RAM and gaming

[phongrobertz]

Hidy

I rescently upgraded my cpu (+motherboard) to a 3.4ghz p4. I had to borrow a stick of 256MB DDR 333mhz RAM because my older memory was still plain SD. I was planning on getting a serious memory upgrade as soon as possible, but I couldnt wait to try the thing out. I had no idea how slow it would be with only the 256, especially with games. If I put another 512MB in, what sort of difference can I expect? A better framerate? Or just lower loading times?

also, it can't possibly be my video card slowing it down, it's a real monster of a card
:grin:

[werty316]

Adding 512MB would really help with gaming as 256MB does not provide enough transfer space and so the swap file would be used alot more. You should consider getting atleast 1GB of memory. If you eve plan on getting Vista I recommend atleast 2GB.

What video card are you using?

[GIBSON]

I'd say get the 256 out of there and replace with a 1GB (or 2Gb, if it fits your budget) dual channel kit. the 256 stick is only going to slow down whatever else you put in there.

[Vaerilis]

I'd say get the 256 out of there and replace with a 1GB (or 2Gb, if it fits your budget) dual channel kit. the 256 stick is only going to slow down whatever else you put in there.

I agree, 1GB of memory is a bare minimum for a gaming rig. Dual channel mode is truly useful on P4 systems, so I'd get a 2x1GB kit. DDR400 (or, in case he has a DDR-II system, DDR533) memory is cheap these days. Unless he plans to overclock, some non-noname value RAM should be all he needs.

[pym]

I can tell you this, it all depends on the games you play.
I had 512MB of RAM and I tried to play F.E.A.R with it (6600GT as VGA).
The game got stuck every few seconds and it was impossible to enjoy it.
When I moved to 1GB (and later to 2GB G.Skill), I could have sworn it was another game I am playing...

The difference was enormous!

[DragonMaster]

You're using a 3.4GHz so I'd recommend 2GB of non-generic RAM. (1GB on an X2 3800 running XP gets filled fast even with some 2004-2005)

[Kougar]

Hidy

I rescently upgraded my cpu (+motherboard) to a 3.4ghz p4. I had to borrow a stick of 256MB DDR 333mhz RAM because my older memory was still plain SD. I was planning on getting a serious memory upgrade as soon as possible, but I couldnt wait to try the thing out. I had no idea how slow it would be with only the 256, especially with games. If I put another 512MB in, what sort of difference can I expect? A better framerate? Or just lower loading times?

also, it can't possibly be my video card slowing it down, it's a real monster of a card
:grin:

Welcome Phongrobertz!

You will see a huge difference in startup and load times for both Windows and your games, and 512mb will also improve performance by a good margin.

For best effect, I would suggest you buy 2x512mb or 4x256mb of DDR400 RAM, depending on price and the number of slots your system has for it. Either way, 1gb total of memory is best, but 2gb is really a waste for that level a system. For that price you might as well upgrade again to a newer DDR2 computer... ;)

[BigD]

get a good pair of OCZ DDR400 PLat. they are like 150 bucks w/rebate if you fit that in your $$ i have them and love them + they OC to DDR500

[borschtBomber[SS]]

Yep, I saw the biggest performance increase in going from 512 to 1gig in my rig. When I went to 2gigs, it really wasn't noticeable, but its nice to have. If you are using DDR and not DDR2, prices are on the rise. I know over at the 'Egg the 1gig kits have all gone up about $20 the last few weeks.

[werty316]

Ram prices at some Candian etailers are still decent at $200 for 2GB kit.

[Assassin]

Its like playing dodgeball in a bathroom, No one has room to throw the ball. But then when you go into a gym You can really get into the game and have room to play. Imagine your ram right now is a bathroom. You'll see smoother overall preformance of the whole system. Hope my analgy is useful :P

[BigD]

Its like playing dodgeball in a bathroom, No one has room to throw the ball. But then when you go into a gym You can really get into the game and have room to play. Imagine your ram right now is a bathroom. You'll see smoother overall preformance of the whole system. Hope my analgy is useful :P

that is probly the best analagy ive heard about ram... GJ!!

[werty316]

RAM can transfer files back and forth faster than a swap file. Lets say you run out of RAM because you have alot of apps open, then any file swapping would be done using a swap file. Having more RAM lessons the use of a swap file and improves performance compared to if a swap file was used.

[Mirrim]

When you move up to 1Gb or 2Gb RAM, make sure you take a look at your swap file settings and adjust if necessary. It's easy to overlook.

Recommended swap file size is usually 1.5 times the amount of system RAM. You can let Windows decide the proper size, but in larger amounts of RAM, I've heard it's better to set the parameters yourself. Correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Good luck!

[werty316]

Setting a swap file to 1.5x the amount of your RAM is not really a theory user should base the size of a swap file on. If you have 2GB of memory, you wouldn't set a swap file to 3GB as that is overkill.

Tech ARP "Virtual Memory Optimization Guide (http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=143&pgno=0)" article is a good read.

[markkleb]

thanks werty for the good link.

[werty316]

After I gave the article I read over I never went by the 1.5x theory again.
Like one of those after school specials that teaches you right from wrong: "Thx TechARP http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1266/thumbup2mb0.gif"

[Mirrim]

Ah, cool. That is good stuff to know! Thanks a bunch!

[phongrobertz]

Thank you, but now I have more questions :-D

My motherboard does support DDR2 in two seperate slots, but im not quite sure what difference the faster DDR2s can do compared to DDR. Im atleast going to buy a gig of DDR 333 ram now after reading all the replies, but I think ill probably end up buying a gig of the fastest DDR2 available, depending on the local prices (icky :cry: ). Also, just to confirm, using my old 256 with a 1 gig stick of 333 = not wise due to it being a seperate piece?

im such a noob :-D

[Kougar]

Are you sure your rig supports both DDR and DDR2 memory? If it indeed does, then you cannot use both DDR and DDR2 memory at once, things will likely blow up... ;)

Using a 1gb+256mb sticks of DDR333 might work, depending on the motherboard more than anything. You would need to make sure the voltages and timings for both sticks of memory are the same or very, very close.