Is 2GB RAM too little for Windows 7 when gaming?

Gimpymoo · 7 Jan 2010 at 23:07

My Spec is:

Phenom II AM3 720 Tri Core at 2.8Ghz
2GB RAM
Radeon 5770 1GB
Windows 7 64bit

I am noticing stuttering in Borderlands and other games.

I game at 1680x1050.

Now, my system only has 2GB of RAM and Ram usage when playing is at 2GB.

When Idle, RAM usage is 1GB.

Is it possible disk thrashing could be causing the stuttering and another 2GB of RAM wouldnt go amiss?

When I built the PC last year with Vista, 2GB was OK but obvioulsy, times move on.

TheVoice · 7 Jan 2010 at 23:12

I'd say it's too little for gaming these days regardless of OS.

gurusan · 7 Jan 2010 at 23:16

I ran 2gb for awhile and it's usable, but you are really going to want 4gb.....

Temi_D · 7 Jan 2010 at 23:38

Ive never seen my ram usage go past 1.5GB and i got 4GB ram

Happy · 7 Jan 2010 at 23:49

It's the bare minimum imo, I'm currently using my spare machine atm. Dirt 2 will play smooth as silk on max at 1920x1200 with a 3.0GHz AMD dual and 2GB with GTX 260s, just loading times take a while (this is on 64bit aswell)

However Burnout

aradise does judder from time to time. It's definitely worth upgrading if that's an option!

reiyushin · 8 Jan 2010 at 00:23

7 is nicer to RAM than Vista was but you're still going to want to get 4Gb

If you've maxed your ram out (have 2Gb and shows 2Gb in use) then I guess it's going to hit the page file hard which could cause the stuttering

It's pricey at the minute but another 2Gb will speed things up nicely (I can only imagine the horror of having to tab out of BL with 2Gb

)

Mr Krugga · 8 Jan 2010 at 08:40

Just installed Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit on my brother's rig with 2GB and RAM usage in idle doesn't exceed 30%. Bear in mind that Ultimate 64bit takes up to 1.5GB in idle (64bit+XP Virtualistion).

siege2 · 8 Jan 2010 at 09:17

Gimpymoo said:
My Spec is:

Phenom II AM3 720 Tri Core at 2.8Ghz
2GB RAM
Radeon 5770 1GB
Windows 7 64bit

I am noticing stuttering in Borderlands and other games.

I game at 1680x1050.

Now, my system only has 2GB of RAM and Ram usage when playing is at 2GB.

When Idle, RAM usage is 1GB.

Is it possible disk thrashing could be causing the stuttering and another 2GB of RAM wouldnt go amiss?

When I built the PC last year with Vista, 2GB was OK but obvioulsy, times move on.

get another matching, same brand memory chips to match what you have already. then you should be sorted. 2gb> 4gb

Gimpymoo · 8 Jan 2010 at 09:40

reiyushin said:
It's pricey at the minute but another 2Gb will speed things up nicely

Talk about the wrong time to be buying - lol

Thanks for the responses.

I will see what prices I can find.

A 4GB pair is definitely out the question at the moment, very pricey.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-067-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

They seem OK?

droyden · 8 Jan 2010 at 09:51

I've currently got 2GB on X2 4600+ 939 on a 8800GT, runs MW2 etc fine.. but mostly I will close down other things especially firefox if its been open a while

gurusan · 8 Jan 2010 at 10:15

Can always look for a cheaper 2x2Gb kit in the MM

siege2 · 8 Jan 2010 at 10:43

Gimpymoo said:
Talk about the wrong time to be buying - lol

Thanks for the responses.

I will see what prices I can find.

A 4GB pair is definitely out the question at the moment, very pricey.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-067-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

They seem OK?

are these the same chips you already have in your system? If there different types and voltages etc there could be problems, ie crashes blue screens etc if matched as a lot off people have had happened to them.

PS never buy memory chips from the Bay always buy from Companys ie Overclockers

ken

PermaBanned · 8 Jan 2010 at 10:54

I'd say it's perfectly adequate to be honest, i wish people would sell more 2GB modules of DDR3 on their own. Sure, in gaming you might notice a bit of a performance dip but nothing too major, but i've been running it for a while and i've never seen usage go over 50%.

DJ Prem · 8 Jan 2010 at 11:59

2GB is a start point but 4GB is recommended.

Leezy · 8 Jan 2010 at 13:18

GTA IV maxed out at 1920x1200 doesnt like 2gb stutters all over the place.
However 4GB allows it to run flawlessly.

Crixus00 · 8 Jan 2010 at 15:45

Playing MW2 max setting 1920x1080 and it consumes circa 3.3gb ram. So say my G15 lcd panel, anyway.

PermaBanned · 8 Jan 2010 at 16:12

The OP is playing at 1680x1050 though. The original question was 'is it too little'. The answer is no, but it's obviously not the best.

Yellowbeard · 8 Jan 2010 at 18:22

It will really depend on the game too. I have seen Warhammer Online with nothing else running at over 3.8GB total usage. So, with the OS running and a game using only 2Gb total, that would mean there would be a LOT of page file activity which results in poor performance.

Corasik · 9 Jan 2010 at 12:30

64bit windows, regardless of XP / Vista or Windows 7 will use more ram than a 32bit OS just for general use. In my opinion 4GB is minimum ram to use a 64bit OS efficiently, and some apps will do better with 6GB.

Hoodlum · 9 Jan 2010 at 23:37

2GB is really only usable for XP or Linux users these days. With a few tweaks you can get XP 64 down to 110mb-ish just from disabling otherwise unused services.
I'd say you need at least 4gb for games on windows 7. Preferably 6 or 8gb even because games will only start using a lot more in the next few years as people pick up Windows 7 64.