Will I really need 2 Gigs of RAM?

[dexwiz]

Well I am getting a computer together and here are the specs.

E6600
ATI X1950XTX
P5W DH
G. Skill RAM
Air Cooled

Now I was aiming for 2 gigs or RAM, but would I really need it. Right now I mainly just play Guild Wars and plan to play Huxley. Would it really be needed with my other specs? I would upgrade eventually, but xmas is coming up and I need to save at least a little money for gifts, not to mention DDR2 800 1 Gig is like $150 a stick.

Also I hear Patriot's 667 is just an under clocked version of their 800. Is this true? I am going to over clock my Conroe a little bit, not very much, and would it just be easier to get 667 and overlcock it?

[batboy]

You could probably get by with 2X512 for now, I guess. But, future games (and some current games) benefit by having extra RAM. Windows Vista is coming in a few months and we know that will be more bloated than previous versions. Extra RAM is a good thing. I would future proof your new system and get the 2X1GB of RAM now.

The CAS 4 Patriot 667 will easily O/C to DDR2-800 speeds. I would not say it's underclocked DDR2-800 RAM, more like the 800 RAM is overclocked 667.

With your E6600, a modest O/C of 333 FSB (3 gig), well that's only DDR2-667 speed at the 1:1 ratio anyway.

[meionm]

If you don't need memory now, you can wait and get more later. For some reason ddr2 memory prices went up and start to fall now.

[freakdiablo]

just go for 1gb now, the only reason i have 2gb is because im usually the main server guy at lans, and i dont really see too much difference between mine and one of my friends' rigs which only has 1gb.

[dexwiz]

Why run 2x512 and not just 1gig and when I upgrade later I can just add another stick. Does it really matter on the mixing of the chips as long as they are the same stats.

[Slaps]

You don't need 2 gigs right now(so it appears anyways), save your money.

[xsimatrix]

Why run 2x512 and not just 1gig and when I upgrade later I can just add another stick. Does it really matter on the mixing of the chips as long as they are the same stats.

running dualchannel gives better performance. Butttttttt, running 2 sets of dual channel ram gives a decrease in performace, so either you opt to get 1 gib at dualchannel(2x512), or 2gb dualchannel (2x1gb). Those should be your two options. If your plannning on buying 1gb now, and then upgrading to 2gb later on, I would still opt for the dual channel setup, and then trade up to 2gb of ram from 1gb by selling your first set(2x512) and buying the 2gb(2x1gb)

[smokie mcpott]

BF2 and FEAR benefit GREATLY from 2gb, theres no way i would skimp on the RAM with hardware like that

[flixotide]

With your current need, hold yer horses. Sure, you see benefits of 2 gigs... buuuut I get the impression that we're going to see some serious movement in the RAM department Q1 07.

/Flix

[<<Spider>>]

2 GB Ram in many games will actually perfom a little worst, while in some games like BF2, it will increase FPS greatly. Decrease is not by much, like 136 FPS to 132 FPS. I personally would get 1GB (2X512) because I can overclock much better. Example: I can get 3Ghz with 2X512 while I can only get 2.8Ghz with 4X512. FPS improves greatly with faster CPU speed. I would save the money for the extra 2X512 and get a better video card.

Other than games, 2GB also slowers down applications like Nero, Mozilla and Winzip. It's hard to believe but it's true.

I'm not sure how this will run with Vista but I would assume similar results.

[dexwiz]

I think I will just save my money. If I did wanted to change to 2 Gigs where could I sell the RAM? ebay? Also what would be better and ATI X1950XTX? I guess mabye a 7950GTX, however that is debatable.

[smokie mcpott]

2 GB Ram in many games will actually perfom a little worst, while in some games like BF2, it will increase FPS greatly. Decrease is not by much, like 136 FPS to 132 FPS. I personally would get 1GB (2X512) because I can overclock much better. Example: I can get 3Ghz with 2X512 while I can only get 2.8Ghz with 4X512. FPS improves greatly with faster CPU speed. I would save the money for the extra 2X512 and get a better video card.

Other than games, 2GB also slowers down applications like Nero, Mozilla and Winzip. It's hard to believe but it's true.


4x512 is slower than 2x1, so i can understand what you are saying there...however where do you get the info that having 2gb slows down apps?
having 2gb allows your pagefile to not be used as often which in turn is a performance boost..and what games perform WORSE? i have a machine here that wont overclock for crap with 2x512, but my machine overclocks fine with my 2x1.... the question is not whether buying 4x512 is worth it, the question is whether 2gb is needed... 2x1gb is the sweet spot atm, especially if you play games like bf2 or fear, if not, **** away your money on 2x512 so you can regret it later when you feel you need that extra gig(then you are stuck buying another 2x512 or trying to sell the 2x512 to get a proper setup)

[<<Spider>>]

