How much ram is enough?

R.Rabbit · Jul 26, 2002

i've been planning on buying a gig of XMS ddr-400 ram for an Nforce2, im want to buy two stick to go with dual ddr on the nforce2 but at $230 a pop its not something you'de buy lightly! should i get 2 sticks of 252mb XMS or go for a gig (i want this rig to last for at least 3 years before i make a big upgrade)(hammer should be dirt cheap by then, or obsolete!ahh! cant even think about it! no amd! noooooooooooooooooooooo!) oh uh where was i? ow ya so should i get a gig for the long run or save my money? im confused! HELP!

i know, i know its not that big of a deal i just wanna get it right the first time.....

Captain Slug · Jul 26, 2002

R.Rabbit said:
i've been planning on buying a gig of XMS ddr-400 ram for an Nforce2, im want to buy two stick to go with dual ddr on the nforce2 but at $230 a pop its not something you'de buy lightly! should i get 2 sticks of 252mb XMS or go for a gig (i want this rig to last for at least 3 years before i make a big upgrade)(hammer should be dirt cheap by then, or obsolete!ahh! cant even think about it! no amd! noooooooooooooooooooooo!) oh uh where was i? ow ya so should i get a gig for the long run or save my money? im confused! HELP!

i know, i know its not that big of a deal i just wanna get it right the first time.....

512MB will be an ample for gaming and most other things you'll be doing.
1GB of RAM will really only help you with rendering huge animations in a professional 3D program. So save yourself some ca$h...

DocClock aka MadClocker · Jul 26, 2002

If you're planning on using XP pro, then a gig could do wonders, but 512m is more than adequate, and with 98 it's overkill...the sweet spot with win98se is around 256mb..some have had to limit the ram (in w98) to 256mb with 512m onboard.
I only use 256mb with my 98 rig, and it never hiccups, and loads software surprisingly fast.
If you do get a gig, experiment with memory limitations, e.g. "limit memory to x mb" , and do a benchmark with every setting, and don't be affraid to use odd numbers.
The only reason I haven't tried to find the "sweet spot" with this 98se, is that every time you change the mem limit, you have to reboot, and I'm lazy...but someday I will do it just for fun when I'm bored

roYal · Jul 26, 2002

If you're a workstation, 512MB. Win2k can see up to 2GB, win98 can only see up to 512MB. I'm pretty sure with winxp, it's 2GB.

If you're a server, i would go with 1GB+.

If you're a mainframe, get windows datacenter server, 50 processors, and its' 64 terrabytes of memory it can handle.
LOL.

gtsimmo · Jul 26, 2002

Why not get a single stick of 512 mb PC3000 Corsair XMS now. So in the future if you got the cash, you can easily get another stick of 512 mb and be at 1 gb. Besides having a single stick module is preferred by most overlockers here than two sticks. Plus I think a 512 stick will cost less than buying two 256mb

Ferg · Jul 26, 2002

because you have to have 2 sticks of RAM in to enable Dual DDR and nVida had the dumb idea of not having two pairs of DIMM sockets. So pretty much if you want to run Dual DDR you have to buy all the ram your ever going to use up front.

knif_00 · Jul 27, 2002

DocClock aka MadClocker said:
If you're planning on using XP pro, then a gig could do wonders, but 512m is more than adequate, and with 98 it's overkill...

Define 'wonders'. I'm running XP Pro with 512, what will i get out of having another 512??

Mr. Chambers · Jul 27, 2002

knif_00 said:
Define 'wonders'. I'm running XP Pro with 512, what will i get out of having another 512??

probably nothing worth the extra 170 bucks youd spend. if you really feel you need more than 512, and unless you are a photoshop freak i seriously doubt you'd even notice a difference, other than say a sandra benchmark... stick with 512 - AT LEAST until the prices come down.. they' nearly doubled!!

Superman · Jul 27, 2002

I cant believe it nobody said it. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

knif_00 · Jul 27, 2002

Oh yeah

Sorry dude with the wicked crazy and scary avatar . . WELCOME.......................*drum roll please*.....................TO THE FORUMS
:beer:

(ac/dc's 'have a drink on me' plays in the background)

steveyboy · Jul 28, 2002

hey!

no one told me "welcome to the forums"

... any way on to this topic, why cant he buy one stick of 512 right now, and then buy another cheaper in a couple of months? Who said he really really needs that extra kick of having 2 ddr sticks in that bad boy right when it comes out??? I mean its not like his mobo will refuse to operate on one stick.

R.Rabbit · Jul 28, 2002

thanks!

thanks for the welcome! (sniffles) im getting all teary eyed. you really love me!

oh ya where was i, yep thats a good idea i think ill buy a single 512 mb stick up front and even if i have to make a fresh start to get the second stick to run i dont care itle prob help to do everything over again right(i always f up the first time) oh and ferg said you have to would have to get all you ram up front for dual ddr to work? wats that about does any one else have any info on this, i think he means if you wish to use dual ddr buy, yeah. n e waz thanks for the input! i think im more confused but it'll be easy-er for me to only get a single stick if i cant afford much more(i might be getting win XP pro for free thats pretty much the deciding factor)oh ya would it help folding to have more ram? and will samsung ddr-400 be cheaper/mabey even better?

DocClock aka MadClocker · Aug 1, 2002

Thanks for reminding us there Sup,
Like Superman said, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!
My prob is that I rarely look at the left side of posts where the avatars are, because I'll get all caught up in the "dancing spidey" and not in the posts...kinda like Ernest P. Whorl looking at a burning match...

packratbob · Aug 1, 2002

i dunno but ram prices are kinda high here there still almost double the prices they were two months back... i think i'll hang back and live with my 256 till they come down again.

OC-Master · Aug 1, 2002

For nForce2, go 1GB or ram. This is because basically, nForce2 can only support up to 2 sticks of ram (regarding your using dual ddr) so therefore, you probally want at least headroom for the future.

If you cant afford it now, just stick with 1 chip of 512MB XMS and then get the second stick later.

1GB of ram will last twice as long as 512MB.

My sister's pc has only 512MB and she has already hit some limits. Besides, 3Dmark2002 will make peoples computers with 512MB of ram cry. There is soo many textures that need storage!

DS-Master

R.Rabbit · Aug 1, 2002

dangit! now im cofused ow well ill just not but 2 sticks right away i was hoping to see the bad *** bandwidth i would have, wutever,where i am i'll have the fastest computer in about a thousand miles i guess thatle have to do for now!

i live in okinowa, japan (my mom is in the nave and shes stationed here), okinowa is a small province island of japan

CrystalMethod · Aug 1, 2002

It all depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If you're not into 3D apps and stuff, and you don't load up your task bar with everything under the sun. There's no real need to go over 512. If prices do drop through the floor though, buy it while it's cheap, but I don't think we're going to see a big price drop for a couple of months yet.

R.Rabbit · Aug 2, 2002

i agree crystalmethod, but remeber when computer with 8megs of ram were concidered performance computers!!!!

CrystalMethod · Aug 2, 2002

Heck I remember when 64 megs of ram was over $1000.

attack · Aug 2, 2002

Well I would say go 512....but you want this computer to alst for 3 years?!?!?!?!?!? that's so long...actualy it might e cheap to get 2 256 now and in a year or two buy a gig or maybe 2 gigs by then and end up paying close to the same price. I think your target of 3years is too long...atleast for my tastes.

How much ram is enough?

Member

Helpful Senior Member

Senior Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Senior Member

Member

Member

Member

Senior Band Wagon Jumper

Member

Senior Band Wagon Jumper

Member

Similar threads