Silly question abour ram and graphics cards.
Discussion
I want increase the Ram on my pc, I am currently running 512 and want to go to a gig.
I believe I can get a strip of 512 to plug in get my gig, but how do I ascertain what spec memeory I need/have installed to avoiud buying the wrong memory ?
Basically trying the cheap route to mid level gaming.
Pc currently has 512 ram as stated and a Radeon X300 card.I dont know how good that compares to current stuff, but Im new to gaming.
Pc plays FEAR ok, (just) and Iv loaded up the demo for GTR2 , which plays ok.....
Will the ram upgrade be all I need, or do I need to look at say a geforce 6600 or any other mid priced suggestions ?
TIA
F
I believe I can get a strip of 512 to plug in get my gig, but how do I ascertain what spec memeory I need/have installed to avoiud buying the wrong memory ?
Basically trying the cheap route to mid level gaming.
Pc currently has 512 ram as stated and a Radeon X300 card.I dont know how good that compares to current stuff, but Im new to gaming.
Pc plays FEAR ok, (just) and Iv loaded up the demo for GTR2 , which plays ok.....
Will the ram upgrade be all I need, or do I need to look at say a geforce 6600 or any other mid priced suggestions ?
TIA
F
If it says 4, then it probably does. The only problem with it having 2 sticks in at the moment is that they could be in some sort of funny dual channel setup...does cpu-z say anything about that? Best way is to wang open the case! The x300 is a bog standard card - whats your budget all in for new stuff? You need to double check the psu will handle it all as well.
Simplest way to figure out your RAM (especially if it's a Dell or other big OEM) is to just tell us the model number (i.e. Inspirion 9200, XPS 700) or feed that in to the Crucial memory selecter.
If it's a really modern system then it'll be DDR2 if it's a little older (6 months+) then it's probably going to be DDR. If it's REALLY old then your looking at PC133/PC100.
As it lists four slots I'd suggest that the system might be in dual-channel mode (is it a Athlon based system?) in which case it would be best to add either 2x512MB or 2x256MB sticks into it bringing you up to 1.5Gb or 1Gb depending on which option you choose.
The x300 card is as others have said pretty much a bog standard unit. It will be able to pull off games quite well but more umpf is better. Depending on your budget look at some of the Nvidia 6600 range cards or low end 7000 series (again, check if you have AGP or PCI-E as this will determin what cards are avaliable to you).
If it's a really modern system then it'll be DDR2 if it's a little older (6 months+) then it's probably going to be DDR. If it's REALLY old then your looking at PC133/PC100.
As it lists four slots I'd suggest that the system might be in dual-channel mode (is it a Athlon based system?) in which case it would be best to add either 2x512MB or 2x256MB sticks into it bringing you up to 1.5Gb or 1Gb depending on which option you choose.
The x300 card is as others have said pretty much a bog standard unit. It will be able to pull off games quite well but more umpf is better. Depending on your budget look at some of the Nvidia 6600 range cards or low end 7000 series (again, check if you have AGP or PCI-E as this will determin what cards are avaliable to you).
Furyous said:
Hmm, just been through the Crucial mem selector and it suggests a single 512 board.
It says the 2 x 256 are non parity.Does this mean they arnt Dual channel, and if so, would it be faster to have 2 x 512 dualed...........
Like I know what Im talking about.......
It says the 2 x 256 are non parity.Does this mean they arnt Dual channel, and if so, would it be faster to have 2 x 512 dualed...........
Like I know what Im talking about.......
Probably means the board isn't dual channel capable. I wouldn't worry about any speed hits from not having the system in this configuration, you only really notice when you start pushing the machine hard. So unless you absolutley positivley have to have a few extra frames per second in a game or knock .5 of a second off a large render... don't worry to much.
Parity isnt an issue, its for server memory reaky, it chechs itself & corrects for memory errors, not needed nor used in home pc's.
Open the PC up to be sure you have the 2 spare slots, it isnt hard, and buy two 512mb sticks aswell
Whats your CPU? Games are a balance between graphics card ability & cpu speed, depending on the game & resolution played. What rez do you set games to (max).
Open the PC up to be sure you have the 2 spare slots, it isnt hard, and buy two 512mb sticks aswell
Whats your CPU? Games are a balance between graphics card ability & cpu speed, depending on the game & resolution played. What rez do you set games to (max).
robdickinson said:
Parity isnt an issue, its for server memory reaky, it chechs itself & corrects for memory errors, not needed nor used in home pc's.
Open the PC up to be sure you have the 2 spare slots, it isnt hard, and buy two 512mb sticks aswell
Whats your CPU? Games are a balance between graphics card ability & cpu speed, depending on the game & resolution played. What rez do you set games to (max).
Open the PC up to be sure you have the 2 spare slots, it isnt hard, and buy two 512mb sticks aswell
Whats your CPU? Games are a balance between graphics card ability & cpu speed, depending on the game & resolution played. What rez do you set games to (max).
Def two spare slots.
CPU is P4 3.0 GIG.
Im knew to PC gaming, currently let games set uP themselves ?
Are you suggesting putting in 2 x 512 on top of the existing 512 ?
F
well if it's a P4 at 3GHz i'm sure the chipset will be dual channel. This is also hinted at by the fact that it's got 4 DIMM slots, not many (OEM)mobos have 4 DIMM slots for single channel memory. So you will need 2 matching sticks of any memory you buy.
Also, I think PC2 3200 is DDR2? Which is plentiful and not too expensive, just take a look at Scan or Dabs etc..
Also, I think PC2 3200 is DDR2? Which is plentiful and not too expensive, just take a look at Scan or Dabs etc..
Edited by mr_yogi on Sunday 8th October 22:29
Yes, yes I am.
The price isnt huge & 1gb is what I'd say minimum thesedays, with Vista on its way 1.5gig wont hurt.
What display do you have? That will have an uppermost resolution, thats the mazimum you could play a game at for now without buying a new monitor, if its an LCD then your probably best using it at its maximum anyhow as thats its best resolution.
Any graphics card that allows you to run games bigger than that is a wast, though it does depend on the game (oblivion for example criples most cards).
A p3 3.0ghz is fine for most games at the moment, though a new wave next year will pretty much expect more than one core.
I'm not up on current graphics cards (apart from the new ones coming soon) but I expect you could see a good return on a more modern capable card thna you have, but stear clear of the bleeding edge.
The price isnt huge & 1gb is what I'd say minimum thesedays, with Vista on its way 1.5gig wont hurt.
What display do you have? That will have an uppermost resolution, thats the mazimum you could play a game at for now without buying a new monitor, if its an LCD then your probably best using it at its maximum anyhow as thats its best resolution.
Any graphics card that allows you to run games bigger than that is a wast, though it does depend on the game (oblivion for example criples most cards).
A p3 3.0ghz is fine for most games at the moment, though a new wave next year will pretty much expect more than one core.
I'm not up on current graphics cards (apart from the new ones coming soon) but I expect you could see a good return on a more modern capable card thna you have, but stear clear of the bleeding edge.
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