Do i need 4GB?

Yucca

Yucca

Yucca

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Hi all

I have at the moment 2GB of ddr2 mem. I am thinking of getting vista as my xp is 32 bit and i quite like the look of vista and i think it will use my memory/and my cpu (q6600) better.

Anyway, i dont really play any new games on max resolutions or anything like that. I mostly use my pc for internet, emails and office. And i use it quite extensivly as a media centre (by that i mean i have loads of big hd's full of music and avi's and HD content etc). So i use it for watching video's mostly avi but some High Deff stuff to and listening to music etc. Oh and ocassionally i copy a cd/dvd or two.

I know a lot of you all go on about having 4 GB for vista but am i correct in saying thats because the operating system uses so much and so if you want to play decent games you need more? Surly for what i use it for, if i optimise vista so i dont have tons of crap running 2GB will be more than ample? Would i notice a difference between 2GB and 4GB in Vista just on the desktop while playing about with itunes and coping cds and browsing the net? Will things open quicker when i click on them or is it all just for games?
 
if your going to run vista 64bit by the looks of your post then yes i would get the extra 2 gig memory and have 4 gig
it's not just games the extra will come in handy for, with your quad core and 4 gig running you should be able to multi task till your hearts content without any slowdown
 
2GB will likely do you fine. I went from 2GB to 4GB a little while ago (albeit only 3.2GB usable as I'm on x86), and there was no difference whatsoever as far as normal Windows usage is concerned.
 
Yes you should get 4GB.

I use 32-Bit as I had some issues with 64-Bit. Why do I use 4GB Ram? I can keep all the apps open I want im my tray, IM clients, Steam, run demanding applications with no lag, minimise out of games no lag.. etc.

Big improvement for multitasking over 2GB.
 
Do i need 4GB?
Click to expand...
Yucca said:
internet, emails and office... media centre...copy a cd/dvd or two
Click to expand...

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Fig 1: http://a-s-i-m.co.uk/other/ram2.jpg
  • Photoshop with 5 Raw 10megapixel images loaded
  • Expression Web with my site loaded
  • TWO 1080p HD movies running
  • Several internet explorers with various websites
  • Several Office 2007 documents open
  • 2 MSN messengers/kaspersky/ac3filter/ffdshow/
  • other small stuff
ALL without ANY lag whatsoever switching between any app.
 
Nice asim18, thats quite impressive.
Is your system overclocked to the max?
What if it were not overclocked at all, how would it handle all those programs listed above?
Thanks
Bon
 
Thanks Mr.Bon

I don't think it's overclocked to the MAX, as i've seen Q6600's doing up to 4Ghz. But i just went into the bios the day i baught the system and punched in 444*8. It's been perfectly stable ever since.

From the SS, it's only taking up 30% CPU. The stock speed is 2.4 Ghz per core, so that's an extra 1.15 Ghz per core, with the 3.55Ghz overclock.

I don't have a clue how it would cope at stock speeds, as i never used it at stock much. But from the "maths" i'd guess it would still manage to cope but CPU usage would be much higher, maybe 80-100%.
 
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You would love 4gig in the system, not nesseserally need 4gig but LOVE it (though i took a 1-4gog route and a opteron 148 to E8200 and the proc jump was rather big too).
 
celliott said:
Yes you should get 4GB.

I use 32-Bit as I had some issues with 64-Bit. Why do I use 4GB Ram? I can keep all the apps open I want im my tray, IM clients, Steam, run demanding applications with no lag, minimise out of games no lag.. etc.

Big improvement for multitasking over 2GB.
Click to expand...

I thought Vista 32 bit could only address 3 gig of ram?
 
Mr.Bon said:
Nice asim18, thats quite impressive.
Is your system overclocked to the max?
What if it were not overclocked at all, how would it handle all those programs listed above?
Thanks
Bon
Click to expand...

Q6600 G0 @3.55GHz (444*8) 1.33v / Asus P5K-e / 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC8500 @1066Mhz / eVGA 8800GT 512MB /

he has clocked his 6600 and has faster ram than most, but he is correct, 4gb is a luxury not a necesity.
 
There is much wisdom on this thread.
However I feel compelled to add a note for the benefit of those who say that there is no point running a 32bit OS with 4GB of RAM......
The limit is not 2GB y'know. My vista 32 sees 3.6 on one of my machines and 3.4 or 3.5 on the other, the lowest I've personally seen reported is 3.2GB, you're only losing a few hundred MB. Less than optimal, certainly, but you do still get an extra 1.2-1.6 GB, and the advantage of a second pair of banks[1]


[1] I'd have thought this was a good thing, but on my M2N32, it actually introduced a shade more latency into the system, an unquantifiable loss of "zing", but that was offset by the bliss of having games reload in seconds because they'd remained in cache, that sort of thing is the true benefit, just as going from 1GB to 2GB meant no longer having to sit through XP paging the desktop in and out when you alt-tabbed.
 
The only reason I went for 4GB for my MBP was because I was hitting 3.4GB used at peak compile times. It should be about what you use the machine for rather than everyone else running it.

One point about 32bit vs 64 is that the binaries are often smaller (requiring less running space) on 32bit systems. However that 32bit limit is often a limitation when it comes to considering the data itself (ie asim's photoshop).
 
if you have 4x1gb you will stress out the Northbridge. you wont need more than 2gb for the time being. i can do everything on 2gb and thats on Vista ultimate.
 
I noticed an improvement going from 2 to 4Gb, also vista manages it very well as on idle right now mines using 1.2Gb.

Also with the current price of DDR2 I think its worth it.
 
I have used 4GB from the off on my current system so can't comment on the difference between 2GB & 4GB, but it runs so smooth it's a joy just minimising and maximising windows:p:D

And at current prices its criminal not to get 4GB. I paid £160 for my 4GB about 10 months ago.:eek:
 
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