Memory upgrade

[yellowbadger52]

Well everyone i have a question concerning RAM. I was wondering if it would be worth it to buy a 4 gb set of ram to replace my 2 gb set i have. Im looking to spend no more than $70 on it total and was wondering if it would be worth it? and for all that wonder yes i have 64 bit vista so it will support all 4gigs. also will it have much affect on my overclock i have on my processor?? i have the ram in it now running at 830 mhz. one last thing as well. would it be worth it to get the ddr2 1000 over ddr2 800 ram?

 

[JoHoN69]

if your running 64 bit vista then yes get 4gbs of ram
it shouldn't effect your overclock as long as you get good ram
I personal would get ddr2 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146755
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

 

[touche]

Yeah, I would do it if you have the money. Personally, I would keep the 2GB set and get another 2GB set of the same RAM to save some money, but you have to have 4 slots on your mobo (you should ), and that may raise some compatibility problems...

 

[GCrusader]

I'm planning to get 4 GB of RAM for my next PC so I definitely recommend it if you have the cash.

 

[Blue Stealth]

yeah just make sure you are running 64 bit if you have vista. otherwise you only use 3.2-3.5 gigs of your ram

-Blue Stealth

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

2x2GB DDR2-1000 kit by G.Skill wins hands down.

~Gooda~

 

[yellowbadger52]

ok thanks i probably will be upgrading then in the next few weeks. id keep the ram i have but im gonna put it in my computer at my parents house so when im home from school i can play cod4.

 

[FlyingPolish]

What processor do you have?.

Also, if I were you I would grab that Mushkin over the GSkill. Mushkin 2 gb sticks are phenomenal and handles overclocking better than most sticks. Yes is does go $20 over your budget, but it is worth it.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

Yes, but those fuggers are expensive. He never mentioned overclocking, so the extra $20 would be wasted.

~Gooda~

 

[Foxhound]

First and foremost, you should check your motherboards manufacturer site and find out what RAM chips and speeds are supported. While you may go for a faster ram, it may not always support that speed. I for one made the mistake of getting 1066 MHz RAM which my motherboard will support, but because I chose a non-supported chip, it only recognizes it as 800 MHz unless I manually set it that way.

Just something to look into.

Also, 4 GB of RAM is good for Vista, but it wont use more than 2 GB unless you are doing things like rendering or editing. Things like that.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

I for one made the mistake of getting 1066 MHz RAM which my motherboard will support, but because I chose a non-supported chip, it only recognizes it as 800 MHz unless I manually set it that way.

ALL motherboards default to 800Mhz if the chip frequency is above that. Anything above 800Mhz is considered factory OCed (which it is technically, bit more of that at the end). The highest official SPD is 800Mhz, therefore, anything higher (which requires more volts) defaults to 1.8 vDIMM and 800Mhz.

Now, anything above 800Mhz is considered factory overclocked. Like I said before, it still defaults to 800Mhz and you need to manually set the frequency and voltages. What you're buying isn't a pair of sticks that will be set at DDR2-1066 when you slap them in, what you're buying is a pair of DDR2-800 sticks that are GUARANTEED (by the manufacturer) to hit DDR2-1066.

~Gooda~

 

[Foxhound]

Very good to know! Thanks Gooda. I always thought it odd that it didn't default to what the board says it can handle, instead of some set speed.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

Heh, yep. A lot of people don't know that and then blame Newegg or the manufacturer (G.Skill mostly) for selling them "fake OCed sticks". Technically, they are, but anything over 800Mhz is a "fake stick" since those frequencies aren't officially supported.

~Gooda~

 

[yellowbadger52]

Well i dont think ill need to go past the Factory overclocked speeds i just wanted more ram. I'll probably order some in the next week or 2 after i talk to my dad. My b-day is coming up and ill see if he will split the cost with me if i give him my old ram.