4x512 is slower than 2x1, so i can understand what you are saying there...however where do you get the info that having 2gb slows down apps?
having 2gb allows your pagefile to not be used as often which in turn is a performance boost..and what games perform WORSE? i have a machine here that wont overclock for crap with 2x512, but my machine overclocks fine with my 2x1.... the question is not whether buying 4x512 is worth it, the question is whether 2gb is needed... 2x1gb is the sweet spot atm, especially if you play games like bf2 or fear, if not, **** away your money on 2x512 so you can regret it later when you feel you need that extra gig(then you are stuck buying another 2x512 or trying to sell the 2x512 to get a proper setup)

I know one would assume what you are saying. But assumptions are not facts. Real performance is done with tests and is measured. Please read reviews of tech experts whom have perform these such tests before making these assumptions. It's hard to believe that 2GB (2X1GB or 4X512) would actually perform worst in some games but many reviews and tests will prove that with the exact same CPU speed and rame timing, you'll actually loose a few FPS over the 2X512. You'll also get a little less 3dMark score. Although it will impove BF2 and a few select games, it will performs a little worst in others. If you are able to increase CPU speed with the 1GB RAM, you'll gain more FPS over the 2GB RAM.

You'll see that the review will prove that in many apps such as Nero, it'll decrease greatly. Yes, it does improve some apps but not all apps.

I not saying that 2GB is a bad idea because it really depends on the individual apps and games you want to increase performance. If you want to increase overall performance in apps and games. You are better off sticking with the 2x512 and get faster CPU and video card.

[<<Spider>>]

I think I will just save my money. If I did wanted to change to 2 Gigs where could I sell the RAM? ebay? Also what would be better and ATI X1950XTX? I guess mabye a 7950GTX, however that is debatable.

I would go the 7900GTO at zipzoomfly for $250 shipped. It's out of stock but you can do a back order. For the price, it beats the 7950GT and cost less. The 7950GTX is too much.

[jjv687]

2x 1GB performs at least the same or better than 2x 512MB in the benchmarks I saw, but 4x 512MB did worse.

And if you're gaming, most games are highly video card demanding, having extra memory would increase load times, but if you're aiming to get a huge increase in FPS, just spend the $100+ you would have to on the memory and put it into a new card. The newest games like the 2x 1GB, but I'm sure they'd do well with a $100 better card :)

[ArgentumX]

2 gigs all the way. I played Company of Heroes with everything maxed out on 1 gig of OCZ platinum overclocked to ddr500 and I was getting 39 fps on the performance test with tons of stuttering. Changed to 2 gigs and stuttering was completely gone and fps jumped up to 50 avg. This is of course a result of almost no pagefile access, which killls performance. If your ok with turning down some settings in todays games then 1 gig is ok but if you must have it maxed out then 2 gigs is the way to go. Personally I cant stand turning down graphics settings in games.

[<<Spider>>]

Many of you still think 2X1024 is always faster than 2X512. 2X1024 is not necessarly better or faster than 2X512. Again, it really depends on the individual application and games. See review below with test of 2X512 vs 2X1024.

http://www.pcstats.com/ArtVNL.cfm?articleid=1854&page=4

You'll see that in both 3DMark01 and 3DMark05 that score decreased with 2X1024 over the 2X512 RAM speed.

There is a small increased in PCMark because it tests most applications. If you look at the game performance test. Performance decrease with UT2003 and UT2004. It only have a marginal increased in Doom3. The only game it has a significant increased in performance is BF2.

Here is another review showing 2X512 vs 2X1024 performance in applications.

http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?cat=cpu&id=423&pagenumber=1

Here you see that many applications like Nero, Mozilla and Winzip has a huge decrease. Nero shows 497 down to 226, Windows Media Encoder 269 down to 264, Mozilla 328 down to 297, and Winzip 375 down to 281.

Not all applications and games will improve. You should consider the individual applications and games you want to improve before making the jump to 2X1024. For overall performance, it's better to have higher CPU speed than to have more RAM. Also keep in mind that you can usually get tighter timings with 2X512.

[ArgentumX]

Its not like you would ever notice a 2 fps drop in a game from switching to 2 gigs. But you would notice a huge difference in reduced stuttering as a result of the system not accessing the paging file. For the newer games coming out, you will need 2 gigs to run them maxed out without any hitches.

You'll see that in both 3DMark01 and 3DMark05 that score decreased with 2X1024 over the 2X512 RAM speed.

And you gotta be kidding me if your gonna cry over a loss of 6 points in 3dmark05 going from 1gig to 2 gigs.

[<<Spider>>]

Its not like you would ever notice a 2 fps drop in a game from switching to 2 gigs. But you would notice a huge difference in reduced stuttering as a result of the system not accessing the paging file. For the newer games coming out, you will need 2 gigs to run them maxed out without any hitches.

The only a few selected games are able to gain performance. new or old.

The point is: why get 2Gb RAM when you can save the extra $100+ for a better video card, get faster CPU overclock, and have tighter RAM timing. You'll gain more fps with better video card, faster CPU, and tighter timing.

[bail_w]

The point is: why get 2Gb RAM when you can save the extra $100+ for a better video card, get faster CPU overclock, and have tighter RAM timing. You'll gain more fps with better video card, faster CPU, and tighter timing.

you stated your point, but it is all up to personal references. some people needs the 2GB and some people like you does not need it.