Should I add upgrade from 2gb to 4gb yet?

[rashod0]

just got my 8800gtx video card and tried to run company of heroes in dx10 on vista 32bit. of course it chugged a bit since it needs more ram to run i'm wondering about upgrading from 2gb to 4gb. my question really is here do I just add 2 extra 1gb sticks and fill up my ram slots OR upgrade to a 2x2gb (4gb) and run my ram in dual mode? I do have to build a computer for my son soon so I guess it gives me the oppertunity to just use the ram I will be replacing in this new computer. would I notice much of a differance running 4x1gb sticks as opposed to 2x2gb in dual?

*Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
*ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (cpu fan)/Artic Silver Themal Paste
*ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
*Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) -timing: 4-4-4-12 -voltage: 2.0v -cas latency: 4
*COOLMAX CW-650T EPS12V 650W Aluminum ATX v2.01
*BFG 8800GFX 756 MB OC video card
*Cooler Master Centurion 5

 

[notherdude]

rashod0, I have yet to try CoH (DX10) on my Vista 32 bit system with my 8800gts. Are you sure too little RAM is your problem? What CPU do you have?

Keep in mind that when you go to 4 gig on a 32 bit OS you will only be able to use about 3 gig of it. 32 bit OS's can only address 4 gig total memory and of this 4 gig total addressable memory your video card memory and other devices which have addressable memory will use about 1 gig. Since you have a video card with a lot of RAM you could even see less. Some ppl with GTX end up with only 2.8 or thereabouts. Your mileage may vary of course. You'd have to check with others who have 4 gig and the 8800 gts to see how much of their 4 gig they end up being able to use.

The typical useable memory on 4 gig 32 bit systems has been around 3.2 to 3.5, which ain't so bad but I'm pretty sure a lot of video RAM could possibly take you below that.

For this reason a lot of ppl add 2 512 sticks instead of two 1 gig sticks. Unless I am mistaken this would allow you to maintain Dual Channel mode - the I gig sticks in their correct slots and the 512 in theirs. But double check this for accuracy please. Of course with RAM being somewhat cheap ATM it may make sense to go ahead and get the 1 gig sticks.

I do believe most current MOBO's will use 4 sticks in DC mode however.

Also research how your particular motherboard will do with 4 sticks of RAM. Some seem to have a problem using all 4 slots.

 

[plguzman]

I have 4 1Gb chips and I'm running in dual mode without problems. And yes, if you are running Vista 4Gb is the number now. Of course, with Vista 64 you will see the whole 4gb. Not with 32.

 

[rashod0]

Here is what I have:

*Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
*ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (cpu fan)/Artic Silver Themal Paste
*ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
*Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) -timing: 4-4-4-12 -voltage: 2.0v -cas latency: 4
*COOLMAX CW-650T EPS12V 650W Aluminum ATX v2.01
*BFG 8800GFX 756 MB OC video card
*Cooler Master Centurion 5