amc11890 Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 Im curious, i myself only have 384mb of ram, will be upgrading soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 remember that ram is to speed as cubic inch displacement is to horse power in other words ram is one of the more important factors in computer building as is bore x stroke is to cubic inch configuration in engine building, they are both needed for power and that my dear Mr's. and Mrs's.is my take on this survey. More is always better in this particular instance. p.s. Good question how about this one? Ram power vs Processor power where does that equation stand in the mix of things and which one has more importance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hyperspace Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 I have 512MB...but only use on average about less then 200MB of it. So if I installed 2GB of RAM, it would not speed my PC up at all. But a faster processor sure would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milchama Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 It is almost always cheaper to upgrade ram vs. a processor and the benefits are usually greater. Unless you have my PC I built it 3+ years ago I have a P4 2.26 533fsb w/ 512Mb of PC1066mHz Rambus. I could upgrade to a 2.8-3.0 w/ H.T. proc but it would cost near $500 to upgrade my ram to a gig. Rambus cost the same as it did 3 years ago. and beside my Mobo only supports 4x AGP. So if your in my shoes your screwed. But if you have DDR a 1 gig module runs for approx $100. Upgrade ram first and later when ya have the cash upgrade the CPU as prices will have dropped on that flag ship proc by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 Good question how about this one? Ram power vs Processor power where does that equation stand in the mix of things and which one has more importance? As milchama mentioned there becomes a point that a new cpu is needed. If you are going to do a new system to day say based on an AMD 64 bit cpu. The difference between the processors, 3000 v 3200, is between 10%- 20%. Which mean that you pay more for the 3200 but you really never see the extra speed. However, RAM... you put an extra 512mb in your system you will see proformance difference.. you can store more which means that less hard drive access. Having to go to the hard drive for information is a performance killer! Now if you have 2 gigs in a 650MHz computer it is time for you to upgrade. If you have a Athlon 64 2800+ with 512mb of ram.. and you think your system is "slow" i would recommend the memory upgrade. If you are going to build a system.. Unless you have to have the latest chip and are using money that you really should you for ram.. I would get the one below the processor and get more memeory.. If you are looking to upgrade your system.. Unless you have atleast 400-500 bucks dont wasted your time.. You are going to have to get a processor, motherboard, and memory.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 How's it go swimmer That was the point I was trying to elude to, as in engine building there is no replacement for cubic inch displacement, which is equal to ram in my uneducated mind, it always boils down to cost :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc11890 Posted August 2, 2005 Author CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 wat do u recommend for my pc with amd athlon xp 1800 and 384 mb of ram, would a processor upgrade do the trick or more ram????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 (As milchama mentioned there becomes a point that a new cpu is needed. If you are going to do a new system to day say based on an AMD 64 bit cpu. The difference between the processors, 3000 v 3200, is between 10%- 20%. Which mean that you pay more for the 3200 but you really never see the extra speed. However, RAM... you put an extra 512mb in your system you will see performance difference.. you can store more which means that less hard drive access. Having to go to the hard drive for information is a performance killer! Now if you have 2 gigs in a 650MHz computer it is time for you to upgrade. If you have a Athlon 64 2800+ with 512mb of ram.. and you think your system is "slow" i would recommend the memory upgrade. If you are going to build a system.. Unless you have to have the latest chip and are using money that you really should you for ram.. I would get the one below the processor and get more memory.. If you are looking to upgrade your system.. Unless you have at least 400-500 bucks dont wasted your time.. You are going to have to get a processor, motherboard, and memory..) that was a quote from one of our mods that has been here for a long time, your question was answered before you asked it :D Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hyperspace Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 The bottom line: If you are not using all of the RAM you have now, getting more will NOT speed up your PC. Now, getting a "more advanced" type of RAM might help. Also, your hard drive RPMs and all kinds of other factors come into play as far as making you computer go "faster". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 and to determine how much ram you are using go to tweak now.com and download their utility called ram idle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hyperspace Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 ...or if you have Windows XP...open your Windows Task Manager and pick the Performance tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
php Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 ...or if you have Windows XP...open your Windows Task Manager and pick the Performance tab. lol, you took the words right out of my mouth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 That was the point I was trying to elude to, as in engine building there is no replacement for cubic inch displacement, which is equal to ram in my uneducated mind, it always boils down to cost I know squat about engines.. other then they make my car go.. It is more of a balancing act between processor speed, amount of ram, and how old the system is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob12345 Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 i have 640... because i got tired of running xp home with only 128mb of ram so i bought 512 more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milchama Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 Many games recomend 1 gig of ram as it would also come in handy if editing video although you may only be using 200 of 512 mb of ram. However, when you get into battlefield 2 or any video editing software you will be impressed with more ram over a faster proc. and when your proc just dosent cut it any more get a new one and so on this is all supposing that ya'll have at least a 7200 rpm HD with an 8meg cache or greater yea, 128 mb is XP's min requirement. If you want to see perfomance always try to exceed recomended requirements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 I bet that helped out alot? like the computer booted faster then 5min? I dont think i would even try to install on anything less than 256 or 512. Hell an unpatched fresh install of the original copy takes 78.3mb of ram to boot.. Many games recomend 1 gig of ram as it would also come in handy if editing video although you may only be using 200 of 512 mb of ram when you get into battlefield 2 or any video editing software you will be impressed with more ram over a faster proc. and when your proc just dosent cut it any more get a new one and so on this is all supposing that ya'll have at least a 7200 rpm HD with an 8meg cache or greater Speaking of Bf2.. I have found that if i alt tab out of the program i am running close to 700mb used while in game.. That is HUGE!!! that is also before the memory leak was repaired by 1.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milchama Posted August 2, 2005 CID Share Posted August 2, 2005 Speaking of Bf2.. I have found that if i alt tab out of the program i am running close to 700mb used while in game.. That is HUGE!!! that is also before the memory leak was repaired by 1.02 yea I played the demo on my PC w/ 512 mb of ram and I could play well but was not greatly impressed I am gonna just wait till it comes out on the 360, and or get the game when I build a new PC sometime next year when Longhorn is released Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shug7272 Posted August 3, 2005 CID Share Posted August 3, 2005 I just baught a new laptop yesterday with 512 of ddr2 and went straight to newegg.com, got a 1 gig stick for 99 bucks and installed today. That makes 1.3 gig of ddr2 ram 4200... WOOOO freaking HOOO this baby flies. It also has a 17 inch widescreen and x700 ati card, great for a laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmer Posted August 3, 2005 CID Share Posted August 3, 2005 very cool.. what manufacturer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbull481 Posted August 3, 2005 CID Share Posted August 3, 2005 1st Com - 768Mb of RAM ('04 Gateway) 2nd Com - 512MB of RAM ('04 Dell) 3rd Com - 56 MB of RAM ('99 Compaq) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wmmc Posted August 3, 2005 CID Share Posted August 3, 2005 Nothing special, meets my needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shug7272 Posted August 3, 2005 CID Share Posted August 3, 2005 very cool.. what manufacturer? Gateway, but I still like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sholsten Posted August 4, 2005 CID Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have 768 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6arett Posted August 4, 2005 CID Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have 768 tommarow my order should come in so i'll have 1GB and if you wanted to know what type of RAM you should get for your computer, use this http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkX Posted August 7, 2005 CID Share Posted August 7, 2005 256 used to be more than enough a few years ago, now i am running with 512 and it seems like minimum requirements. These days i see more and more ppl with 1GB of RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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