THE TRUTH: 512mb vs 1024mb?

[TomaHawk47x]

Im building a rig soon and am looking for the right type and amount of ram. When it comes down to whether i should go for 512mb or 1gb, i get the same responses: "No one uses up a full gig" or "a gig makes a big difference". if i were to get a gig of ram, it would have to be cheap, such as buffalo pc3700 (bh-5)..(however, i dont know if i can trust that ill i get bh-5 and not micron). if i went for 512mb, i could get top of the line...such as 2x256 mushkin lv2 black pc3500. this rig will be a 2500+ on an abit nf7-s 2.0 and will be overclocked. i will be mostly gaming on this rig, along with a few other random things. i need to decide how much ram i need, before i can determine what brand/type i get. from your experience, is there a significant difference between 512mb and 1gb of ram? if so, how often and when is this noticeable? and which option do u recommend i take?

[rugbyroy]

I've never ran a gig of ram, but I am not complaining about the 512mbs I have at all. I play games all the time too.

[sandman001]

My advice, get 512mb top of the line stuff, then later on if you want to upgrade it get another 512.

you can't lose.

[TomaHawk47x]

Originally posted by sandman001
My advice, get 512mb top of the line stuff, then later on if you want to upgrade it get another 512.

you can't lose.

if i get 2x256, it could be a pain. will ddr2 be compatible with the abit nf7-s 2.0? i believe ddr2 is pretty much the same as ddr.

[rugbyroy]

I thought ddr2 ran at twice the speed of ddr..

[TomaHawk47x]

n/m

[leggysoe]

i agree with sandman

[Venesectrix]

IMO, 512 is fine, more memory will just decrease load times. Like sandman said, buy some high-quality 512 and you can upgrade later if you need more.

[Speed_Mechanic2]

DDR2 is not, and will not be, compatable with most current chipsets/motherboards, this includes the Abit NF7 (w/ nForce2). It is not twice the speed of DDR, only an evolution of it that will (supposedly) allow for higher clock speeds more efficiency. In fact, most early DDR2 performs under-par compared to high-end DDR, not to mention producing higher heat. But DDR2 is the "future" and will be implemented, starting in H1 2004.

The problem with the "buy one now, the other later" is if your going to purchase a product that will cease to be available, you will need to locate that "second purchase" from a second-hand source. If you buy memory with BH-5 chips, although you don't need BH-5 chip memory to run in duel-channel, you will need to locate another module with similar overclock nature to your current one.

1GB of memory is useful for intense, high loading applications. Games are getting bigger, and will require more and more memory as time goes on. More memory won't add to performance in most situations, only lessen load times and similar activies. So if your intent on making a pure-overclocking machine, less is sometimes better. If you want higher clock speeds, less-dense modules are usually better. In single-channel situations 1 module is better then 2, 2 is better then 3, ect. There is less latency this way.

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

Originally posted by Speed_Mechanic2
DDR2 is not, and will not be, compatable with most current chipsets/motherboards, this includes the Abit NF7 (w/ nForce2). It is not twice the speed of DDR, only an evolution of it that will (supposedly) allow for higher clock speeds more efficiency. In fact, most early DDR2 performs under-par compared to high-end DDR, not to mention producing higher heat. But DDR2 is the "future" and will be implemented, starting in H1 2004.

The problem with the "buy one now, the other later" is if your going to purchase a product that will cease to be available, you will need to locate that "second purchase" from a second-hand source. If you buy memory with BH-5 chips, although you don't need BH-5 chip memory to run in duel-channel, you will need to locate another module with similar overclock nature to your current one.

