4gb vs 8gb
- Thread starter nitram100
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I suppose some newer games, namely Battlefield 3 are starting to use up more RAM than before and systems are maybe getting closer to using all 4GB.
I think the main benefit would be if you like to have a lot of background stuff running while playing a game. What they might be I do not know.
Also perhaps slightly faster loading times.
I think the main benefit would be if you like to have a lot of background stuff running while playing a game. What they might be I do not know.
Also perhaps slightly faster loading times.
My recommendation would be to add 8GB not 4GB, £34.99 in Black Friday deals. Problem with adding 2GB sticks is you are filling up all your slots so you want to be giving some leeway for the future.
Unlikely you will see improvement in games, unless you either run a lot of applications in the background or use some of the memory to create a RAMdisk to run (small) games from.
For what it's worth I think it is unlikely we will see games using more than 4GB for a while, reason being most tend to be 32bit executables which limits how much memory they can address.
Unlikely you will see improvement in games, unless you either run a lot of applications in the background or use some of the memory to create a RAMdisk to run (small) games from.
For what it's worth I think it is unlikely we will see games using more than 4GB for a while, reason being most tend to be 32bit executables which limits how much memory they can address.
i only play games, i dont do work or video or etc etc
i went from 4gb to 8gb
now i see about 4gb usage normally while playing games
when i was on 4gb i see about 3gb usage while playing games
so windows7 does try to use more of it, but prob can't use it all
personally i think it was worth it cos ram is so cheap just now. it gave it abit more head room
i went from 4gb to 8gb
now i see about 4gb usage normally while playing games
when i was on 4gb i see about 3gb usage while playing games
so windows7 does try to use more of it, but prob can't use it all
personally i think it was worth it cos ram is so cheap just now. it gave it abit more head room
When looking at memory usage with over 4 Gb, dont forget to ad the 'Cached' value to the 'Physical memory usage' to get the total of how much ram your PC is actually using 
People who are going from 4 Gb > 8 Gb right now are reporting significantly less lag and stutter. This is due to having an additional 4 Gb ram for Caching on top of however much is being used by your open programs / games.
People who are going from 4 Gb > 8 Gb right now are reporting significantly less lag and stutter. This is due to having an additional 4 Gb ram for Caching on top of however much is being used by your open programs / games.
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I running 4gb at the moment but currently looking at getting a 8GB kit on top in the near future just to beef it up a little
Dont forget you can keep your current 4 Gb kit, and just add an 8 Gb kit on top. As long as they run at the same frequencies and timings, you can mix and match different capacities.
I'd definitely recommend anyone with only 4 Gb ram atm to pick up another 8 Gb for <£40, especially of your 4 gb is only basic 1600 Mhz cas 9 stuff and isnt overclocked. Its the single most cost effective upgrade anyone can do right now so long as they have a couple of free ram slots.
I'd definitely recommend anyone with only 4 Gb ram atm to pick up another 8 Gb for <£40, especially of your 4 gb is only basic 1600 Mhz cas 9 stuff and isnt overclocked. Its the single most cost effective upgrade anyone can do right now so long as they have a couple of free ram slots.
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Ahh cool, so just to be clear i have this -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-298-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 - 4GB C8
and i can add this to it to make 12gb?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-295-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
As long as they are both C8 does it make a diff to overclocking (cpu)?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-298-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 - 4GB C8
and i can add this to it to make 12gb?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-295-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
As long as they are both C8 does it make a diff to overclocking (cpu)?
Ram doesnt affect CPU overclocking as long as you can keep it at 1600 Mhz using dividers, or overclock using an unlocked CPU.
Yea the ones you linked will work together, they are the same speed + timings.
If you mix different speed and timings, you have to run at the speeds of the slower one which undermines having any quicker modules.
The only time I wouldnt advise mixing 2 and 4 Gb modules is if you are planning on overclocking the ram to over 1600 Mhz, in which case you should avoid filling more than a single channel, but most people are happy leaving their ram at 1600 Mhz at which just about anything will work.
