Will 2GB RAM make much difference in XP?

I'm building two new small PC systems for friends next week. I'll be putting in 1GB RAM in each (2 x 512MB sticks). They're only for Web and e-mail so they will be low spec machines. I've ordered some of the bits but not the memory yet.

My own PC currently has 1GB of RAM (2 x 512MB sticks) and is running XP Pro. I was toying with the idea of placing an order for 2 x 1GB sticks to upgrade the RAM in my own PC and use the 2 x 512MB sticks (which are Corsair 2-2-2-5 decent quality sticks) in one of the PC's that i'll be building next week.

So, the question is this: will 2GB of RAM actually make any difference to my PC? I play FS2004 a lot so I guess it may with that and I also play a couple of other games. I don't anticipate that Web surfing and e-mail will show a performance improvement though.

I think its all dependent on which applications you use........ I upgraded to 2 Gb of RAm when Battlefield 2 came out and people were struggling with 1 Gb. Other than that I really notice a difference when using photoshop.

It made a big difference to my system espically when exiting games windows is instantly usable , games seem to sutter less as well.

Go for it you won't regret it.

Okay, will do. Thanks for the advice!

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Originally Posted by teachmech

It made a big difference to my system espically when exiting games windows is instantly usable , games seem to sutter less as well.

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That was the main thing i noticed as well.

will ddr prices be dropping soon? with the emergence of ddr2?

I really couldn't say.
On the one hand there should be less demand for DDR, so prices come down.
However, memory manufacturers have started to shift their focus to DDR2 production for a while now I believe, so supply's also dropping.

I think the prices probably won't drop much, if at all - manufacturers very closely match supply to demand.

To the original topic, it won't make much difference at all for those uses. FS2004 loads a lot of data from the hard drive, but I don't know if it can pre-buffer stuff to RAM first - if it does then yep, it should help a bit.

I do a lot of audio mixing, in my situation the more ram the merrier.

Upgraded to 2Gb myself a year or so ago. Its made a big difference for me, running multiple apps is much smoother and games run better all round. Well worth the money.

If anything DDR will increase in price now. RAM normally hits it bottom price when its in highest demand......with AM2 and Conroe being DDR2 the need for DDR RAM will now drop slightly and DDR2 will start to become the more common RAM.

I really noticed the difference after I upgraded. If you're into gaming/audio creation/video editing it's worth it.

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Originally Posted by shaithis

If anything DDR will increase in price now. RAM normally hits it bottom price when its in highest demand......with AM2 and Conroe being DDR2 the need for DDR RAM will now drop slightly and DDR2 will start to become the more common RAM.

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However DDR2 prices are expected to rise as there is SO much demand now - especially when everyone upgrades for vista in the new year.

ddr2 isnt new rofl

It does make a difference running 2 gig my friend, its very noticable

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Originally Posted by rainbow

ddr2 isnt new rofl

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He said it would rise due to the increasing demand (Conroe and AM2) :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by frazered

will ddr prices be dropping soon? with the emergence of ddr2?

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yer it appears i misread :D

2GB is a complete waste of money for a low spec machine that's just used for web and email. 1GB is more than enough. You could get away with 512MB but it will be a little slower at times (hardly noticeable) . Dell still ships some XP laptops with 256MB.

I think that the biggest improvement I've seen is the faster HardDrive withe more cache. Ram , or should I say more Ram is always better. I switched from 4x512 sticks pc3200 ddr400 of regular crucial to 2x1gb of their new "high" performance ballistix pc4000 ddr500 and I don't see any improvement in games, apps., or overall speed,,,? Is that weird. But the new hd did help a bit.


tex

2GB ram is a great investment if you do any sort of gaming or any sort of data intensive work what so ever.

It also gives you plenty of headroom.

Having said that (and I know this is for your own box rather than for the ones you are building) if you find yourself mostly just browsing the web and listening to mp3s, you aren't going to benifit from 2gb at all as there will only be a few select times when you notice the difference.

Basically, if you can afford it, go for it - you won't be sorry :)