Yet another "I need help buying RAM & a video card" thread.

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So I want to upgrade my RAM. Here's what I currently have:

CPU: Pentium 4 - 2.20 GHz
Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 (64MB)
Motherboard: Shuttle FS51 V2
RAM: 512 MB ( PC2700 DDR333 SDRAM)
HDD: 60 GB
Case: Shuttle XPC SS51G

I've already tried buying some RAM on my own, it did not go very well. The stick wasn't compatible with my motherboard so I had to return it.

I basically want enough RAM so when I play games (namely Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 2) it'll run smoothly. Should I go with 1GB (2x512MB) or 2GB (2x1GB)?

I checked out the Crucial site and used their System Scanner, it recommended this. I was thinking about getting 2 of these, but after reading through DQuaN's RAM Help thread I'm not so sure anymore:

grab 1 gig of standard performance DDR (pc3200). The performance increase to 2gb is negligible and windows will just become more of a resource hog with that much ram.

And the Diff between 1 and 2 gigs won't show until you're doing some really huge Photoshop editing or 3D rendering...

1 gig of the fastest you feel your money will get you !...

PLEASE HELP. I seriously did not think buying RAM was going to be such a pain in the ass.

 

[Jmac279]

Another 512 MB should be plenty ... Having 2 GB of RAM won't really help your system much considering your graphics card is very dated and so is your CPU (I'm guessing that's a Pentium 4) ...

 

[donbenni]

FAIK 1GB of fast RAM is better than 2GB of slower RAM.

2GB is nice for pretty much anything, the extra gig won't adversly effect performance as emad hints, and when using intensive programs and games the difference should be noticable.

However, storage isn't everything. The quicker data can be transferred into the RAM and the quicker it can be processed, the quicker the computer should run as a result.

Ideally i would want 2GB was stupidly fast RAM. The price difference between 2GB of slow and 1GB of fast is small IMK, so you just need to decide what you want to be doing on your PC and take it from there. For your spec. 1 GB is probably suitable, so get it fast.

And yes, always use Crucial.

 

[DQuaN]

But apparently AMD motherboards cant use anything higher than 3200. So it's poinltess for me to get fast ram (say 4400) right?

 

[donbenni]

But apparently AMD motherboards cant use anything higher than 3200. So it's poinltess for me to get fast ram (say 4400) right?

Well i believe so, which is why i stumped for 2GB of 3200.

Opteron chips seem to allow for PC4000 though, but don't quote me on that.

[edit] Although a quick search around leads me to believe that all recent socket 939 chips/motherboards support PC4000. Confuzzled.

 

[Jmac279]

You can use RAM that is rated faster, but it will still only operate at the FSB speed, so it really makes no difference unless you're overclocking ...

 

[toyomatt84]

If you can afford 2 gigs, you can use 2 gigs. Basically, you will notice improvements in load times for graphics heavy games, video editing, and other heavy resource software.

 

[tabs]

Another 512 MB should be plenty ... Having 2 GB of RAM won't really help your system much considering your graphics card is very dated and so is your CPU (I'm guessing that's a Pentium 4) ...

I'm upgrading the video card as soon as I get this RAM issue sorted out.

 

[RobcioPL]

1.5gigs should be great, better then 1gb, but not too much like 2gbs.

 

[tabs]

I'm upgrading the video card as soon as I get this RAM issue sorted out.

I've just ordered this: SAPPHIRE Radeon 9600 Pro (256MB).

EDIT: Thanks for all the feedback so far, guys. 👍 👍

 

[Jmac279]

I would stay away from Sapphire (unless you're on a budget) as they tend to use lower quality components and slower memory than ATI's reference designs ... The 9600 Pro is supposed to use 600 MHz memory, but Sapphire only uses 466 MHz memory for their 9600 Pro ... That's a large difference in speed ... Plus, the Sapphire isn't as overclockable, so you can't even really make up the difference ...

I'd probably spend a little more and get a faster, more reliable card ...