1GB of memory is useful for intense, high loading applications. Games are getting bigger, and will require more and more memory as time goes on. More memory won't add to performance in most situations, only lessen load times and similar activies. So if your intent on making a pure-overclocking machine, less is sometimes better. If you want higher clock speeds, less-dense modules are usually better. In single-channel situations 1 module is better then 2, 2 is better then 3, ect. There is less latency this way.

i agree, another problem i am experiencing with "buy one now, the other later" is that i now have 512mb mushkin but i don't want to spend more money on ram as i don't need it and seeing DDR2 just around the corner, i don't want to buy anything i can't use in a year, i am a little irritated that i can't use dual channel because i only have 1 stick

if i were you, i would buy 2x256mb sticks of buffalo pc3700 bh-5

[TomaHawk47x]

if i go 2x256, what's better:

2x256mb OCZ Platinum LE

or

2x256mb Mushkin Lv2 BLack

i heard the OCZ was better, but why, unlike their 2x512 pack, is their 2x256 actually cheaper than mushkin's? or maybe im looking at the wrong type of OCZ on newegg. can some1 link it to me to be sure?

[pwnt by pat]

Originally posted by Speed_Mechanic2
DDR2 is not, and will not be, compatable with most current chipsets/motherboards, this includes the Abit NF7 (w/ nForce2). It is not twice the speed of DDR, only an evolution of it that will (supposedly) allow for higher clock speeds more efficiency. In fact, most early DDR2 performs under-par compared to high-end DDR, not to mention producing higher heat. But DDR2 is the "future" and will be implemented, starting in H1 2004.

The problem with the "buy one now, the other later" is if your going to purchase a product that will cease to be available, you will need to locate that "second purchase" from a second-hand source. If you buy memory with BH-5 chips, although you don't need BH-5 chip memory to run in duel-channel, you will need to locate another module with similar overclock nature to your current one.

1GB of memory is useful for intense, high loading applications. Games are getting bigger, and will require more and more memory as time goes on. More memory won't add to performance in most situations, only lessen load times and similar activies. So if your intent on making a pure-overclocking machine, less is sometimes better. If you want higher clock speeds, less-dense modules are usually better. In single-channel situations 1 module is better then 2, 2 is better then 3, ect. There is less latency this way.

wow, thats pretty deep. im glad i know that about the ddr2 thats out. does anyone know if that holds true for the ddr2 on modern graphics cards?

[kiljaden5]

doesn't OCZ pay reviewers to lie and say their ram is the fastest? I've heard of this happening on a few occasions...

btw, I have 2x256 Buffalo 3700 with bh-5 chips and its fast as hell...

[violineb]

considering that the Buffalo stuff isn't even available on newegg anymore, would I have a better chance of getting BH5 chips getting KHX 3000 or 3200? Thanks. And is a single chip of 512 or 2x256 a better idea. Obviously having more than 2 sticks in a PC is going to cause more latency and stress so I dunno, which makes more sense. Oh well. But more importantly 3000 or 3200?

[Timmybighands]

Well, if your on a NFforce Mobo, you should go with 2*256 - it will not cause more latency because each chip has its own memory controller. Your bandwidth increases exponentially as well.

If you go with KHX, I think you are pretty much gauranteed to get the CH-5 chips (which you dont want). For an AMD rig, KHX pc3000 (which is BH-5, I believe) is more than fast enough, even when overclocked you can run 1:1 a bit more than they are rated for.

[violineb]

But if I'm building someone a machine with a p4p800d/2.4ghz C combo, then am I going to be alright getting The 3000 or just spend the extra $38 and get the 3200. You can do alot with an extra $32. :nod: But from what I heard I thought that as long as the model# doesn't have an "a" in it, then it should be BH-5 modules. i.e. Model# KHX3200K2/1G as opposed to Model# KHX3200AK2/1G

Also from what I read on a review site, the CH-5 doesn't o/c that bad either :s
http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/TwinMOS/PC3700-3200/

oh last edit. Does anyone even know where I can buy TwinMOS ram if I wanted to?

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

Originally posted by violineb
considering that the Buffalo stuff isn't even available on newegg anymore, would I have a better chance of getting BH5 chips getting KHX 3000 or 3200? Thanks. And is a single chip of 512 or 2x256 a better idea. Obviously having more than 2 sticks in a PC is going to cause more latency and stress so I dunno, which makes more sense. Oh well. But more importantly 3000 or 3200?

you sure about that? http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=1&submit=Go&description=DD466%2DS256

get this, it's the best deal out there

[hepp]

Very vise words there Speed_Mechanic2.

