More memory or More Memory Speed.

[skynet]

Ok If you read my post about building that computer, well I am taking a 256 out of my computer for it (The guy is real excited and wants it ASAP). So he is done, yay! Ohh and he knows I give no tech support for stupid. Kind of funny though because I get more people asking me for help that have Dells/Sonys that I do with people I build for because they don't want to wait on the phone.

Anyway... I had 512 and now I am down a 256. I am not sure what to do, buy a new 512 for 768, replace my 256, buy a PC2700 256 (Both of my old ones are PC2100). Or perhaps wait and see how the prices are. I have been watching them go up and down up and down. Ohh I also have $95 left over but I am on a TIGHT budget. Moving into an apartment is expensive.

[jase71]

Does your pc hit the swap file? If you're swapping a lot, and racking up a fair bit of swap file usage, then adding memory should help quite a bit.

If your pc doesn't hit the swap file, or at least doesn't hit it much, then adding memory probably won't make much of a difference.

Do you overclock? If not, going to PC2700 memory won't make much of a difference either. PC2700 should let you overclock better than PC2100 (assuming memory was the limiting factor), but it's speed benefit comes from running at the higher bus speed. If you don't overclock and run at a higher bus speed, PC2700 won't do much for you that PC2100 wouldn't.

Track your memory usage for a bit, and that'll give you an idea whether it's worthwhile to upgrade...

[skynet]

Hey Those are some good ideas.

Right now I am using 221 megs of my paging file.

I would like to overclock, but my jackass self flashed the P4-B BIOS instead of the P4-B266-C and now I can't reflash it. Or overclock. Big dissapointment.

I am a heavy poweruser though, do a good amount of digital editing (photoshop mainly) but mainly programming. Now it is between 256 or 512 PC2100.

Thanks for the help.

[Bires]

If you're into your swap file alot (looks like you are) and aren't overclocking, get another 256.

I'm in a similar place. I bought a 256 PC2100 to save $$. I don't do much but play games in the summer, so that's fine now.
During the school year, I'll have three-four OfficeXP programs and PainShopPro open, so I'll need 512. Also, My memory speed is keeping my FSB from getting above 135MHz. When memory prices drop, I'll be buying 512 of faster (2700 or 3400)memory.

[skynet]

Wow monday morning is the time to post and get responses.

I am felling better about going back to 512.

Again thanks for the input.

[jase71]

Yep. Bires had good advice.

If you're 220+ meg into your swap file like you said,
and you can't overclock, then just pick up another
256 of PC2100. PC2700 won't do you any good since you can't overclock, so unless it's cheaper (sometimes is lately), don't bother picking it up.

Just a plain 'ol 256 of PC2100 should help a lot if you're
hitting your swap file that hard... 512 would be even better,
but that's a little more spendy.

[Ladogaboy]

What do you guys use to track your memory usage? I've used Powerstrip, but that only gives me how much memory I have free on my system. I don't think it is a very good indicator of how much I am actually using.

[bachviet]

More memory

[Jiffy John]

a lot of boards I'm looking at to overclock the p4 1.6A only supports a max of PC2100 for memory (ie. Abit BD7II, heard that one was good for 1.6A overclocking)...what the heck? Would overclocking the P4 create a bottleneck in memory bandwidth for a PC2100 stick of 512 mb?

Anyone know of a good overclocking mobo for the 1.6A with Raid preferbly and onboard Lan. =)

Edit: not too expensive either I hope. :D

[Bires]

Originally posted by Jiffy John
a lot of boards I'm looking at to overclock the p4 1.6A only supports a max of PC2100 for memory (ie. Abit BD7II, heard that one was good for 1.6A overclocking)...what the heck? ...Anyone know of a good overclocking mobo for the 1.6A with Raid preferbly and onboard Lan. =)

they *officially* only support PC2100. Many will support PC2700, but won't post that due to Intel's 100MHz CPU structure.

Having faster memory allows you to better overclock your cpu. example: PC2100 is 133MHz DDR RAM. This allows you to take your CPU and FSB to 133MHz (also, many mobos allow a 133/100 ratio so you can use faster RAM with a 100MHz cpu) If you want to OC beyond 133, you need PC2700 or better, or a mobo that lets you reverse or tweak your memory/cpu ratio.

