68 replies to this topic

[sammy2]

I have 4gb myself but it's not bad at all because I can open 30 plus tabs and my computer still operates smoothly. I would like to upgrade but it would cost me toomuch because I am using DDR2 and my motherboard doesn't support DDR3 therefore I wouldn't want to upgrade my entire system or upgrade to 8 ddr2 only to upgrade completely a few months later (this time with DDR3, new MB, CPU etc)...

[PGHammer]

Jaybonaut, on 18 January 2012 - 00:54, said:

I keep thinking that too many people here are still stuck on some computer myths of yesterday. You WANT to have most of your ram full if possible, and yes, you want to have as much ram as possible. Also, lots of cheap slower ram > less but faster expensive ram. If you think that having 90% ram usage is bad, you are mistaken. Those same individuals probably think Vista and Win 7 are bad compared to earlier versions too.

Nyet on that last comment - I upgraded to 7 *from* Vista (x64 at that), and dual-boot with the WDP on top of that. However, I also multitask constantly (and have since the days of Windows 2000 Professional - my first NT-based OS I ran instead of DOS/9x).

Running multiple applications (large to small) at once, and multicore processors means you are more likely to do exactly that (not less), along with the growing appetite of games and small applications for RAM (amusingly, at the same time, large applications and general OS *housekeeping* tasks are putting themselves on a diet), combined with DDR3 pricing that is FAR cheaper than DDR2 ever was at its cheapest (currently about $5 per gigabyte for general-purpose CL9 DDR3-1333 - even high-grade performance DDR3 is no worse than $7/GB, which is $3 less than general-purpose DDR2-800).

There are two - and only two - reasons NOT to go above 4 GB of RAM today - your motherboard takes DDR2 (price reasons) or your OS is not x64 (because your CPU is not x64 capable). If either (let alone both) are true, upgrade, upgrade, upgrade (at least your motherboard and CPU) - your applications WILL thank you.

[PGHammer]

sammy2, on 21 January 2012 - 19:20, said:

I have 4gb myself but it's not bad at all because I can open 30 plus tabs and my computer still operates smoothly. I would like to upgrade but it would cost me toomuch because I am using DDR2 and my motherboard doesn't support DDR3 therefore I wouldn't want to upgrade my entire system or upgrade to 8 ddr2 only to upgrade completely a few months later (this time with DDR3, new MB, CPU etc)...

If you live near a MicroCenter (or purchase online - such as from Newegg or TigerDirect), you're running out of excuses.

I live near two MicroCenters (Fairfax, VA and Rockville, MD), and can buy an i5-K barebone (CPU/motherboard/RAM) for barely over $300 - and that is in-store and includes taxes (even in Maryland, which has a six percent sales-tax rate). The motherboard itself, while not high-end/enthusiast, is still based on the Z68 chipset, supports CrossFireX and is full-size ATX (ASUS P8Z68V-LX) - it will even support Ivy Bridge when the CPUs themselves become available.

Everything else (GPU, drives, case, etc.) stays put - I won't even need to reinstall Windows.

[sammy2]

PGHammer, on 21 January 2012 - 19:48, said:

If you live near a MicroCenter (or purchase online - such as from Newegg or TigerDirect), you're running out of excuses.

I live near two MicroCenters (Fairfax, VA and Rockville, MD), and can buy an i5-K barebone (CPU/motherboard/RAM) for barely over $300 - and that is in-store and includes taxes (even in Maryland, which has a six percent sales-tax rate). The motherboard itself, while not high-end/enthusiast, is still based on the Z68 chipset, supports CrossFireX and is full-size ATX (ASUS P8Z68V-LX) - it will even support Ivy Bridge when the CPUs themselves become available.

Everything else (GPU, drives, case, etc.) stays put - I won't even need to reinstall Windows.

I live in Toronto, I have a decent system just the ram is low and I don't have SSD.. I'm getting ready to have a newer system by September with everything thats new on market...

[sammy2]

PGHammer, on 21 January 2012 - 19:48, said:

If you live near a MicroCenter (or purchase online - such as from Newegg or TigerDirect), you're running out of excuses.

