GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 DHX PC2-6400C4DHX TwinX (2x1GB)
150GB Western Digital 10000RPM 16MB Cache Raptor X
200GB SATA 150 Maxtor 8MB Cache Hard Drive
Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2
Coolermaster Real Power 700w Modular

guess i need 2gb then, will it make that much a difference>

stulid · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:19

That's crying out for 4gb!!

matthab · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:21

why oh why did you install 32bit?

sandeep · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:21

a rig like that needs 4GB, I would personally go for 2 x 2GB, but since you already have the 2 x1 GB just have to run it without dual channel, it's a small loss in performance I believe.

stulid · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:26

sandeep said:
a rig like that needs 4GB, I would personally go for 2 x 2GB, but since you already have the 2 x1 GB just have to run it without dual channel, it's a small loss in performance I believe.

Why does he have to run it without dual channel mode?

He installs another 2 X 1gb kit and it still works in dual channel mode.

If he installs 2 X 2gb kit for 6gb total, it still runs in dual channel mode.

Obviously he needs a 64bit OS for more than 4gb, surprised its not in the install disk.

sandeep · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:28

stulid said:
Why does he have to run it without dual channel mode?

He installs another 2 X 1gb kit and it still works on dual channel mode.

If he installs 2 X 2gb kit for 6gb total, it still runs in dual channel mode.

I guess so but having all slot occupied will stress the bus won't it? Reducing chances for higher overclockability.

matthab · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:36

sandeep said:
I guess so but having all slot occupied will stress the bus won't it? Reducing chances for higher overclockability.

Nope, all varies on type of memory and the controller.

Also dual channel only works if the memory slots are filled with the same capacity and speed ram. I think some of you need to read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel_architecture

sandeep · 1 Apr 2010 at 02:57

matthab said:
Nope, all varies on type of memory and the controller.

Also dual channel only works if the memory slots are filled with the same capacity and speed ram. I think some of you need to read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel_architecture

Thanks didn't really know it had to be the same size.

mame · 1 Apr 2010 at 08:05

Install the 64bit version

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 08:47

matthab said:
why oh why did you install 32bit?

Because i only have 2gb of ram :/, i was gonna do a full upgrade but to be honest im just gonna up the ram a bit instead, i'll get 2 1 gig sticks i think..

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 08:51

i've overclocked the e8400 to 3.8ghz by the way...will this affect that?

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 09:03

and also 64bit version with 4gb ram, would i see any increase in performance over the 32bit version?

stulid · 1 Apr 2010 at 10:30

64BIT version is on the disk too?

mame · 1 Apr 2010 at 10:40

Have you got OEM or retail? I've got retail and it comes with both disks. I'm not 100% sure on this but I think your key is just for Windows 7 Home Premium (or whatever version you have) and you can use it in 32bit or 64bit so it would just be a case of obtaining a 64bit disk for an hour.....

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 12:13

I could probably get hold of a disk but is it going to be worth it? i mean other than being able to allocate a bit more memory what other use am i going to get out of a 64bit os when all i use it for is gaming?

Chrisavz · 1 Apr 2010 at 12:32

ive just purchased 2 more sticks of my ram which will take it up to 4gb