View Full Version : How much DDR3 RAM is needed for gaming?
Hello,
Say one builds a PC JUST for gaming. It's supposed to be for all the high-end games and also the new DX11 games. What is the heaviest game for RAM? And how much RAM does it suck up. Assume the OS will be windows 7. Wouldn't 3-4GB suffice? I see that the majority buys 6GB nowadays and some even 8 or 12. Is this all necessary? How much is really needed?
Regards
Nebulous
02-05-10, 06:42 AM
Really all depends. I had 8gb on my 775 using an x64 OS. With that much ram and x64 os, it was faaassst and snappy :D
Current setup I have only 6gb which is more than plenty for my needs right now.
The more ram you have in the setup, it's starts to affect the oc and stresses out the NB (775) or mem controller (i7).
Pretty much a preference or a need or both.
Really all depends. I had 8gb on my 775 using an x64 OS. With that much ram and x64 os, it was faaassst and snappy :D
Current setup I have only 6gb which is more than plenty for my needs right now.
The more ram you have in the setup, it's starts to affect the oc and stresses out the NB (775) or mem controller (i7).
Pretty much a preference or a need or both.
Thought RAM is only effective when used.. Like say you're using 4GB out of 8GB, thought that it wouldn't be a difference as aposed to 4GB out of 12GB.
Mr.Guvernment
02-05-10, 08:44 AM
i had 8G in my last rig and i think maybe twice i went over 4G and that was cause i was running VM's and had photoshop open.
4G is fine right now.
and going form 4G to 8G made no differnece in OS snappiness because the OS never used over 1.2G on boot with superfetch and all.
i had 8G in my last rig and i think maybe twice i went over 4G and that was cause i was running VM's and had photoshop open.
4G is fine right now.
and going form 4G to 8G made no differnece in OS snappiness because the OS never used over 1.2G on boot with superfetch and all.
Nice, I currently only have 2GB. I do want to play high end games though. Will that be a problem or should I upgrade?
thideras
02-05-10, 09:50 AM
Nice, I currently only have 2GB. I do want to play high end games though. Will that be a problem or should I upgrade?2gb is low for gaming. I'd suggest 4gb+. Basically, whatever you can afford.
ghost_recon88
02-05-10, 10:33 AM
4GB would be fine, I'd rather take the money I saved from only getting 4GB and put it towards a SSD. That will help your load times and overall system speed a lot more than getting an additional 4GB of RAM would.
EarthDog
02-05-10, 10:34 AM
4GB would be fine, I'd rather take the money I saved from only getting 4GB and put it towards a SSD. That will help your load times and overall system speed a lot more than getting an additional 4GB of RAM would.+1 :rock: <-- love that smiley!
YarwoodUK
02-05-10, 10:39 AM
I would definetly recommend 4gb or more. (preferably 6gb as you can still get it in Tri-Chan that way)
Im on Windows 7, 3GB DDR3 Tri-Chan 1333MHz (Rest of specs in sig) and it uses 30% of my RAM at idle. Running Company of Heroes would get my RAM upto 99% or so..
However I do not lag in any games at highest settings (apart from RTS style such as Empire Total War/Company of Heroes etc) so I'm not too bothered
I'll be upgrading to this within 3 weeks: Corsair Dominator 3GB 3x2GB DDR3 1600MHz (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-168-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1389)
Bobnova
02-05-10, 10:43 AM
If you're going to lga1366 get 6gb (3x2gb), if you're going to any other platform get 4gb (2x2gb).
Once you start buying 4gb dimms it gets hideously expensive, and typically if you fill all the ram slots (6x on lga1366, 4x on everything else) you lose some OC capabilities.
Thank you all for your replies. I see. I think I'll buy 1-2GB extra RAM. I just checked the prices and I can upgrade to 4GB under $60. But I will see if it is nessecary. I will have a pretty decent rig, but if I still find it laggy and such. I'll have to upgrade. 1GB at a time until it runs smoothly.
pik4chu
02-05-10, 11:44 AM
Thank you all for your replies. I see. I think I'll buy 1-2GB extra RAM. I just checked the prices and I can upgrade to 4GB under $60. But I will see if it is nessecary. I will have a pretty decent rig, but if I still find it laggy and such. I'll have to upgrade. 1GB at a time until it runs smoothly.
