4GB (4x 1GB) - The pros & cons ?

[HookeyStreet]

I know this topic has been done to the death, so Im sorry for bringing it up again

But Im really tempted to grab another 2x 1GB of what I already have (its only £79.99 ffs and its great RAM) to aid gaming performance.

Check my system specs and see what you think, should I go 4GB or be happy with 2GB?

 

[rhythmeister]

Too slow, get sum HyperX!

 

[NotS0Pro]

Well, personally I play RTS (CC3) and one MMORPG (WoW) using 2GB of corsair DDR2, and on full graphics it runs smoothly. If you're looking at high-end FPS on full graphics maybe it's worth it?

Otherwise, Drinks are you?

Edit: BTW, you rig is ubar

 

[average..]

I think it comes down to if your system has ever needed that much ram, i think after a session in windows you can check your taskmanager to see the memory peak if it succeded your max amount of memory then some more wont hurt, but im not sure if much of a perfomance boost will come from having over 2gigs.

 

[Ketxxx]

Geil black dragon is much better than that stuff too..

Anyway, heres the main pros and cons

pro: lots of memory
con: stresses memory controller, resulting in a lesser OC as all DIMM banks are occupied.

end result: get a 2 or 4GB DC kit for best results.

 

[francis511]

as long as theyre the same brand.i mixed 2 gig of geil with 1 gig of a-data and noticed some performance drops - latency ,stability etc.

 

[jtleon]

Check your XP and Vista installs....are they 32BIT?

If you are running 32 Bit XP and Vista, your system won't recognize all 4Gb - mine only recognized about 3.15GB.

That is better than 2Gb, but one stick is basically just heating the air in your case - nothing else.

Current games are still 32 bit by design, and run slightly faster in 32 bit Windows versions.

Anandtech did a great deal of investigation into this 2Gb issue and discovered that XP still rules over Vista in terms of memory management with games.

Until Vista has been "serviced" by MS, this problem persists. If I were you - based on your system specs - I would buy those matching sticks for future use, but only install them after upgrading to 64Bit XP. Those sticks may not be around for much longer.

Also, I have learned the hard way that these memory companies (Crucial, Mushkin, G.Skill, etc.) will typically change chips midway through a product life cycle, and they never switch to better hardware rather than cheaper hardware. As prices always fall over time, these companies are only concerned with maintaining their profit margins.

Regards,
jtleon

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

I usually go with corsair is there something better then corsair I wouldnt mind trading up

 

[LiveOrDie]

well i got to say if you get 2gb more to make it 4 windows will only recognize 3.35gb of it because its a 32bit os so you would be wasting close to 1gb of ram so there two options get a 64bit os or just buy 2x512mb sticks

 

[HookeyStreet]

Geil black dragon is much better than that stuff too..

Anyway, heres the main pros and cons

pro: lots of memory
con: stresses memory controller, resulting in a lesser OC as all DIMM banks are occupied.

end result: get a 2 or 4GB DC kit for best results.

I did suspected that it would effect OCing

 

[HookeyStreet]

well i got to say if you get 2gb more to make it 4 windows will only recognize 3.35gb of it because its a 32bit os so you would be wasting close to 1gb of ram so there two options get a 64bit os or just buy 2x512mb sticks

another 2x 512mb could be an option.....but like ket said, with all 4 banks filled it effects your overclocking potential

I think I will stick with 2GB, if it aint broke, dont fix it

 

[ktr]

I have 4gb and when gaming (dod:s, and etqw beta), my g15 says i use around 40% of my memory, which comes around 1.6gb...so 2gb is plenty.

 

[HookeyStreet]

I have 4gb and when gaming (dod:s, and etqw beta), my g15 says i use around 40% of my memory, which comes around 1.6gb...so 2gb is plenty.

Thanks for the info

 

[lemonadesoda]

Money better spent as follows:

1./ Buy a Quad, and
2./ Sell your duo

AND/OR

3./ Get a RAID controller and stripe your OS HDD, and/or your games HDD/Partition

(I hope you have your games on a separate partition from your OS! LOL)

AND/OR

4./ Get a flash card (e.g. 2GB) and stick you favourite online game onto the flash card. Zero load latency.