 

[donbenni]

I have no boggle with Sapphire (my old 9800Pro was a gem), but, i wouldn't have bought the 9600Pro, sorry. It's just way too old now. Most people are thinking about upgrading from their 9800Pros at the moment and that's a hell of a lot more powerful than the 9600Pro. It's $78.00 for a reason. IMO you need to spend around £100 at the minimum if you're at all interested in playing today's "good games".

 

[tabs]

*Order Canceled*

Which card would you guys recommend I get then?

Here's the VGA Support List for my system (scroll down): http://global.shuttle.com/Support/SupportList.asp?Item=SS51G V2.0

I have a budget of about $200.

 

[donbenni]

6800LE is the best card in your price range imo. Have a word with live4speed as he got one recently, see what he thinks about it.

Basically if you're getting a 6800LE, you want a Leadtek 6800LE as people have successfully ran a piece of software called Rivatuner that unlocks the card (unlocks extra pixel pipelines and shaders) to make it much faster. In fact as the 6800LE has the same chip as the 6800GT, with a successful unlock and some overclocking it gets close to the 6800GT in terms of performance and costs under 1/2 as much. Even if you don't want to overclock the card, just the unlocking on it's own takes 5 minutes and the difference is apparently big.

Here's a link to a 6800LE. It's not the Leadtek one and it's a UK site, so you'll have to look around for a US site that sells the Leadtek one - this is just for reference - http://www.pcnextday.co.uk/product_...1-4075&group=AGPNV&pgroup=VID&ref_site=kelkoo

 

[Flame-returns]

The GeForce 6800 GT is also in your price range and I have heard countless praise of that card, might be worth a look.

 

[emad]

But apparently AMD motherboards cant use anything higher than 3200. So it's poinltess for me to get fast ram (say 4400) right?

Other way around. The AMD system clocks the ram based on the CPU rather than the FSB. RAM on p4 chips is limited to the FSB speed.

[ignore the following stuff]
That said, save money, get a gig of pc3200. If you can afford it and if you feel that you need it, grab 2 gigs of it.
[/ignore]

I took a look at your mobo's specs and your CPU. You're running at a 100mhz FSB. The fastest your ram will be able to hit is 200mhz. Because of that, save some cash and grab a gig of PC2700.

The jump to 1gb helps a LOT, but so does the jump to another video card. Doing this will at least get rid of your video card bottleneck and give you enough ram to work with.

 

[Raghavan]

You can get a gig of Kingston memory for 60 bucks now.
And i thought that you can put any PC speed on a mobo, but it'll just run at its max supported speed? So if a mobo can only support PC2700, putting PC3200 won't matter because the memory will only run at PC2700?

 

[Jmac279]

You can get a gig of Kingston memory for 60 bucks now.
And i thought that you can put any PC speed on a mobo, but it'll just run at its max supported speed? So if a mobo can only support PC2700, putting PC3200 won't matter because the memory will only run at PC2700?

That's because the FSB will be operating at 333 MHz (PC2700) ... If you increase the clock of the FSB, it'll increase the memory clock, as well.

CPU speed will ALWAYS be - FSB (each way) x Multiplier.

Example: AMD Athlon 2500+
Multiplier = 11.0
FSB = 333 MHz (166.5 MHz each way)
11 x 166.5 = 1831.5 MHz

Overclocked 2500+
Multiplier = 11.0
FSB = 374 MHz (187 MHz each way)
11 x 187 = 2057 MHz

PC2700 would be overclocked, but PC3200 would still be underclocked, so all else equal, the PC3200 would be much more likely to be stable at that speed since it's still below its rated speed. That's the real advantage of using PC3200 with a 333 MHz FSB CPU.

 

[Jmac279]

*Order Canceled*

Which card would you guys recommend I get then?

Here's the VGA Support List for my system (scroll down): http://global.shuttle.com/Support/SupportList.asp?Item=SS51G V2.0

I have a budget of about $200.

9800XT is the fastest one there ... I'd aim for that ...

 

[emad]

9800XT is the fastest one there ... I'd aim for that ...

umm, don't you mean the X800XT? The 9800XT is 2 years old now.

 

[F1GTR]

He does mean the 9800XT...