I live near two MicroCenters (Fairfax, VA and Rockville, MD), and can buy an i5-K barebone (CPU/motherboard/RAM) for barely over $300 - and that is in-store and includes taxes (even in Maryland, which has a six percent sales-tax rate). The motherboard itself, while not high-end/enthusiast, is still based on the Z68 chipset, supports CrossFireX and is full-size ATX (ASUS P8Z68V-LX) - it will even support Ivy Bridge when the CPUs themselves become available.

Everything else (GPU, drives, case, etc.) stays put - I won't even need to reinstall Windows.

Hey one more thing, in Toronto Taxes are 13% and I don't know of any microcenters. But I think next year ill upgrade for sure.

[Javik]

Absolutely. Memory is so cheap these days, you get a lot of benefit from having extra. It never hurts to futureproof yourself.

[Jaybonaut]

Nexus18, on 18 January 2012 - 01:57, said:

Sorry, but when you are hitting 90+% physical usage (even 80% I consider high), you notice big time the entire system slowing down/lagging, especially when running demanding applications e.g. bf 3

I was referencing those that complain about program ram usage - those that got involved with 'freeing ram' programs or 'ram cleaners' and all that garbage. Yes, the idea is to always use most of your ram so that you don't touch virtual ram as much, which causes the slowdown.

[Jaybonaut]

PGHammer, on 21 January 2012 - 19:37, said:

Nyet on that last comment - I upgraded to 7 *from* Vista (x64 at that), and dual-boot with the WDP on top of that. However, I also multitask constantly (and have since the days of Windows 2000 Professional - my first NT-based OS I ran instead of DOS/9x).

Running multiple applications (large to small) at once, and multicore processors means you are more likely to do exactly that (not less), along with the growing appetite of games and small applications for RAM (amusingly, at the same time, large applications and general OS *housekeeping* tasks are putting themselves on a diet), combined with DDR3 pricing that is FAR cheaper than DDR2 ever was at its cheapest (currently about $5 per gigabyte for general-purpose CL9 DDR3-1333 - even high-grade performance DDR3 is no worse than $7/GB, which is $3 less than general-purpose DDR2-800).

There are two - and only two - reasons NOT to go above 4 GB of RAM today - your motherboard takes DDR2 (price reasons) or your OS is not x64 (because your CPU is not x64 capable). If either (let alone both) are true, upgrade, upgrade, upgrade (at least your motherboard and CPU) - your applications WILL thank you.

Yes this is correct.

[Bulldozer]

I do video editing and for doing multi-tasking media work it's worth it. You won't need that much for gaming surely.

[libertas83]

It really depends. It is very easy to use up all 4GB just from the system itself, a few background programs, and browsing multlple web sites at the same time. 8GB then gives you the headroom in case your multi-tasking needs increase and future proofs the system a bit. 16GB of RAM for heavy usage.

Also, a System SSD drive is huge and most important. If you have limited budget, go with SSD first. My system with 16GB of RAM and SSD is amazing. Everything launches fast and no waiting on disk to do something.

[jasondefaoite]

Forget the RAM upgrade. The priority for an upgrade should be an SSD. You'll see a much larger improvement in the system versus going from 4GB to 8GB of RAM.

[Arceles]

jasondefaoite, on 25 July 2012 - 00:05, said:

Forget the RAM upgrade. The priority for an upgrade should be an SSD. You'll see a much larger improvement in the system versus going from 4GB to 8GB of RAM.

Went from 6 gb 1333 cl9 to 8 gb 1600 cl9, now guilty gear accent core plus is playable with 60 constant fps on PCSX2 emulator, SSDs just can't do that.

[azspeedbullet]

on a unrelated note, i have 6gb of ram, is it worh the 30 bucks or so to get 8gb or higher?

[King Mustard]

azspeedbullet, on 25 July 2012 - 01:10, said:

on a unrelated note, i have 6gb of ram, is it worh the 30 bucks or so to get 8gb or higher?

Depends what you use your PC for, but in general, no - not at the moment.

[migo]

If you have DDR3 RAM, definitely worth going to 8, it's pretty cheap. If you have DDR2 RAM, it's way more expensive, better off just waiting to upgrade.