Printable View
Well with vista and new games I suppose 2 gig is handy but:-
If you're overclocking can you use 1g stick, and when prices come down get another gig stick.......or have I got it all wrong and you need a matched pair e.g. 2X512 or 2X1gig for best results.
With two sticks, you get the benefit of running your ram over 2 channels (dual channel). However, if your plan is to get 1gig now, and 1 gig later, I would suggest you go with 1 stick now - to up that to two later.
This will result in you having a far more flexible return on your ram, come the time you wish to upgrade other components - in the further future.
Personally, It has been many moons since I operated on 1 stick ('98 for about 2 months) so as to the performance advantage/disadvantage I could not inform you.
I jumped from 512 to 2gig about 18 months back and absolutely love it to bits. A lot of games today pull over the 1gig marker and I can only assume they will soon be over the 2.
If you have the cash, go for the two 1gig sticks. The ram that I have in my system was the best bang-for-buck I could find at the time. Weighing in at £165 for the pair.
2gig has been almost standard for gamers for a long time now. RAM prices almost doubled last year, it doesn't mean you need the RAM any less though.
Indeed! The price of oil fluctuates less!Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckskull
erm well I thought the graphic card was taking the load off the computer.Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckskull
As for memory it seems there is the equivalent of OPEC and it wouldn't suprise me, if there was some price fixing somewhere........if different manufactures make their own ram independently how can the prices be similar i.e. they are all high. Yeah I know about supply and demand and it would be interesting to know what it cost to make a 1g stick, also tried to find out what the Chinese are paying..........erm anyone know Mandarin.
The graphics card does a lot, but lets take BF2 for example(pretty old game now), at medium settings and 1024x768 it uses 6-700meg RAM. at high settings and the same resolution it jumps to about 1.1gig and of course you still have windows and whatever else running. So you see you don't really need to be pushing the boundaries to need 2gig anymore. If like me you want to play the very newest games at 1600x1200 then 2gig is essential.
and the memory equivalent of OPEC is the dramexchange.
Well I'm in the middle of an upgrade, got the corsair psu, arctic freezer7, 250g sata and getting the P180 next week, but everything is on hold to sus out the new C2D chips and motherboards coming out and maybe I should have delayed my question, but I really like to know in advance of my options esp when overclocking. And as I'm not an everyday gamer maybe I can get away with 1g stick of ram if it doesn't cripple overclocking........... for the time being.Quote:
Originally Posted by acidrainy
Interesting facts about graphics cards and memory, which I didn't know..... thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by chuckskull
So ram prices could be a fix then i.e manage supply to keep prices up. Ram prices are amazing when you consider you can get a CD burner for about £18.
Have a read through Choosing the Right Memory for Core 2 Duo Platform - Parts 1- 3:
The only thing that u need to bear in mind that the chips used do change for example in part 3 (see conclusion) the Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400С4 wins with an outstanding Performance & £. I thought that's 4 me only to find when asking around that the memory chips used have changed giving....... U guessed it poorer performance at the same price.
That's another reason why buying 1Gb now & 1gb later won't always work as you end up with different chips which may not run well together. Cheaper value ram in particular changes regularly with what's cheap & available.
luck:)
I can remember when a 4Mb upgrade for an Apple Mac II cost £1200 (about 1988/9 when £1200 would be equivalent of £2500 today). compared to that today's £130 for 2Gb Quality PC5400 DDR667Value RAM and £250 for Top Quality 2Gb PC8500 does not seem so bad!Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckskull
Well that's cleared that up in trying to do things on the cheap..............oh well ram cost what it cost when I get my Cpu etc, but did have twin 1gig ea 6400 dominator on my list as suggested here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
In fairness many excellent on line stores don't always carry a good stock of memory, I used Memory C Prices & stock are genarally a bit better than the likes of Tekheads or Oc_UK.
erm based in Ireland, well I thought everything was dearer there. My brother in law in Dublin, in the past, was always envious of the cheaper prices in the UK.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
Yep but you compare the £ :D Memory i got Cellshock @ Memory C £ 269.06Quote:
based in Ireland
Cellshock @ OC_UK £281.99 btw the cellshock 6400 is also good.
