Would it be worth it to add another gig?

[pardue77]

I have a 3.6 P4 w/HT and 1 gig of 3200 DDR ram (400 mhz)

I'm planning to play this new game called Supreme Commander when it comes out.. I've heard some people recommend I get another gig of RAM, but just didn't think games relied on RAM as much as they do the video card and CPU...

I was thinking of adding another gig if that would make a significant difference or if I could, just 512 MB...

Also, would like to know what brands I should go for when purchasing.. or does it really matter...

thanks

 

[sailer]

Adding another gig, for 2 gig total, is well worth it. Its best if you have two 1 gig staicks, but even if its four 512 gig sticks, it should be better. Adding just one 512 mb stick, for three total sticks. will cause an unbalanced condition that may cause the machine to run slower.

 

[quantumsheep]

I have a 3.6 P4 w/HT and 1 gig of 3200 DDR ram (400 mhz)

I'm planning to play this new game called Supreme Commander when it comes out.. I've heard some people recommend I get another gig of RAM, but just didn't think games relied on RAM as much as they do the video card and CPU...

I was thinking of adding another gig if that would make a significant difference or if I could, just 512 MB...

Also, would like to know what brands I should go for when purchasing.. or does it really matter...

thanks

Supreme Commander is optimized for dual core, so i'd save some more and get a nice new Dual Core CPU with the extra Gig of RAM.

 

[Featherstone]

What video card do you currently have? It may be more important to upgrade your video card then to get more ram depending on your current card.

 

[pardue77]

What video card do you currently have? It may be more important to upgrade your video card then to get more ram depending on your current card.

XFX 7600 GT 256 MB GDDR2 PCIe
has 1600 mhz memory speed (which 3DMark06 reports as 799 mhz.. dont know why)
580 mhz core speed

the card is much better than the X700 ATI I had before it

 

[Featherstone]

I think that a gig of ram would be a great cheap upgrade for your system, You should be able to pick it up for 80-100 bucks.

I think that you would find the biggest game performance increase in upgrading your video card though. A x1950xt for 250, or maybe an x1900xt for 200 would bring you huge game performance increases.

What motherboard do you currently have?

 

[Arrowyx]

XFX 7600 GT 256 MB GDDR2 PCIe
has 1600 mhz memory speed (which 3DMark06 reports as 799 mhz.. dont know why)
580 mhz core speed

The 1,600MHz memory speed you've seen listed is effective speed. Remember this is DDR RAM of some flavour, so the 799MHz speed 3DMark06 is reporting is the actual speed of the memory.

 

[TSIMonster]

even Quake 4 starts to use my swap file on Ultra Quality and slows down. I'm sure the 1GB extra would help us both.

 

[pardue77]

well guys, might be looking at just buying a new system.. looking hard at the Dell XPS 4100 series w/ E6600 Intel Duo 2, 2 GB of 667 mhz ram, and 19" flat screen for $1295... I'd add my 7600 GT to it and a 320 SATA drive I have as well..

I've looked around, this seems like a good deal... my roomie is wanting to buy my current CPU from me.. so that would be cool.. just dont know..

other thing is, im out of warranty on my current PC..

sure wish Sony sold PC's these days, I really like their computers

 

[TSIMonster]

Build you own and get higher quality parts for less cash. I'll even pick the components for you. Don't waste your money on that Dell.

 

[TSIMonster]

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=4098611

Don't know if that link will work, but that system is alot nicer then your Dell and only $1100

-e4300
-Gigabyte S3
-x1950xt
-2 GB DDR2
-Seagate 320
-Acer 19"
-Nice Case
-Hiper 580 PSU

Makes for a very fast, bang for buck system.

 

[quantumsheep]

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=4098611

Don't know if that link will work, but that system is alot nicer then your Dell and only $1100

-e4300
-Gigabyte S3
-x1950xt
-2 GB DDR2
-Seagate 320
-Acer 19"
-Nice Case
-Hiper 580 PSU

Makes for a very fast, bang for buck system.

Plus if he just upps the FSB on the CPU to 266 from stock of 200 he gets what's effectivly an E6600 minus 2mb cache (Cache makes minimal difference anyway).

 

[pardue77]

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=4098611

Don't know if that link will work, but that system is alot nicer then your Dell and only $1100

-e4300
-Gigabyte S3
-x1950xt
-2 GB DDR2
-Seagate 320
-Acer 19"
-Nice Case
-Hiper 580 PSU

Makes for a very fast, bang for buck system.

afraid i couldnt pull it up

i'll look on there though...