Memory Question, Please Help

[HansGroenewold]

I'm upgrading my PC and had a question. Is it worth it to add another 2GB of memory to the 2GB I already have for a total of 4GB? The memory is DDR400 PC3200. I heard after a certain amount that it doesn't really matter if you put more memory in.

The rest of my upgrade will consist of going from a AMD 3500+ CPU to a AMD Athlon 4600+ X2 CPU. The 6800 Ultra video card gets replaced by a Evga 8800GTX card. I want the motherboard to stay the same as it is only 6 months old. It's an Asrock 939 Dual-Sata2. This board has an expansion card available that will enable you to upgrade from the 939 socket it came with to a AM2 socket CPU. Is that socket better for performance?

Any feebback would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Hans

 

[InlineFive]

It sounds like you are an average computer user so 2GB is already more than enough. If you play cutting edge games and are considering Vista you might want to go with 3GB; but I wouldn't pay for the additional memory until you are sure that you need it.

 

[Nothinman]

Assuming that you're running Windows, you'll never be able to use all 4G if you're using 32-bit XP (or Vista AFAIK). If you want to install 2 modules to take advantage of dual memory channels that's one thing but be aware that you'll most likely only see ~3.2G of memory. You'll need 64-bit XP or Windows Server 2003 to get access to the rest of your memory.

On the off chance that you're running another OS you should be alright as long as the BIOS has an option to remap the extra memory above the 4G mark. Just make sure that you're either running a 64-bit OS or whatever kernel you're using has support for >4G memory and PAE.

 

[HansGroenewold]

Thanks for the replies. How can I tell if I'm running 32 or 64 bit on my XP? This PC is strictly for gaming so I would want the best performance possible. I have two 1GB sticks in two of the four slots available. The motherboard manufacturer recommends matched sets of memory to get the dual channel to function.

The Asrock expansion card to use the AM2 socket is not an option as the card would get in the way of my new video card. I'm thinking of holding off on the memory and use the money for that to go from the 4600+ to a 5200+. I heard that going from the 2 X 512KB L2 Cache to a 2 X 1MB L2 Cache makes a big difference in performance. Your opinion on this please?

Thanks,
Hans

 

[Nothinman]

How can I tell if I'm running 32 or 64 bit on my XP?

If you didn't specifically buy and install the 64-bit one then you've got a 32-bit install.

 

[HansGroenewold]

How about an opinion on the rest of my post. I just saw a 4800+ at Newegg for $200. cheaper that the 5200+I mentioned and the only difference seems to be it runs at 2.4 instead of 2.6, the L2 Cache is the same.

Thanks,
Hans

 

[Alone]

C2D is the only way to go at this point, unless you get a hot deal on an AMD. Dollar for dollar, Intel is winning. For now, at least.