luck:)
So if the Euro devalues to the £, it becomes cheaper....erm this is getting complicated as isn't cellshock from Germany, well in theory it should be cheapest there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
Nah - in today's market of exporting anything and everything, the country of origin makes little difference (unless it was born under the stars and stripes it seems).Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur2
What annoys me is threads where people suggest RAM is of poor value compared to the rest of components. Why should RAM be of any consequential price to that of other components? (this isn't really one of those threads, but does remind me of one not so long ago).
IMHO, save for the PSU, RAM is the most important internal component. Not enough, and you're forever waiting on the PC starting up or sitting on the desktop watching the HDD LED lazily staying on while waiting on the page file to settle down (which never really happens).
The prices are high at the moment, but we knew it was coming - there were reports all over the place suggesting the price of memory chips was going to rocket. RAM is well known for having volatile pricing.
Well I always go by the rule of thumb on how many hours average joe public has to work to pay for something.Quote:
Originally Posted by this_is_gav
A CD writer=2 hour work, 2gig of ram=2 days work
And oh dear a days work just to take your wife to a nice restaurant in expensive London.
Ah, the advantages of living in rural Britain :)Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur2
That's a good analogy I suppose - something I've never considered - it just doesn't make commercial sense to those selling the stuff ;)
By similar logic you use RAM the whole time the PC is on you only burn one or two CD's a week. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur2
Well my post does explain in simple terms why the US has a higher standard of living than the UK. How many hours does average Joe American work to get 2 gig of ram (in the US).Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckskull
oops getting off topic.
I'm planning on buying only one stick now (1Gb) and another in the future, means I get a goodish perfomance, then upgrading to 2gigs would give me the dual channel extra and double the RAM I only use a Gig at the moment...but I think it'd be worth the money if you are an avid gamer or you do a lot of multi tasking with intensive applications...
@excalibur2 - sorry didn't explain if u go to the config - M web page I linked change country to UK currency will change to £. My invoice is in sterling with a Euro total being shownn as well.
@Skyrai
:)Quote:
My post#9 Have a read through Choosing the Right Memory for Core 2 Duo Platform - Parts 1- 3:
The only thing that u need to bear in mind that the chips used do change for example in part 3 (see conclusion) the Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400С4 wins with an outstanding Performance & £. I thought that's 4 me only to find when asking around that the memory chips used have changed giving....... U guessed it poorer performance at the same price.
That's another reason why buying 1Gb now & 1gb later won't always work as you end up with different chips which may not run well together. Cheaper value ram in particular changes regularly with what's cheap & available.
luck
D: oh dear, best watch out for that...I'm looking at the Corsair TwinX to :( at least it isn\'t cheap...and maybe I can save up the money and buy it as quickly as possible. hmm...oh dear lol
Ah.......strange that the first page is in Euros, with the UK next door, as the pop of Ireland is only about 3.5 million, it originally put me off straight away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
:) :lol: how many europeans are in the euro think we're 1 of only 3 eec members not in the euro, so who's in the minority. As u can see from the list the place supplies europe basically. Quiet honestly would be quiet happy to join the euro.:cool:Quote:
Ah.......strange that the first page is in Euros, with the UK next door, as the pop of Ireland is only about 3.5 million, it originally put me off straight away.
erm strange they are supplying Europe yet I couldn't find their link on French or UK google.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
Bottom of page I showed u them as they are cheaper than uk sites i know if you don't want to use them then that's fine :mrgreen:
Hey you cheated, try finding them by typing in google "buy DDR2 memory"......anyway thanks for your links and info.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
:) :lol: :Oops:Quote:
Hey you cheated
your welcome:)
!!!! http://www.memory-configurator.com/p...kit/index.html
It's a cell shock beater that one and it's in ££££££:)
sorry ??? The team is PC2-6400 800Mhz it does oc well but isn't guaranteed to DDR2 PC2-8000 1000MHz like the Cellshock. I did consider that.Quote:
!!!! http://www.memory-configurator.com/p...kit/index.html
It's a cell shock beater that one and it's in ££££££
Sorry :embarrassed: my bad, but it beats the cell shock pc-6400 stuff. It should be able to beat the 5-5-5-15 timings of the cell shock pc-8000 when overclocked but obviously not for sure.:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by No.72
What's wrong with similar corsair dominator?:-
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Dominator,DDR2 PC2-6400,240 Pins, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EP @ £195 (scan)
Corsair is super but it makes a change going for other RAM brands:) .