TBH if you are still lagging in games with 4gigs of memory then it probably isn't your memory that is your new bottleneck. 4gig for dual channel boards and 6 gigs for tri channel boards is really all you need unless you are running VMs + other stuff and/or you are a heavy photoshop user (or similar high end graphics application).
Most of my rigs have 4 or 6 gigs with the exception of my primary which has 12 and thats only because of the VMs I run on it.
PeterGarcia30
02-05-10, 11:49 AM
yup 4 or 6 sounds good also because i dont like having every ram slot filled up all that ram squished up together more heat etc etc i have 4 gb right now i had 6 but i took 2 sticks out because i really wasnt using it i like some breathing room btw my ram ..thats just me though
yup 4 or 6 sounds good also because i dont like having every ram slot filled up all that ram squished up together more heat etc etc i have 4 gb right now i had 6 but i took 2 sticks out because i really wasnt using it i like some breathing room btw my ram ..thats just me though
I currently have 4 RAM slots and 2 of them filled. They're right next to eachother. Do you reckon I should buy a 2GB one so they're not all filled?
Nebulous
02-05-10, 11:59 AM
You do know that with 3 ram sticks you will not run dual channel mode. You'll be better off either 2x2gb sticks or running the current 2x1gb sticks for dual channel.
You do know that with 3 ram sticks you will not run dual channel mode. You'll be better off either 2x2gb sticks or running the current 2x1gb sticks for dual channel.
Oh I did not know that.. What about 4x1GB? Is that still DDR2?
Nebulous
02-05-10, 12:19 PM
Oh I did not know that.. What about 4x1GB? Is that still DDR2?
Yup that's fine. Don't mix brands tho. It's best to use the same brand with the same timings/voltages of ram.
Also remember you won't be able to have the same overclock with 4 ram sticks as 2 because you put more of a workload on the NB. You may have to raise the NB voltage which will result in higher NB temps. Be sure the NB has good cooling.
psionic98
02-05-10, 12:23 PM
ddr2 has nothing to do with how many sticks you buy
Unless the mobo supports DDR3 its pointless to get as it wouldn't even run. Buying matching pairs of DDR2 will allow the mobo to run dual-channel, buying 3 sticks of matching DDR2 will run single channel, buying 4 sticks of matching ddr2 will run in dual channel.. pairs are better for non-AM3 or 1366 boards, as they work better with sets of 3s
redduc900
02-05-10, 12:29 PM
You can run a dual channel (interleaved) mode configuration w/ 3 DIMMs as long as they're installed like this (the 512MB sticks in the pic. represent the 2 x 1GB sticks you currently have, and the 2GB stick you plan on purchasing would replace the 1GB stick in the pic.)...
Rules to Enable Dual Channel Mode
To achieve Dual Channel mode, the following conditions must be met:
- Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
- Same Density (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, etc.)
- Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels
- Populate symmetrical memory slots (Slot 0 or Slot 1)
You can run a dual channel (interleaved) mode configuration w/ 3 DIMMs as long as they're installed like this (the 512MB sticks in the pic. represent the 2 x 1GB sticks you currently have, and the 2GB stick you plan on purchasing would replace the 1GB stick in the pic.)...
Rules to Enable Dual Channel Mode
To achieve Dual Channel mode, the following conditions must be met:
- Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
- Same Density (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, etc.)
- Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels
- Populate symmetrical memory slots (Slot 0 or Slot 1)
So if I understand it I can still run in DDR2 with that setup you just described?
Also: I don't have anything to cool the NB specifically.. Is that necessary? Isn't the antec 1200 airflow good enough?
My first approach would be to buy another 1GB stick of the same kind. That way I've got:
Channel A Slot 1: 1GB
Channel A Slot 2: 1GB
Channel B Slot 1: 1GB
Right? And this will run DDR2?
psionic98
02-05-10, 12:33 PM
hm.. my old gateway was using 2x1g in AA and 2x512 in BB.. shouldn't the same apply if things were switched around?
Bobnova
02-05-10, 12:40 PM
You can't use ddr3 on that mobo, it's ddr2 only. You can try to find two more identical 1gb sticks, though personally i would buy a 2x2gb kit and sell the 2x1gb.