As far as mobos go...I wouln't look too hard for onboard RAID or NET. Good network cards go for <$10, and RAID cards can be had for $25. Check out the deals pages, compgeeks, newegg, and computer-show.com.

I'm faily happy with my MSI Mobo, but the on-board RAID is a "Lite" version that does not allow me to specify stripe sizes. Most board by Abit, Asus, MSI (and whoever makes the purple ray) are good overclocker boards.

Hope this helps.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by chosenfool
good ol' task manager. just press ctrl-alt-del if youre in XP or win2k. its real time too!:)

What about WinMe? :P

Hmmm... I guess I'll have to hunt around for a program...

[skynet]

Thanks for the help...


I use CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to bring it up, but I don't use the WindowsXP friendly log on thing. I use the NT/200 style.

WINDOWS ME?!?! BANG I shot you for using windowsME Use 98 at the very least if not going for an NT based machine.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by skynet
WINDOWS ME?!?! BANG I shot you for using windowsME Use 98 at the very least if not going for an NT based machine.

I'll stop using WinME when I get my FIRST BSoD. ;)

[skynet]

I never though of this, but what happens when you mix say a 512PC3000 and a 256PC2100? Do they both go at the PC2100 Speed? Or are they on seperate channels?

[imachode]

Originally posted by jase71
Does your pc hit the swap file? If you're swapping a lot, and racking up a fair bit of swap file usage, then adding memory should help quite a bit.


exactly how much is a lot or a little of page file usage?

i have an athlon xp 1800+ on a shuttle ak35gt2 with 256mb pc2700 samsung--nothing oc'ed yet. when i reboot my comp, usually i'm around 110mb of usage according to the ctrl+alt+del performance tab. after a while, and especially after running wc3 (more so than running cs), it can be pretty close to or even over 200mb until i reboot. when it's that high, i can totally feel the comptuter lagging, relatively atleast. :confused: :dodgy:

[jase71]

Originally posted by imachode


exactly how much is a lot or a little of page file usage?

i have an athlon xp 1800+ on a shuttle ak35gt2 with 256mb pc2700 samsung--nothing oc'ed yet. when i reboot my comp, usually i'm around 110mb of usage according to the ctrl+alt+del performance tab. after a while, and especially after running wc3 (more so than running cs), it can be pretty close to or even over 200mb until i reboot. when it's that high, i can totally feel the comptuter lagging, relatively atleast. :confused: :dodgy:

As a general rule, the less you hit the swap file the better. The PC is essentially using the swap file as temporary RAM, but since a hard drive is dramatically slower than RAM, you'll notice things drag badly if you start to use the swap file a lot.

It will usually work at least a little with the swap file, even if you have lots of memory, but if you're into the swap file for 100 meg, or even 200, then more memory would probably help your performance.

Whether or not it's worth it to add memory depends on how often you rack up a large swap file. If it's not often, then it's probably not worth the upgrade cost. If it's frequent, it'll be worth the money to toss another 256 or so in there...

[imachode]

Originally posted by jase71

Whether or not it's worth it to add memory depends on how often you rack up a large swap file. If it's not often, then it's probably not worth the upgrade cost. If it's frequent, it'll be worth the money to toss another 256 or so in there...


thanks! now here's the next question... i have a 256mb stick of pc2700 samsung. let's say that i was going pop in another 256mb, how important is it to get the same stick (specifically brandname)?

[jase71]

Originally posted by imachode



thanks! now here's the next question... i have a 256mb stick of pc2700 samsung. let's say that i was going pop in another 256mb, how important is it to get the same stick (specifically brandname)?

Theoretically, it shouldn't matter at all.

Realistically, if you can find the same exact kind for close to the same price, it's probably worth paying a few extra bucks to get it.

Memory compatibility problems are fairly rare, but when they do pop up, they can be a nightmare to troubleshoot.

Look for the Samsung 2700 first. See what it costs. Compare it to other good brands. It's up to you whether it's worth the extra bucks. If I could get the same stuff for only $10-15 or so more, I'd get an identical stick. If it would cost me more than that, I'd take my chances with another brand.

However, if you overclock, little things like that can turn into big things. Might be worth a bit more to get the same stuff if you overclock.

Really, it comes down to your gut feeling. Everyone will give you a slightly different answer. And no one really knows they have the right answer. Do a little reading, and just make the best decision you can....