Help on finding more ram for my system.

Hey all,

I got FEAR yesterday and BF2 a few weeks ago. I have noticed that both games are a huge hit on system memory so I am thinking that getting more would be a good idea. The only problem is that I really don't know what ram and where would I get the best deal in getting the ram in question. My system is currently based on the Gigabyte GA-8KNXP (I know, pretty old but I am still saving for an awesome crossfire system). I want to add at least 1GB to the existing GB in my system. For those who don't know, this mobo is an oddball in the fact that it has SIX DDR slots. Right now I have 2x512MB DDR400 running in dual channel mode. the other four slots must be populated with single-sided sticks. After looking around a while, I am only finding 256MB SS sticks. Are there any 512MB SS sticks? Also, for any size >= 256MB what would be the best choice and price. I am looking to spend $150 max on the upgrade.

Thanks for any help!
-N

You will be better of saving your money for 2GB kit since you can find them cheap these days.

G-Skill has some for $226

And PQI has some for even cheaper: $189

But wouldn't my timings be better with some smaller sticks (less than 1GB each)?

Nephewkp said:

But wouldn't my timings be better with some smaller sticks (less than 1GB each)?

Click to expand...

That all depends on which stick you will be running. The main reason why people are doing 2GB 1GBx2 these days is to avoid 2T command rate which comes with bandwith loss.

Running two sticks of any ram, whether it be 2x512MB or 2x1GB, would be best for staying with 1T command rate. If you have over two sticks of ram, it'll force you to be at 2T, which can be a pretty big performance hit on skt939 boards.

There are a few 2x1GB Value ram that are under $200, I recommend the OCZ one, but their all about the same. The best OCing one would probably be the Crucial Ballistix, but it's at about $300. Some decent sticks, like the OCZ 2x1GB Platinum, can probably get you around 240-250fsb? Not too high, but I guess it's what you get for paying about $230 with MIR.

at those prices I might as well deal with the lag for another couple of months and wait till I can build my crossfire system. I think I have a disease. I remember when I built my current rig a little over 2 years ago, I spent big bucks on it then. Now that it is getting kina average (and now leaning towards crappy) I have this crazy urge to put down a nother 2K+ for another rig. *sigh* my gf is going to kill me when she finds the credit card bills in Jan.

yay for 1K+ graphics card setups. (Hign-end GFX seems to cost more than the rest of the computer now)