EDIT:
DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 are ram types, they don't have anything to do with how many sticks you're running. A ddr2 dimm will not fit a ddr or ddr3 board, nor will ddr3 fit anything but ddr3, and so on.
The dual channel/triple channel/single channel stuff is completely separate from the ddr/ddr2/ddr3 stuff.
You can't use ddr3 on that mobo, it's ddr2 only. You can try to find two more identical 1gb sticks, though personally i would buy a 2x2gb kit and sell the 2x1gb.
EDIT:
DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 are ram types, they don't have anything to do with how many sticks you're running. A ddr2 dimm will not fit a ddr or ddr3 board, nor will ddr3 fit anything but ddr3, and so on.
The dual channel/triple channel/single channel stuff is completely separate from the ddr/ddr2/ddr3 stuff.
Oh, I did not know that either. The questions I asked first about DDR3 did not relate to myself. Later on in the topic I went over to ask questions about my own board, which supports DDR2 Dual Channel.
Yellowbeard XMS
02-05-10, 01:21 PM
Process Explorer is a great tool. Use it and monitor your memory usage, HD thruput, etc. You'll find out how much memory your are using and that will let you know if you need more. You'll also see if you saturating your HD thruput.
killem2
02-05-10, 02:45 PM
I just picked up 4 more gigs today to put me at 8 gigs because I have been running off my graphics memory into system memory a lot more every since I starting pushing those resolutions to those crazy levels with effects.
EarthDog
02-05-10, 03:55 PM
What res is that? And wouldnt the spill over be negligable? What card/system do you have? (been here 5 years and no sig?!!!! :))
killem2
02-05-10, 03:59 PM
What res is that? And wouldnt the spill over be negligable? What card/system do you have? (been here 5 years and no sig?!!!! :))
Well its every game I play. 1920x1080. Need for speed, burn out, d&d, left 4 dead, GRID, really every game I am constantly fighting windows saying "you have run out of memory please close this noaw!!!"
Seriously annoying. It doesn't happen nearly as much anymore with hd 5850 but I will get a monitor that can do higher than 1080 some day so I figured get the ram now.
So if I understand it I can still run in DDR2 with that setup you just described?
Also: I don't have anything to cool the NB specifically.. Is that necessary? Isn't the antec 1200 airflow good enough?
My first approach would be to buy another 1GB stick of the same kind. That way I've got:
Channel A Slot 1: 1GB
Channel A Slot 2: 1GB
Channel B Slot 1: 1GB
Right? And this will run DDR2?
I would still like to know if this is true. Thanks!!
EarthDog
02-05-10, 04:26 PM
Well its every game I play. 1920x1080. Need for speed, burn out, d&d, left 4 dead, GRID, really every game I am constantly fighting windows saying "you have run out of memory please close this noaw!!!"
Seriously annoying. It doesn't happen nearly as much anymore with hd 5850 but I will get a monitor that can do higher than 1080 some day so I figured get the ram now.This is sort of on topic so unless Baris mentions something I will continue to reply here...
I played grid with a 512MB card (8800gts) and an 896MB card at those resolutions and it never said that... you have 4GB right? What are you running in the backround? Heck, I play COD4 while streaming music and having MANY tabs open in Chrome and having TS and Xfire up...
Bobnova
02-05-10, 05:36 PM
You don't run "in" ddr2 or "out" of ddr2, ddr2 is a hardware spec.
You're thinking of dual channel and triple channel, totally different things.
If it's in your budget...more ram is better! Programs just get bigger and bigger and 64-bit OS systems are the way of the future anyways. I remember when I though 512MB in my first real build was SOOO much :-)
You don't run "in" ddr2 or "out" of ddr2, ddr2 is a hardware spec.
You're thinking of dual channel and triple channel, totally different things.
I mixed them up apparently. Well then I'd change what I said to: Do I run in dual channel? I would still like to know.
Yellowbeard XMS
02-05-10, 06:28 PM
It will probably run in dual channel in what Intel calls Flex mode dual channel. It is assymetric dual channel and is not the ideal setup. For your system, 2 modules or 4 modules are best and they should all be identical modules if possible for best results.
It will probably run in dual channel in what Intel calls Flex mode dual channel. It is assymetric dual channel and is not the ideal setup. For your system, 2 modules or 4 modules are best and they should all be identical modules if possible for best results.
