Memory Question/Help Please

[ades]

Hi I have just joined the forum and I was hoping for a bit of advise if anybody can help I am looking to upgrade my memory from 2gb to 4gb, I am running Geil 6400 c4 4.4.4.12 at the moment i have seen some thats runs at 4.4.3.5 which is G.skill or will i be better going to 8500 memory which my motherboard will take. Is there much performance difference between any of the memory have mentioned

[Flewis]

The actual performance gains in increases in ram speeds is negligible. Only upgrade ur ram to higher speeds if u need it for increased FSB. Upgrading to 4GB is definitely worthwhile with ram prices being so low. What OS are u running because only a 64bit OS will be able to recognise the full 4GB. If you are running 2x1GB sticks just get another 2x1GB.

[aidanjt]

++

Capacity over frequency, nothings slower for a computer program than waiting for memory to be swapped out to the HDD.

[Noxvayl]

I think you would be best off getting the Giel set that can run at 4-4-3-5 as timings make a more considerable difference to performance than the frequency of memory.

As for 4Gb you need a 64Bit OS like flewis said so there isn't much point to it if you don't have one or don't plan on getting one either.

[FifthFreedom]

I never got the you shouldn't use 4 gig of ram on a 32 bit OS argument.

Sure, the last .8 Gigs is essentially wasted but still if you want the fastest there is then 3.2 is better than 3 right?

[Noxvayl]

I never got the you shouldn't use 4 gig of ram on a 32 bit OS argument.

Sure, the last .8 Gigs is essentially wasted but still if you want the fastest there is then 3.2 is better than 3 right?

No it isn't because unless your using Vista you'll never actually use that much memory so it will remain unused indefinitely whether its recognised or not. Even with Vista I haven't been able to surpass 3Gb used when running 3DMark Vantage with 5 other applications running as well.

TBH 4Gb is unnecessary because there isn't anything the average user could use it for. The only advantage I have with 4Gb of memory is that I can alt+tab from my games extremely quickly which is not always something everyone needs. I think it would be a few years yet before 4Gb becomes recommended for games so until then its probably best to stick with 2Gb unless you would find the alt+tab very handy like I do.

[ades]

Many thanks for the replies, I am running vista 32 bit but i have seen a report that states an improved frame rate in microsoft fsx when using 4gb over 2gb on a 32bit machine also my graphics card can make use of the extra memory, the general thought is stick with 6400 by Geil at 4.4.4.12 unless the g.skill at 4.4.3.5 is going to be a big performance boost