Need a memory upgrade, not sure what I can support.

[Firetaffer]

Hi, I currently have 2GB of DDR2 RAM, however on some more recent games like Starcraft 2, my memory, according to Ramrush is taxed to nearly 90% . It seems to bottleneck my system and I think it requires an upgrade. However I'm not extremely computer savvy so I was wondering if any of you guys could help .

I just have a couple of questions,

1. I am running 32-bit Windows Vista Home Edition. I keep on hearing that 32-bit systems can only support up to 4GB, so I will need some confirmation on that.

2. I do not really know what my motherboard will support, it has 512MB x 4 RAM sticks, and I'm not sure whether it can support a 2GB/1GB stick.

3. If you know the answer to the above two questions, what would be your recommendation on memory sticks? I am on a limited budget, so try to keep it cheap, yet if it has good performance/price I might spend a bit more cash.

I have

- 512MB Nvidia 9800GT.
- Intel E6600

Below are some screenshots from CPU-Z:

Thanks in advance!

 

[ko888]

According to the manual for that motherboard 1GB memory modules are the max supported:

Dual-channel memory architecture
4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets
support unbuffered non-ECC 4 GB 667/533/400 MHZ DDR2 memory modules

You can install 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs into the DIMM sockets.
■Install only identical (the same type and size) DDR2 DIMM pairs using the recommended configurations.
■Make sure that the memory frequency matches the CPU FSB (Front Side Bus). Refer to the Memory frequency/CPU FSB synchronization table on the next page.
■This motherboard does not support double-sided 16-bit DDR DIMMs.
■Do not create a three-DIMM configuration in dual-channel mode. The third DIMM is ignored in the dual-channel operation.

Also make sure all of the memory modules have the same operating voltage specification.

 

[Firetaffer]

Install only identical (the same type and size) DDR2 DIMM pairs using the recommended configurations.

So does this mean I would have to install 2 of a certain stick at a time? Say I want to make the move to 3GB, I remove 2 of the 512MB ones and replace them with 1GB ones. I cannot replace just one 512MB one to a 1GB one?

 

[ko888]

Install only identical (the same type and size) DDR2 DIMM pairs using the recommended configurations.

So does this mean I would have to install 2 of a certain stick at a time? Yes, if you want to maintain/operate in dual-channel mode. Say I want to make the move to 3GB, I remove 2 of the 512MB ones and replace them with 1GB ones. Okay, as long as all four memory modules have the same operating voltage. New memory modules should have at least the same or better memory timings than the current memory modules. I cannot replace just one 512MB one to a 1GB one? That is correct.

You're probably better off getting two 2GB dual-channel (2 x 1GB) kits for a total of 4GB so that there is no mismatch between any of the memory modules.

I figure the following should meet your requirements or give you an idea of what to look for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ption=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

With 4GB of memory in your system 32-bit Vista should be able to see approximately 3.2GB or slightly more.

 

[Firetaffer]

Best answer selected by Firetaffer.