3gb of economy RAM for Abit NF7-S, is it worth it?

[E_tron]

with the new wave of cheap 1GB cas latency 3 modules, im thinking of purchasing 3 of them for my NF7-S (maxing out its memory support), but...

Would this even work? I know my machine will take 2x1GB CAS 3 sticks in dual channel mode, but it wont take 2x1GB CAS 3 with my original 512MB CAS 2.5 module in the 3rd slot.

Does the latency of the RAM really matter for a K7? Should i wait for economical CAS 2.5 chips. Would i see a major performance increase with less (like 1gb) high performance ram or will the dual channel neutralize the difference? My logic behind 3GB is drowning out windows2000 cry for a page file.

thanks for any input.

 

[infinitevalence]

i think the NF2 is limited to 2gb, i cant remember for sure though.

 

[futura2001]

Win2k will start having problems with memory management around 2.5-3gigs.
The theoretical maximum for a 32bit OS is 4 gigs, or 2^32, but Windows has a hard time keeping track of all that.
Your "solution" to not having a properly sized page file to memory ratio is a bit over the top. Yes it (in theory) will work, but it is like killing a cockroach with a sledgehammer. If you properly sized static page file fit to your memory, you will rarely run into problems, unless you do not have a sufficient amount of memory in the first place:
256mb (General Office Limited Use) : 768mb page file, i.e. 3x
512mb (Light Gaming and Office Use) : 1gb page file, i.e. 2x
1gb (Gaming and Power Use) : 1gb page file, i.e. 1x
2gb (Heavy, Memory Intensive Use) : 1gb page file, i.e. 0.5x
These numbers are all sized by what a computer with said amount of RAM can realistically be used for (I.E. don't try to edit a 10000x10000 pixel image on 512mb of RAM), and if a larger page file is needed, it indicates that more RAM is needed.
Unless you are doing some really heavy design work or some other task that actually require more than 1gb of RAM, any more will not improve your performance. Especially since RAM timings are so important on the Nforce2 chipset. Always try to have 2-2-2 timings on an Nforce2, because performance will take a sizable hit otherwise. Thus, I recommend getting a 1gb kit with the tightest timings possible.

 

[jiggamanjb]

personally i would never put CAS 3 into my NF7. it makes the RAM so slow that it is like a hard drive, not really, but just saying....

I've gone from 512MB, to 768MB, to 1GB, and now 2GB. I would have to say the just from 1GB to 2GB was VERY noticable in system performance. My timings having always been the same with the amount of RAM I had in my system as well. So, 1GB, you will be happy. 2GB you will be very happy. 3GB, not sure if you will notice anything over the 2GB.

2GB is max for DDR 400. 3GB is max for anything less. My opinion, go with 2GB and tight timings, ex. 2.5-3-3, at worst.