4 gig 800 or 8 gig 667 for gaming

[dukefanmu]

Hello all,
I have am currently running a Q6600 (which I can't overclock because of the motherboard! ). I will be installing Windows 7 and am wondering about the memory. My motherboard will allow 4 gigs of ram at 800 or 8 gigs or ram at 667. I currently have 4 gigs of 800 because I have Vista 32 bit.

Would changing to more ram even though its slower help me or not in gaming? I will be using a hd 4890 1 gig gfx card. I play mostly FPS type games and like to have as much graphic detail as possilbe on my 24 in 1920 x 1080 monitor.

Thanks!

 

[Scotteq]

If you're not using all of your curent memory, then you'll gain very little by adding more.

 

[dukefanmu]

I honestly don't really know if I am using all my current memory. I'll admit my knowledge is a little limited. I am just looking for the best performance I can get while gaming and wondered if the 8 gig would be better than the 4.

 

[Scotteq]

If you do heavy multitasking, then yes, it could help. If not, and your game isn't using what you have now, then adding more won't do anything.

One of the sidebar gadgets in Vista can monitor CPU/Memory usage. Pop that up, and see.

 

[Aoster87]

Only ~3.25 GB of ram can be used from a 32 bit OS.

What I would do would be to buy the 8 gigs of the ddr 667, get 64 bit Vista or Windows 7, and see if I can overclock the memory somewhat. With 8 gigs of ram you should be able to turn of page filing altogether, giving you a little improved performance.

 

[baddad]

4 is enough, 8 will not help you.

 

[boulard83]

Gaming = 8gig is USELESSS

Read reviews, google is your best friend !

Even the most intensive games im playing dont use all my 4gig ...

+ you need 64 bit OS.

 

[Aoster87]

8GB would be helpful if you wanted to turn page filing off altogether.