More Ram Yes or NO

The limit won't give you negative performance issues but the extra memory isn't going to help you either. You don't need 4 perfectly matched memory to OC. Same speed and latency will be good enough. I don't see why you can't just OC with the current memory you have now.

Go for it, more RAM the better i say.

You can see what im asking though ?
If its not worth doing or will cause problems then i wont bother its just a side thought really, I know taking the side off isnt a big issue .... guess im just lazy

Mactronix

Mac -
I've not heard of a performance impact to having 4GB. You won't of course be able to access it all, but you may see some advantage to having a bit more addressable memory in your rig.
As for a second set of 2X1GB or 2 X2GB, depending on your mobo and memory, the later is probably the better way to go (and save that 2X1GB for a rainy day). As you probably know, having 4 DIMMs installed at once pushs the limits of unbuffered technology. If you have a good Mobo and good RAM, your less likely to see an issue but, if you do have one, you may need to raise the voltage a bit on your northbridge (.05V to .1V) (this is not the DIMM voltage, but the memory controller in the northbridge).
Anyway, hopefully your mobo will support that. Thats why I say that overall its better to go with 2X2GB - but it really depends on your rig and what it can do.

Hope that helps,
Sdrac

better with 4GB thant 2GB of ram...

Here's a test from corsair to show the impact difference between 2 and 4Gb ram...
http://www.corsairmemory.com/_appn [...] alysis.pdf

@ sdrac,
Thanks that has kinda made my mind up, I will just OC with what i have then when i get the Vista or Windows 7 upgrade i can order 2 X 2 GB Matched Ram and that addresses the needs of the OEM licence, Right ?
Thanks to everyone else for the input

Mactronix

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/709/3/

The same test following the Corsair study, and after upgrading my system from 2 to 4Gb I saw the same kind of improvement, and switching between open windows/programs with alt-tab is almost instantanious compare to almost 30-60 sec.

I put the corsair link becaus I only had that one when I posted.

Thats a study using 64 BIT windows.
Those results cant possibly happen if you are using a 32 bit OS , either xp or vista .

And the RAM limit on a 32 bit OS includes the gfx ram . 32 bit xp [ or vista] with 2 gig of RAM and a 1 gig gfx card will show no measurable improvement any where if you add 2 more gigs of RAM.

Any one with any doubts [ in XP ] can just hit ctrl + alt + del once and see exactly how much memory their system is using

@mactronix: What oem license needs are you referring to? I don't see how that is an issue.

Thanks for the extra input guys,
Im pretty set on just doing the Overclock with 2x1 GB as is, It will save on complications and as has been said if i do add extra ram before i Overclock its just another variable if (when ) the overclock has issues.

Thanks for thr Corsair link, I do rate them as a company but again as has been posted its not relevant to a 32 bit OS, Its a handy link to have all the same Thanks.

As for the OEM thing,
Last i heard you had to buy a piece of hardware when buying OEM software, its some sort of licensing thing. To be honest im not sure if Ram counts and im sure plenty of people buy it on its own but as far as i know you are meant to purchase some hardware at the same time.
If thats wrong please let me know

Mactronix

The corsair test was to measure the effect of more than 2gb in games. With vista-64 you got all 4gb, with XP, you get 3.5gb. The differences between the os'es ane not so important to the conclusion reached, ie: more than 2gb is good.

In theory if you want to buy an oem os, it must be part of a new build. I don't think that requirement is very strict.
You can, however, buy a full retail Vista at oem prices.

1) Do you qualify for an academic license?
If so, you can get Vista at a discounted price.
2) Look for an upgrade version of home premium instead of OEM.
Upgrade is a retail version which gives you support from microsoft, unlike OEM(AKA system builder),
and allows a more hassel-free ability to transfer the os to a different pc(motherboard).
For $10, microsoft will send you the 64 bit DVD.
I saw Vista home premium upgrade recently at Costco for $85, amazon for $89.
There is a legitimate two step instalation process to install an upgrade version
You install vista from the cd, but do not initially enter the product code.

Just tell the install which version you bought, and do not activate.
After it installs, you have a fully functional vista for 30 days.
Step 2 is to insert the cd again, while running vista and then do an upgrade.
This time, enter your product code, and activate.
After activation. you may delete the initial version which is named windows.old.

3) Do you possibly need Ultimate? There are very few features that the home user would want.
Check out the differences on the microsoft Vista web site.
If you get a retail or upgrade version, you will still be able to upgrade to ultimate later.

my XP only reports 3GB of 4GB with a 512mb 9600GT...