 

[Jmac279]

umm, don't you mean the X800XT? The 9800XT is 2 years old now.

I did mean the 9800XT was the fastest card on that list of compatible VGA cards (The X800XT isn't listed), although I appear to have overlooked one card that is faster ...

Nvidia Nvidia 6800GT

 

[tabs]

9800XT is the fastest one there ... I'd aim for that ...

How about this one?

I have never even heard of JetWay, does anyone have any experience with them? The reviews for this card are about 50/50.

 

[Burnout]

How about this one?

I have never even heard of JetWay, does anyone have any experience with them? The reviews for this card are about 50/50.

Get a 6800GT

 

[Jmac279]

I appear to have overlooked one card that is faster ...

Nvidia 6800GT

..........

 

[tabs]

Get a 6800GT

That's a bit out of my price range and I don't think my system supports it, but correct me if I'm wrong:

 

[Jmac279]

Brand References(Chipset)
3Dfx Voodoo 5500
3Dfx Voodoo 4500
Asus Asus V9560 FX5600 256MB TV-OUT DVI
Asus Asus V9520 FX5200
Asus Asus V8400 128MB
Asus Asus V8200 64MB
Asus Asus Geforce4 Ti4600
Asus Asus Geforce4 Ti4200 64MB
Asus Asus GEF FX5200 Ultra 128MB DDR TV-Out DVI
Ati Ati Rage 128 Ultra 32MB TV-Out
Ati Ati Rage 128 Ultra 32MB
Ati Ati Radeon VE 64MB TV-Out DVI
Ati Ati Radeon VE 32MB TV-Out DVI
Ati Ati Radeon 9800XT 256MB
Ati Ati Radeon 9700 8X
Ati Ati Radeon 9600 Pro
Ati Ati Radeon 9000 8X
Ati Ati Radeon 8500 64MB DDR TV-Out
Ati Ati All In Wonder 9800 Pro
Ati Ati All In Wonder 9700 Pro
Creative Creative 3D Blaster Geforce CT6940
Elsa Elsa Geforce3 Gladiac 920 TV-Out
Gainward Gainward Geforce4 Ti4200 128MB
Gainward Gainward Geforce4 MX460 64MB
Gainward Gainward Geforce FX5600 Ultra 128MB
Gainward Gainward Geforce FX5200 Ultra 128MB
Gigabyte Gigabyte GA-660 plus US TNT2
Leadtek WinFast Geforce2 64MB
Leadtek Leadtek Quadro4 550 XGL
Leadtek Leadtek Geforce4 Ti4600 A250U
Leadtek Leadtek Geforce4 MX440
Matrox Matrox Parhelia 128MB
Matrox Matrox Millennium G400
Msi Msi Geforce FX5600 TD128MB
Msi Msi 6800GT
Nvidia Nvidia 6800GT
Palit Palit SIS 305 16MB
Palit Palit Geforce4 MX440 8X
Palit Palit Geforce4 MX440 64MB
Palit Palit Geforce4 MX440
Palit Palit Geforce3 Ti200 64MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 Pro 64MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 MX400 64MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 MX400 128MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 MX200 64MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 MX200 32MB
Palit Palit Geforce2 MX 32MB
Palit Palit ATI Radeon VE SDR 64MB
Palit Ati Rage 128 Pro SDR 32MB
Prolink Prolink Geforce2 MX
Shuttle Shuttle Geforce3 64MB DDR TV-Out
Shuttle Shuttle Geforce2 MX200 32MB
Shuttle Shuttle Geforce2 MX 32MB
Triplex Triplex Xabre Pro 8X
Triplex Triplex TRP-MX2200 32MB

 

[tabs]

Hahaha... Nevertheless, it's still out of my price range. 👎

 

[VIPFREAK]

Other way around. The AMD system clocks the ram based on the CPU rather than the FSB. RAM on p4 chips is limited to the FSB speed.

So I'm at a disadvantage if I'm using an Intel system??

 

[emad]

So I'm at a disadvantage if I'm using an Intel system??

Not really. Intel chips run an 800mhz FSB and typically take 533mhz ram. You should be more than ok.