Yea the ones you linked will work together, they are the same speed + timings.
If you mix different speed and timings, you have to run at the speeds of the slower one which undermines having any quicker modules.
The only time I wouldnt advise mixing 2 and 4 Gb modules is if you are planning on overclocking the ram to over 1600 Mhz, in which case you should avoid filling more than a single channel, but most people are happy leaving their ram at 1600 Mhz at which just about anything will work.
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Awesome ta - know what (another) xmas pressie i can buy myself then!
At some point im gonna have to start buying stuff for other people! lol
sorry to resurrect this but out of interst when you moved from 4gb to 8gb what kind of level of use was it taking up in bf3
i've just bought 8gb to bump me upto 12gb in total to hopefully solve my bf3 troubles with 4gb i was getting close to 3.9gb usage with a rather large pagefile as well.
Ok just wanted to update this thread as I installed another 4gb last night.
Damn, it really does make a difference to me in battlefield 3, it just feels smoother, there was always a slight stutter that I couldn't quite put my finger on when only using 4gb and having checked ram usage it was using about 3.8gb! So right on the border and probably using a large page file causing the stutter.
The 8gb has definitely smoothed things out, also I now get into the maps with about 25 seconds to go, whereas with the 4gb I would load into the map and already hear all the players shuffling about and running to the choppers just as my loadout screen was loaded up, so 8gb gets a big thumbs up from me!
Ram is so cheap right now that NO ONE should be using 4gb anymore.
Cheers guys.
Damn, it really does make a difference to me in battlefield 3, it just feels smoother, there was always a slight stutter that I couldn't quite put my finger on when only using 4gb and having checked ram usage it was using about 3.8gb! So right on the border and probably using a large page file causing the stutter.
The 8gb has definitely smoothed things out, also I now get into the maps with about 25 seconds to go, whereas with the 4gb I would load into the map and already hear all the players shuffling about and running to the choppers just as my loadout screen was loaded up, so 8gb gets a big thumbs up from me!
Ram is so cheap right now that NO ONE should be using 4gb anymore.
Cheers guys.
Yeah, when running BF3 my RAM usage goes up to around 65% with my 8GB, so having more than 4GB definitely helps. T'is nice.
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You're both using 1GB gpu's?
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Just went from 4gb to 12gb RAM running at 1520Mhz stable.
Cant say I have noticed any difference tbh but at least I have been able to turn off paging and save 4gb of my SSD.
Only using a 1gb 5850 but there's no noticeable difference on anything I have played so far. I think apps are switching in and out a bit quicker, but they were already lightening fast due to the SSD.
Cant say I have noticed any difference tbh but at least I have been able to turn off paging and save 4gb of my SSD.
Only using a 1gb 5850 but there's no noticeable difference on anything I have played so far. I think apps are switching in and out a bit quicker, but they were already lightening fast due to the SSD.
Yeah, when running BF3 my RAM usage goes up to around 65% with my 8GB, so having more than 4GB definitely helps. T'is nice.
yep definitely agree went from 4gb to 12gb now its smooth as anything didn't experience any stutter in 4 hours of gameplay.
I also went from 4GB to 8GB for BF 3 and it runs much smoother now as well
Games load quicker and everything just in windows feels smoother and quicker now as well.
Previously with BF 3, origin and FF running, I was hitting 90% usage, now with 8GB (can't remember physical usage), the total RAM being used is hitting 5GB!
Games load quicker and everything just in windows feels smoother and quicker now as well.
Previously with BF 3, origin and FF running, I was hitting 90% usage, now with 8GB (can't remember physical usage), the total RAM being used is hitting 5GB!
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Hmm?! Im still undecided about moving to 8GB.
How can I see how much im using at the moment while playing a game....would msi AB do the trick?
How can I see how much im using at the moment while playing a game....would msi AB do the trick?