I do not disagree, but is it not also true that if your O/C is CPU limited and you have sufficient VMEM the double banked 2x512Mb modules would give a better bandwidth at same speed and timings?


kiljaden5,

I do not know if anything has been proven but I think the allegation was not of the reviewers lying but of OCZ ( and possibly other vendors too) giving them hand picked samples
that perform better than the average retail stick that you would be able to buy.

I think it is quite likely that this does happen. But any review based on the result of one single kit could produce misleading results due to a particularily good (or bad) sample even if they were genuine retail samples. I would not call it lying but it is certainly something to be aware of.

Br
hepp

[mfjonny]

On the note about OCZ and getting "hand-picked" samples, here is a good read about rams that were purchased from the store and then reviewed... interesting read.

http://www.legitreviews.com/Reviews/ddr500_1.shtml

Now, i'm running single channel, one 512 stick of DDR and honest to goodness, the advantages of dual channel is marginal at best. Having a high single stick of high quality ram that will maximize your cas and lat timings and run at 100% mem timings will supersede any gains seen on dual channel running at looser timings.

[hepp]

Yes, that is am intersting article, I had read it before.

Though it is also interesting that they said this:

"Our site name, Legit Reviews, is a bold statement and we plan to keep our readers positive that our reviews are legit"

and then went on to do a review of one single "beta version" of OCZ4200 EL (http://www.legitreviews.com/Reviews/ocz4200perf_1.shtml) a few weeks later. Especially since those modules were available in the shops at the time the review was posted.

About your other comments, that might be true on a AMD platform but hardly for on an Intel platform.

[TomaHawk47x]

im more concerned about the amount of ram...what differences have u noticed upgrading from 512mb to 1gb?

[#18]

Is your motherboard duel channel supported?

Why not just buy 2 x 512MB Corsair PC3200? There is no need for those "PC3500" or "PC3700". They aren't doing any better at all. 2 x 512MB Corsair XMS PC3200 is only less than $240 right now. I bought mine when they were around $200 each. Still good for the ocing I need right now.

512MB is enough for regular use and most games. There are already certain games such as BF1942 will take more than 512MB to run smoother. In the near future, the new games will rquire more and more RAM to run smooth. Also, when you download files,(for example a 500MB file) it will stay on your RAM until it's finish. Basicly you won't have enough RAM left for you to play a game while download big file like this one. It is recommended to have around at least 100MB ~ 200MB free RAM for computer to run smooth.

1GB is more than enough than you will ever use these days, but 512MB is less than you will "ever need".

[Rutkus]

I use a gig, i like to think that its there when i need it. I think its a matter of $$, if you have the money to spend on a gig, why not? I deffinately noticed a change when upgrading from 512 to a gig running it dual channel. ever since i first had a gig of ram, i will probably not go back to anything less.

now anything more than a gig, i think is a waste IMO.

[felinusz]

Originally posted by violineb
considering that the Buffalo stuff isn't even available on newegg anymore, would I have a better chance of getting BH5 chips getting KHX 3000 or 3200? Thanks. And is a single chip of 512 or 2x256 a better idea. Obviously having more than 2 sticks in a PC is going to cause more latency and stress so I dunno, which makes more sense. Oh well. But more importantly 3000 or 3200?

Hey Vio, hows it going? Good to see you over here ;)

The Buffalo is back at newegg ATM, and going with 2 sticks is a better idea in general so you can make use of dual-channel.


kiljaden5 - If OCZ did things like that word would get out, and noone would buy their RAM - *and* there are obviously too many reviewers to bribe now, aren't there? If end-users like myself can testify to the performance of OCZ RAM does it mean that we have all been bribed? Don't trash a product just because it is good. I have had only good experiences with OCZ products, and they are one of the few RAM brands I can say that I completely trust as a company.