Gaming : 8GB vs 4GB system RAM

[opethdisciple]

Nope.

The limitation of x86 hosts is that they can only address 4GB RAM. It's mandatory that add-on cards such as GPUs, SPUs, RAID cards, etc are addressed first, meaning that the system RAM can only be addressed up to a total of 4GB minus the afore-mentioned hardware.

Nothing is mirrored, GPU ram isn't reserved in system RAM, and x86 applications on x64 hosts do not cause the same limitation to occur.

Yea that is what I said, although, some slight misswording and you can interprt my words differently.

Its not that the gpu is reserving or mapping ram, its the fact that the vram basically gets deducted from the total system ram that a 32bit application can address.

 

[uv]

LAW doesn't always help either, it caused many issues with some games. X3 was almost unplayable.

But it has nothing to do with RAM. It's just that Microsoft saw fit to force driver verification on the x64 versions of their OS's.

I still don't understand why they ever decided to do this, all it ever did was cause issues. Fortunately, the vast majority of drivers are no longer unsigned (including that Tages driver that caused the X3 issue)

Its not that the gpu is reserving or mapping ram, its the fact that the vram basically gets deducted from the total system ram that a 32bit application can address.

Only on x86 hosts - this isn't an issue when using x86 applications on a x64 host.

 

[Dea924]

not much difference between 4gb n 8gb for gaming.. maybe 2/3 fps on some games but nothing noticable unless your a keen benchmark enthusiast who demands the highest cack.

yes i realise i have 12 but damn ocuk had the 8gb for £60 and i couldnt resist adding to the 4gb i had.. may sell the 4gb (2 x 2) and just use the 2 x 4 modules though

 

[gropingmantis]

I went from 4GB to 8GB as it was cheap and more is always better. Not noticed any difference in-game but it does mean I can have many other things open in the background and alt-tabbing out seems faster.

 

[iviv]

Hang on so you are running your ram in 2 different color slots? meaning not in dual channel mode. Unless they are making mobos differently nowadays?

http://i.imgur.com/rSB1r.jpg

Thankfully this one seems to be fine in that respect

 

[SE-Lain]

I'm sticking to 4GB for now. Don't see much need to upgrade. Also, still using 32 bit windows for a few compatibility reasons.

 

[mountaincow]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/ram-memory-upgrade,review-32053-8.html

This article covers this subject pretty well.

 

[Nate--IRL--]

The only time I've encountered an almost mandatory use of 64bit over 32bit, is with the newer versions of the DCS Flight Sims. They run out of 32bit Memory Address space rather than RAM, in normal untweaked 32bit OS.

Been using 64bit Win7 for a while and have yet to encounter any major incompatibility issues.

Nate

 

[Andrew_McP]

I stupidly added 8Gb to my 4Gb because I thought my video editing project would benefit greatly. Sadly my version of Sony's editing software is only 32 bit and the 64 bit version is only available if I hand over a small fortune for Vegas Pro. So I'm feeling a little silly.

So far I have failed to make my PC use more than 4Gb no matter how hard I try (in normal type use). I am hoping to find some genuine excuses for leaving it in there otherwise I might as well sell it while it has some value.

 

[opethdisciple]

I stupidly added 8Gb to my 4Gb because I thought my video editing project would benefit greatly. Sadly my version of Sony's editing software is only 32 bit and the 64 bit version is only available if I hand over a small fortune for Vegas Pro. So I'm feeling a little silly.

So far I have failed to make my PC use more than 4Gb no matter how hard I try (in normal type use). I am hoping to find some genuine excuses for leaving it in there otherwise I might as well sell it while it has some value.

BF3 is 64bit native so that will make use of it!

 

[iviv]

WoW needs a 64-bit PC and 4Gb of ram if you're running it at maximum settings, since it runs out of memory and you need to edit the .exe to make it large address aware, which could cause problems on 32-bit versions of windows.

 

[chaparral]

I currently have 4GB and was wondering if there was any point in upgrading to 8GB?

Yes upgrade to 8GB

All Gaming systems should have 8GB as standard


I always made sure i had 8GB in all my gaming systems for last few years..

 

[Metalface Mark]

Just do it when its cheap, i think i went from 4 to 8 of xms3 for about £35, ridiculous and silly not to (even if its not needed).

 

[dbmzk1]

I went X58 and decided on 6GB. It's more than enough for any game and 4GB probably is too.

 

[NeoReloaded]

I upgraded my old rig to 4gig and my new machine has 6gig and I can't notice the difference so I would wait a while before going to 8gig!

 

[Relentless81]

Yes upgrade to 8GB

All Gaming systems should have 8GB as standard


I always made sure i had 8GB in all my gaming systems for last few years..

Unjustified sarcasm is unjustified

Like I say, i'm stcking with 4GB until the next build which wont be until the consoles come out anyway as my current PC is more than enough for current and up coming titles

 

[chaparral]

Unjustified sarcasm is unjustified

Like I say, i'm stcking with 4GB until the next build which wont be until the consoles come out anyway as my current PC is more than enough for current and up coming titles

Why do you think i was being sarcasm because i believe all gaming systems should have 8GB of ram as standard..

 

[arc@css]

Yes upgrade to 8GB

All Gaming systems should have 8GB as standard


I always made sure i had 8GB in all my gaming systems for last few years..

What benefits do you find by having 8gb of ram over say 4 or 6?

 

[npjnpj]

Might 8GB not push FXS above 10 FPS?

 

[PapaLazaru]

I have been mulling this same question for a few months now. Still no idea whether to upgrade to 2 x 4gb sticks, whilst RAM is cheap.

I paid over £100 for my 4gb just over a year ago.