So you are saying that going from 2GB to 3GB might not be the best option, but it is still an upgrade and it is better than sticking to 2GB, nonetheless. Even if it isn't recommended or the best option. Correct?
Yellowbeard XMS
02-05-10, 06:35 PM
It's possible yes. But, there is no guarantee mixing modules like that will even work or be stable. If you can avoid it, do not try 3 modules in this configuration. If you already have the memory you can try. But I would not suggest you go out and purchase in this configuration.
It's possible yes. But, there is no guarantee mixing modules like that will even work or be stable. If you can avoid it, do not try 3 modules in this configuration. If you already have the memory you can try. But I would not suggest you go out and purchase in this configuration.
Alright, what about buying 2 more modules. That way I am 4x1GB completely identical.
Yellowbeard XMS
02-05-10, 06:37 PM
It will probably run in dual channel in what Intel calls Flex mode dual channel. It is assymetric dual channel and is not the ideal setup. For your system, 2 modules or 4 modules are best and they should all be identical modules if possible for best results.
Asked and answered.
Asked and answered.
Sorry mate, read right through it! My bad! I guess I'll go for that. It'll cost me about 40 bones so that's doable.
Yellowbeard XMS
02-05-10, 06:47 PM
If you have the option, 2 x 2GB is the best idea. There is some chance your 4 x 1GB will not run together. If you get 2 x 2GB and they won't mix with the 2 x 1GB, then you still get 4GB of memory.
Mixing "should" work but it is never guaranteed.
Good luck to you and have fun with it!
killem2
02-05-10, 10:18 PM
This is sort of on topic so unless Baris mentions something I will continue to reply here...
I played grid with a 512MB card (8800gts) and an 896MB card at those resolutions and it never said that... you have 4GB right? What are you running in the backround? Heck, I play COD4 while streaming music and having MANY tabs open in Chrome and having TS and Xfire up...
Usually multiple tabs in firefox, (8-10), steam, avg, ultramon, java stuff, I used to run netflixs while playing but that put a stop to that fast.
It never gave me those messages in vista, since I reinstalled I will play around and see what happens.
If you have the option, 2 x 2GB is the best idea. There is some chance your 4 x 1GB will not run together. If you get 2 x 2GB and they won't mix with the 2 x 1GB, then you still get 4GB of memory.
Mixing "should" work but it is never guaranteed.
Good luck to you and have fun with it!
But the 4x1GB is not a mix because they are 4 identical sticks, right?
720x770
02-06-10, 02:49 AM
Right now, you can get away with 2GB in ALL games that exist, I can say that from personal experience. Although I have 1GB of VRam which helps out a lot.
All gamers need 4 jiggabytes of RAM
Right now, you can get away with 2GB in ALL games that exist, I can say that from personal experience. Although I have 1GB of VRam which helps out a lot.
That's a bit controversal seeing as everyone else says different. I'll wait until I have my own experience anyway.
EarthDog
02-06-10, 07:50 AM
But the 4x1GB is not a mix because they are 4 identical sticks, right?Right.
Right now, you can get away with 2GB in ALL games that exist, I can say that from personal experience. Although I have 1GB of VRam which helps out a lot.While you should be ok... in fact Im doing that now for other reasons, its not optimal at all. 4GB is the way to go now. That shouldnt be a question.
What does video ram have to do with system ram? :confused:
Yellowbeard XMS
02-06-10, 07:53 AM
"Getting away with" is a vague term. Crysis and Warhammer online are terrible with 2GB. There are others that I have not tested personally but I hear they are equally bad. With only 2GB of system memory, you get WAY too much swap file activity which pounds on your HD I/O.
Any 2 x 1GB kit not bought together may not be identical to another 2 x 1GB kit even if they have the same part number, They can have different ICs, different PCBs, different SPDs, etc which can all cause issues for stability.
I'm not saying it won't work. But I am saying there is a possibility it won't. And if you buy 2 seperate kits and they won't run together, it limits your options.
720x770
02-06-10, 08:25 AM
Right.
While you should be ok... in fact Im doing that now for other reasons, its not optimal at all. 4GB is the way to go now. That shouldnt be a question.
What does video ram have to do with system ram? :confused:
because once you run out of Vram, your video card starts using system RAM. System RAM can be 10 times slower than Vram, and eating into your system RAM limits how much is available.