even if the one (team) you picked was dearer.........I'm after the cheapest ram that's reliable and does the job for a very good overclock (not interested in watercooling and entering the record charts).Quote:
Originally Posted by No.72
Not sure don't forget as you make the memory faster you hive it more power & slacken timings so chances are you'll end up on max volts & somethingg like 5-5-5-15Quote:
but it beats the cell shock pc-6400 stuff. It should be able to beat the 5-5-5-15 timings of the cell shock pc-8000 when overclocked but obviously not for sure.
nothing wrong with the Dominator if that's what u fancy.
It can be a nightmare fitting large RAM modules like that to a system with an equally high-performance heatsink (Scythe, Tuniq, Thermalright).Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur2
Well I've already bought an arctic freezer7, so looks like I will have to find a board to fit.......:-)Quote:
Originally Posted by this_is_gav
But seriously, unless the new boards coming out are a must have, it's gonna be P5B deluxe wifi and dominator (from scan) which seems to be the cheapest ATM, but if cellshock (or other good ones) becomes cheaper will get that.
when are u looking to buy.Quote:
But seriously, unless the new boards coming out are a must have, it's gonna be P5B deluxe wifi and dominator (from scan) which seems to be the cheapest ATM, but if cellshock (or other good ones) becomes cheaper will get that
I'd pay the extra £16 & get the Asus Commando i965 what do you think? 3 of us ordered from scan on friday:) , at end of month/early Feb AB9 QuadGT Both these boards should be around the same £, are in effect 2nd generation 965 mobos, so include all the learning from the earlier models such as the P5B deluxe plus a host of additional features digital phased Pwmc, crossfire, improved sound etc.,
you should be fine with arctic freezer7 & memory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
If you have the money to spend atm it is worth going for the new 965 mobos, they arnt that much more than for example a a wifi/deluxe. £25-30 ish.:)
Well how do you know which is the better board to buy?Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
You wont till they come out and when people have opinion's and experiences of them, but a few people have tested them and they say they are very good overclockers, although the benchmarks haven't been released:undecided . I haven't seen any people testing the new abit board but I am sure it will be very good too. :)
Have spent most of last 3 weeks researching forums reading specs etc..,. Every rebuild id different previous 2 builds it's always been memory which was the difficult component to pin down. In this 1 it's been the mobo. Which chipset 680i, 965/975 RD600 & of course which mobo. Many of the mobos are new so info is a little piecemeal. I've been helped & tried to help the many users i've seen doing the same thing by sharing info links.Quote:
Well how do you know which is the better board to buy?
The links i gave above were pretty much my end points, together with this 1, Best E6600 motherboard for £150
If you follow the links in the 3 rthreads you shoulfd be able to get a decent overview.
Luck:)
Well I suppose one way of looking at it is..... you only lose about £30 if the commando is not up to your expectation, as you would have bought the P5B anyway, and it must be equal to that. Not forgetting the excitement and fun value that must be equal to 15 pints of beer.Quote:
Originally Posted by No.72
So you aren't interested in waiting for the new C2Ds coming out then?
Well that's what I've been doing and buying the bits, over the weeks, that the members agree on, finally got the graphic card (X1950) pinned down that I will buy, just left is the MB and CPU (new ones coming out).Quote:
Originally Posted by Supershanks
I dont know much about the new c2duo's coming out:) but a e6300 should be fine. It's only £120 and there is plenty of oc'ing in them.:)