2x1gb to 4 x 1gb in vista

bornslippy · 20 Aug 2008 at 01:38

Just a quick piece of advice needed really.

Have just upgraded to Vista Ultimate 32bit and am already thinking I need more ram. It's gone from 1.5gb (approx) usable in XP to around 1gb (approx). I'm on a bit of a budget now, and am considering another 2 x 1gb kit of crucial ballistix pc6400 at £37.59 on overclockers.

I get the feeling that 2 x 2gb would be better, but a) this is slightly more expensive and b) I would be left with 2 x 1gb of decent ram that I guess I could try and sell.

Will also upgrade to an Artic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro heatsink, as I'm still on stock. Not likely to do any other major upgrade in the immediate future. Rest of the spec in sig,

Thanks,

Bornslippy

mpj88 · 20 Aug 2008 at 11:54

the difference between 2x2 and 4x1 would hardley be noticeable as far as ive seen 4x1 is better if you're oc. Plus if your vista is 32bit you will ony see like 3.25gb

sibeer · 20 Aug 2008 at 12:03

For the difference with 32 bit Vista, you may as well get two 512MB sticks as you will only be using 256MB of the 4th gig. That way you will have minimum outlay and nothing to faff around selling. If possible match the spec to your existing RAM (speed and clock settings) for best results.

mpj88 · 20 Aug 2008 at 12:04

hes prob still best getting the 2 sticks of 1gb because different size ram doesnt match as well, plus gives him room for upgrade later on. And the price of ddr2 these days you might aswell!

bornslippy · 21 Aug 2008 at 01:17

I know that you don't get the full compliment of 4gb in vista 32bit, but it's still ok I guess - given that I've noticed a more sizeable chunk of ram is taken just running vista (compared to xp). Also seems to be more background activity generally (hear a fair bit of hard drive activity even during idle), but I think I read something about this as well. I guess a bit of tweaking is needed anyway.

Still, this answers my question really as I was wondering mostly about sticking 4 x 1gb in. Given the budget situation at the moment, it seems like my best option for now as another 2x1gb kit of crucial ballistix is pretty cheap at the mo, especially compared to a decent set of 2x2gb.

Also, the crucial have just come down a few quid on overclockers since I wrote this!
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Thanks for the input guys.

Bornslippy

mpj88 said:
the difference between 2x2 and 4x1 would hardley be noticeable as far as ive seen 4x1 is better if you're oc. Plus if your vista is 32bit you will ony see like 3.25gb

Vertigo · 22 Aug 2008 at 02:32

bornslippy said:
I know that you don't get the full compliment of 4gb in vista 32bit, but it's still ok I guess - given that I've noticed a more sizeable chunk of ram is taken just running vista (compared to xp). Also seems to be more background activity generally (hear a fair bit of hard drive activity even during idle), but I think I read something about this as well. I guess a bit of tweaking is needed anyway.

There's a common misconception that Vista is a "memory hog" due to the fact that it "consumes" more memory than XP.

This is a fallacy. Vista's memory management is simply far better than XPs and it actually makes use of the memory you've got. Whilst it may look comforting to have an XP system where most of your memory is shown as "free", in actuality your operating system isn't using the memory as effectively as Vista.

bornslippy · 22 Aug 2008 at 13:42

Ok, but does that mean that 2gb is sufficient in Vista - or is more than that beneficial, especially when you do a lot more than just browse the internet and send emails (obviously)?

pegasus1 · 22 Aug 2008 at 13:58

4x1gb sticks in Vista is fine, if you can get 2 more identicle sticks then it will help compatability, check with your mobo's website that it is ok with 4x1gb sticks and/or if you need to update the bios.

PaulyD · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:02

interesting topic as I myself have just bought an extra 2gb for my PC to take it to 4x1gb in vista and wondered whether there would be much difference between 4x1gb or 2x2gb

Tetras · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:07

4x1 and 2x2 will perform the same but 4x1 is more likely to have compatibility issues, puts extra load on the memory controller (often needing the northbridge voltage raised to remain stable) and (more rarely) it can cause temperature issues with the memory (by having 4 hot sticks close to each other).

If you have the option always go for 2x2 but 4x1 can work fine too.

bornslippy · 22 Aug 2008 at 14:56

The main reason for going the 4 x 1 gb route was because it is a cheap upgrade option - in comparison to purchasing the more expensive 2 x 2gb and then having the hassle of selling the redundant 2 x 1gb that I'd have left over (and probably not making much back on them). I still have my 2 x 512mb sticks of ddr ram left over from last time as well!

Malazan · 22 Aug 2008 at 17:53

bornslippy said:
The main reason for going the 4 x 1 gb route was because it is a cheap upgrade option - in comparison to purchasing the more expensive 2 x 2gb and then having the hassle of selling the redundant 2 x 1gb that I'd have left over (and probably not making much back on them). I still have my 2 x 512mb sticks of ddr ram left over from last time as well!

I'm in that exact position myself, i think i'm just going to get two 1GB sticks identical to the two GSKILL'S i have already - less faff, as you say.