Crysis MP would probably be the only exception, but I got crysis wars to run great with respectable settings and FPS given my video card. Crysis isn't really an example of efficiency though.
That's a bit controversal seeing as everyone else says different. I'll wait until I have my own experience anyway.
4GB is for 'just in case', and a lot of people do like running a lot of useless background programs while gaming which can eat into RAM.
I'm running Win7, Can run any game with torrents going and a couple of other applications including firefox...even recording with fraps. I highly doubt I'm paging more than anyone else and regardless of RAM amount, programs will always use swap in one way or another.
By all means go 4GB if you want, I'm not saying don't. I'm just saying 2GB can be enough.
If anyone wants to prove me wrong and has the same video card and a similar system with 4GB, I'm more than willing to compare some benchmarks or game fps on the same settings.
because once you run out of Vram, your video card starts using system RAM. System RAM can be 10 times slower than Vram, and eating into your system RAM limits how much is available.
Crysis MP would probably be the only exception, but I got crysis wars to run great with respectable settings and FPS given my video card. Crysis isn't really an example of efficiency though.
4GB is for 'just in case', and a lot of people do like running a lot of useless background programs while gaming which can eat into RAM.
I'm running Win7, Can run any game with torrents going and a couple of other applications including firefox...even recording with fraps. I highly doubt I'm paging more than anyone else and regardless of RAM amount, programs will always use swap in one way or another.
By all means go 4GB if you want, I'm not saying don't. I'm just saying 2GB can be enough.
If anyone wants to prove me wrong and has the same video card and a similar system with 4GB, I'm more than willing to compare some benchmarks or game fps on the same settings.
Thank you all for your replies. I have NOTHING except the game running in the background. Of course I'll be online at steam and perhaps msn, but that'll be it.
After Yellowbeard's reply, I don't want to take any risks. So if I were to upgrade. I'd have to go with a new set of 2x2GB. Which if I'm right, for my motherboard, is this: http://www.4launch.nl/shop/#p-4-productid-072866
Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 PC6400 CL5.0 Value. A bit pricy if I'm honest. This is $100 just for upgrading from 2GB to 4GB.
Mr.Guvernment
02-11-10, 01:23 PM
if your system says your running out of memory wiuth 4G, something wrong with your system
i played L4D at 1920 x 1080 and a 4890 1G and never had an issue, in fact i never had a game tell me i was out of memory except back in windows 2000 days when i had like 512mb of ram.
2G doesnt cut it, and who are you 720x720 to say people are running useless background apps? I alt+tab out to IM with people or check web pages if i die and have to wait to spawn quite often, they arent useless to me... i may be burning some DVD or somehting.
Also, running fraps to record slows down most systems to a crawl unless you got a 2nd harddrive to write the files to, it also can east up a core of your processor while recording as i used to do this all the time on my Q9650 @ 4.1G and 8 G of ram with 3 HD's WD 640's in it.
2G does not cut it, at all for most people, maybe your system seems fine like that, but other people may have higher expectations from their gaming experiences.
720x770
02-11-10, 03:44 PM
Also, running fraps to record slows down most systems to a crawl unless you got a 2nd harddrive to write the files to, it also can east up a core of your processor while recording as i used to do this all the time on my Q9650 @ 4.1G and 8 G of ram with 3 HD's WD 640's in it.
2G does not cut it, at all for most people, maybe your system seems fine like that, but other people may have higher expectations from their gaming experiences.
is there a point other than to berate?
It's pretty obvious that fraps does take some horsepower. Maybe you assume I'm recording every game I play for no reason? I only run fraps when creating a demo of specific content.
who are you 720x720 to say people are running useless background apps?
and who are you to tell me 2GB isn't enough? Trust me, if it wasn't I wouldn't be using it.
The original post of this thread clearly stated a system JUST for gaming. sure it'll be doing a little more than that, but that's beside the point. The point is that I have gamed a lot without a hitch with only 2GB. I could list the games, but it'd probably be shorter to list the games I haven't played.
Not only that, my benchmarks and in-game FPS show my performance in line with what is to be expected and a little more, given the video card I use.
The guy already decided on 4GB 'just in case', so really no reason to continue the thread in the first place.
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