 

[panchoman]

using PAE, all 4 gigs will be used, just not recognized in windows. for more details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension
(couldn't find the microsoft article)

like someone else said, having all the dimm's full wont gives you the best results ocing wise, but its still a big pro if you plan on doing lots of memory intensive work.

 

[LiveOrDie]

I have 4gb and when gaming (dod:s, and etqw beta), my g15 says i use around 40% of my memory, which comes around 1.6gb...so 2gb is plenty.

you meen 3.35gb when gaming your useing a 32bit os

 

[niko084]

using PAE, all 4 gigs will be used, just not recognized in windows. for more details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension
(couldn't find the microsoft article)

like someone else said, having all the dimm's full wont gives you the best results ocing wise, but its still a big pro if you plan on doing lots of memory intensive work.

True, thats how my servers use their 16 gigs.
*too many people think that 32 bit means 4 gigs is your limit... pfft*

But when it comes to most applications they wont use PAE... Games especially...

Photoshop probably would.

 

[hat]

The only way more RAM is going to benefit you is if you're already running out.

1. 4 sticks of RAM limits stability and OC and takes more power
2. 4GB is overkill. Just find the kind of memory you already have only in 2x512MB flavor if you need more memory. (DIMM1 1GB DIMM2 512MB DIMM3 1GB DIMM4 512MB)
3. If you already have enough memory (not running out), the only way getting memory would benefit you is if you ditched your current memory for something faster

 

[LiveOrDie]

lol if you want 4gb and a good oc then get a 64bit os and buy 2 new sticks of ram 2x2gb

 

[Deleted member 24505]

im sorry hookeystreet,but i just have to say it.your rig is very good,but your psu sucks.i have seen colorsit psu's were i live and they are cheap generic junk.i dont mean to offend you but,i just cant hold back.please get a better psu.

for others bensfit,here is the link to their psu's-http://www.colors-it.com.cn/03_prod...id_search=85&max_id_search=5&min_id_search=21

 

[jtleon]

I have to agree with Tigger on this one...

im sorry hookeystreet,but i just have to say it.your rig is very good,but your psu sucks.i have seen colorsit psu's were i live and they are cheap generic junk.i dont mean to offend you but,i just cant hold back.please get a better psu.

for others bensfit,here is the link to their psu's-http://www.colors-it.com.cn/03_prod...id_search=85&max_id_search=5&min_id_search=21

Yes, it is true, your PSU is doing its very best when you can see the sparks coming off of it in your rear view mirror at about 30 mph on HWY 40.

I'm sorry I just could not hold that back either.

Regards,
jtleon

 

[Deleted member 24505]

lmfao,i'd love to see a colors-it psu doing that.

 

[HookeyStreet]

im sorry hookeystreet,but i just have to say it.your rig is very good,but your psu sucks.i have seen colorsit psu's were i live and they are cheap generic junk.i dont mean to offend you but,i just cant hold back.please get a better psu.

for others bensfit,here is the link to their psu's-http://www.colors-it.com.cn/03_prod...id_search=85&max_id_search=5&min_id_search=21

Firstly, I got the PSU when my system was intended to be a very cheap 'budget' rig.

Secondly, my system is running perfectly fine with it.

Thirdly, you buy me a good PSU and I will use it




PS: Im currently working on upgrading the PSU.....but it will do for now

 

[Atnevon]

True, thats how my servers use their 16 gigs.
*too many people think that 32 bit means 4 gigs is your limit... pfft*

But when it comes to most applications they wont use PAE... Games especially...

Photoshop probably would.

Sorry to necro this thread, but it beats starting a new one.

This is the exact scenario I have been looking for. I heard the XP Pro x64 Windows was better in terms of memory useage because of the ability to read more than 3.XX ram, but with PAE, you say say applications would ignore the OS rules and use more anyway.

So If I look inside my case and see 4 physical sticks of 1g RAM (4gb total), it will still be used, but stupid Windows looks and goes: "DUHHHHHHH, FWREE point twooo is wat me sees"

Mainly I wonder this because I was looking to get a quad core and debating 2 or 4gb of RAM. (Applications I use are Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects for refference)