Memory: 2gb vs 3/4gb @ 32bit XP.

PhoenixUK

PhoenixUK

PhoenixUK

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Joined
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Alrighty, got this:
E2200 @ 3.25ghz
2gb Geil Black Dragon ( 2x1gb)
GB P35DS3L
HD 3870
XP Pro 32bit.

I don't want vista so don't talk about this one please :).
Probably not going for XP 64 as well so lets discuss the current OS.

Will I get much of extra performance game wise if I buy extra 1gb or 2gb ram making it either 3gb or 4gb total ( i know of 32bit limitation just not sure how it exactly works :) ).

If i buy just one extra stick making it 2x1gb + 1x1gb will it cause any problems since the memory is dual channel ? ( never tried this so not sure here ).

Would like some opinion from the wise guys that tried it please.
 
If you buy an extra 1GB as one module, your system will run in single channel mode. I am sure there are lots of debates on whether this really matters or not but I would prefer to run in dual channel. Memory is however very cheap so there is no point only getting 1GB extra, you may aswell spend £25 ish and get yourself another matching pair.

Depending on what you do with your system, you should notice the increase, however don't expect it to feel like a new system entirely ;)

P.S get Vista 64 ;) its awesome :)
 
Yeh I could just as well buy same 2x1gb kit and get 4gb in total because the price is not a big deal.

It's mainly related to Age of Conan which i'm going to be playing, 2gb is pretty much advised there on high details and even thought I got that 2gb already and I know it's counted with the system I think having even that 1gb extra should make some difference.

Not sure tho, hence asking.
 
i went from 2 to 4 gig (3.25 visible)

made whats known in the trade as sweet FA difference to me, but i mostly play wow / B&W2 and C&C none of the above really uses all that much ram.

if you have the cash spare, why not?
 
Dual channel apparently has real benifits (my laptop here at uni doesnt use it as i have 3gig installed in it and its pretty average, though is an improvement from god aweful with just 1gig). From a pratical point of view there really is no gain from trying to penny pinch a tenner and getting a 1 gig stick over getting a matched pair.

32bit windows can only address a max of 4 gig ram including its kernel space and graphics ram, so in theory you wont gain too much. The big BUT is from what i remember about dual channel mode is that it pretends the 2 sticks on that channel are just one stick (hence the need for having the same frequency and timings) which reduces the overall work load to access the ram, and thus is faster. Adding one stick of ram will force single channel mode across all 3 sticks and will be a performance drop (as your having to address 3 memory areas over 1 incresing latency).

In conclusion (as i need to go somewhere with this) if you feel you need 4 gig of ram (quite a few games will benifit) its best to try and keep your system in dual channel mode so another pair of 1 gig sticks is the best choice. :)
 
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Get another 2 x 1GB to stay in dual channel. You probably wont notice any improvement whatsoever compared to your 2GB, but you'll know its there if you need it in the future.
 
4gb with an os that does not use it seems a waste and unlikley to do much

whilst memory is cheap why waste any cash at all, 2 512mb would be even cheaper and still run in dual channel to give 3gb total which is way more than most games seem to make use of.

makes sense if you think your next pc will probably have ddr3 ram or much faster ddr2
 
Also buddy whats your graphics card.
AOC (age of conan) Is gunna require a pretty good card. You prob already know this and have something swanky already but hey you can never be too cautious :p
Also 4GB ram in a 32bit OS will just result in windows only seeing about 3GB so *shrugs*
Personally id go vista 64 :)
 
Adsta said:
Also buddy whats your graphics card.
AOC (age of conan) Is gunna require a pretty good card. You prob already know this and have something swanky already but hey you can never be too cautious :p
Also 4GB ram in a 32bit OS will just result in windows only seeing about 3GB so *shrugs*
Personally id go vista 64 :)
Click to expand...

Mind reading my post before posting yourself ?
Thanks

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And anyways even if 32 doesnt see whole 4gb,
The difference between 2gb and ~3.25 is still over 70% which is almost twice as much.

And getting 2x512 is not an option, unless you find me 2x512 dual channel C4 6400 memory with good OC ability.


Anyone that made similar switch can say anything maybe ?
 
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*shrugs* maybe i did read the post maybe i read:

HD 3870
Click to expand...

As not really telling me what Card you got. since there are different versions, and was only trying to help :rolleyes:

as for the OS well i just made my opinion on it, if you don't like it meh :o

I'm not the only on on this thread to mention vista 64 :p
 
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