4GB this summer - Yes or no?

Sovereign · Post by **Sovereign** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:57 pm

I have a DDR1-based system. As I see it, DDR1 prices, especially for overclocking memory, are going up. I paid $179.99 for 2GB of G.Skill RAM last summer. The same kit is now $209 and probably going to go up. Would it be worth it, with future 64-bit OS in mind, to buy that same RAM this summer? It would max out my mobo, the K8N Diamond Plus only takes 4GB...

cyberneticimplant · Post by **cyberneticimplant** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:28 pm

Does adding another pair take the RAM out of dual channel mode?

Sovereign · Post by **Sovereign** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:06 pm

Nope. Not with 4 sticks. It might drop back to 2T though.

SAMSAMHA · Post by **SAMSAMHA** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:02 am

i don't think it's worth it unless you plan to keep your system for at least a year or two since the ddr2 is priced similar to ddr1 and the ddr3 might even coming out at the end of the year, so if you plan to upgrade your system, save that money for future ram purchase.

T-Shirt · Post by **T-Shirt** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 4:52 am

I agree with sam, DDR1 has a limited future, and any uptick in price is temporary.
even if you plan to keep that system, I don't think you'll see a huge improvemnt with more ram as the timing will probably suffer.

Sovereign · Post by **Sovereign** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:24 am

This system is supposed to last 4 years with a RAM and videocard (GeForce 9 at soonest, whenever those come out) upgrade. I'd put Vista x64 on it.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:52 am

Your best bet is to just wait and see!
Currently there's no need for 4GB, but in 6mths that might change.....also DDR1 prices should also change by then.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:52 am

I can't get any pair of four 1GB modules (4GB total) to run 2T at all, but I do believe once people move over to 64-bit Vista that 4GB will be common this summer at 800MHz (2GB x 2) and who knows what timings those kits will have. Only a few IC's can do good timings with 2GN modules... If you remember our coverage from CES 2007 this month you'll note that Mushkin showed off a 4GB kit that hit 4-3-2-10 2T timings on an Intel Core 2 Duo system and even let us benchmark it here.

Are 4GB kits going to be here this year? You better believe it because DDR2 isn't going to go much over 1333MHz from what I can tell as no chipset can do it. 680i and 650i chipsets freak out with anything much over 1320Mhz.

Dragon_Cooler · Post by **Dragon_Cooler** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:56 am

kenc51 wrote:Your best bet is to just wait and see!
Currently there's no need for 4GB, but in 6mths that might change.....also DDR1 prices should also change by then.

yeah there is......its called battlefield 2 and 2142. LOL

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:37 am

Dragon_Cooler wrote:
kenc51 wrote:Your best bet is to just wait and see!
Currently there's no need for 4GB, but in 6mths that might change.....also DDR1 prices should also change by then.
yeah there is......its called battlefield 2 and 2142. LOL

That's not a reason to get more RAM, it is a reason to format c:\

stev · Post by **stev** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:24 pm

With all of the audio editing I'm doing, more memory the better. I've got only 1Gb in the machine now, and whould really like to boost it to 2Gb without taking a major price hit.

Just lurking behind the scenes and waiting for the price to level out is my best guess.

SAMSAMHA · Post by **SAMSAMHA** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:04 pm

4 gig should definitely help on what you plan to do, although 4x1gig usually is not a great idea at the moment as some system can be somewhat unstable. what's your cpu? maybe also consider gonig for dual core (if you haven't done so) as it may help in the encoding as well. I think if there's an option maybe 2x2gig would be a better choice but they can be expensive.

T-Shirt · Post by **T-Shirt** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:36 am

As I said RAM prices are likely to drop soon
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20070126VL203.html

Sovereign · Post by **Sovereign** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 7:25 pm

This mobo maxes out at 4GB (K8N Diamond Plus). Will it take dual 2GB?

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:24 am

Sovereign wrote:This mobo maxes out at 4GB (K8N Diamond Plus). Will it take dual 2GB?

The chipset and BIOS aren't set up to handle that much, so more than likely you'll get a system beep when you power it up. I've talked to some memory companies about that and it seems most of the older chipsets have issues. Not 100% sure on all the new ones as I'd expect them to handle it.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:48 pm

When it comes to Intel's 975X chipset it does support 8GB...

http://download.intel.com/design/chipse ... 015801.pdf

So for those that have a couple extra grand laying around please try this out for me... hehe

SAMSAMHA · Post by **SAMSAMHA** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:03 pm

dont' forget the OS also needs to be able to take the advantage of added ram (ie, it would require 64bit OS) otherwise, the extra ram might not even be useful.

largon · Post by **largon** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:01 am

Dragon_Cooler wrote:
kenc51 wrote:Your best bet is to just wait and see!
Currently there's no need for 4GB, but in 6mths that might change.....also DDR1 prices should also change by then.
yeah there is......its called battlefield 2 and 2142. LOL

Can BF2 really use >2GB? Highest quality textures runs perfectly fine on 1.5GB...

trueg50 · Post by **trueg50** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 3:24 pm

I would recommend against going for 4 gigs, maybe at the most get another gig.

Going from 512 mag of RAM to 1 gig increases performance by 50 percent, while going from 1 gig to 2 gigs only offers an increase of 10 percent.

Before you upgrade, look for some programs out there that monitor your RAM usage, systemetrix is one I know of, it will monitor your RAM usage in real time. If your RAM being used exceeds 40% for normal work (not gaming), then you may consider an upgrade.

Zenphic · Post by **Zenphic** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:49 pm

lol and to say I'm surviving on 512 mb here

My opinion: save up the cash for the next system!