What do you think of 2GB memory kits vs. 4GB kits?

MrPink · June 8th, 2008, 20:48

I'm wondering this because there are some 2gb (2 x 1gb) DDR3 kits on newegg that are really actually affordable.

Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Do you think it'd be a bad idea to buy all 1gb DIMMS and max out the memory capacity of your system at 4GB? I i've only been looking at 4GB kits recently so I can max out at 8GB....but considering how most programs are still 32-bit, their usage is limited at ~2gb.

runawayprisoner · June 8th, 2008, 20:52

Do you do professional image editing, movie editing and professional 3D rendering? If not, then 4GB is already overkill. It's better to have 4x 1GB than 2x 2GB or even 4x 2GB simply because 1GB sticks are easier to overclock.

MrPink · June 8th, 2008, 21:01

I don't do anything on my comp besides watch anime, browse, and game (school work doesn't count). Right now I have 2 x 1gb of DDR

I wondered because my 2gb has lasted me the life of my chipset...an nforce 4 socket 939. I doubt 2gb will last the life of my next upgrade, but do you think 4gb might? Because yeah, I do know that smaller dimms oc better than heavier ones. Can you see games consuming more than 2gb of ram in the future? Though, they'd have to start making them 64-bit first which I haven't seen except for Crysis and Hellgate.

runawayprisoner · June 8th, 2008, 21:07

Crysis needs only 2GB for maximum details and everything else.

Unless you often forget to turn off Photoshop before you run Crysis, there is not a single reason why you have to go for more than 2GB.

MrPink · June 8th, 2008, 21:10

Okay. But I like my Supreme Commander, CoH, and other RTS fare

...and I can really see those games demanding more than 2gb of ram in the future since supcom already maxs 2gb on the largest 8 player maps

maybe 3gb? is it ok to have 3 dimms? I always thought it had to be an even number for some reason.

edit: and I don't even own photoshop. Honestly, i'm pretty pathetic because I really under utilize my comp

as long as I can play games for a few years before upgrading again, i'm set. I know it sounds awfully stereotypical of someone as learned as myself about computers, but its true :/

Sceptor · June 8th, 2008, 21:39

If you only run 3 dimms for ram I wouldnt advise it as you loose the dual channel mode.
Try to keep in sets of 2 or 4 for your best performance

I know it isnt that much better in some cases but still I wouldnt advise it

MrPink · June 8th, 2008, 23:12

so if i get 4 x 1gb dimms they will oc better than 2x2gb?
well this'll make shopping for good kits easier since the 2x1gb ones are always the highest performance (highest mhz with the tightest timings

)

Sceptor · June 8th, 2008, 23:59

Well it really depends on several things.. first of all not all 1gb dimms do better then 2gb.. Check out some reviews before you make your purchase to see what the overall percent is of people that get a good OC.. I have 4 gigs of ram 2x2gb and they overclock very well for the price.
But to answer your question you are right that normally 1gb sticks do OC better then 2gb's ones due to voltages and timmings. Hope that helps maybe some

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPink

so if i get 4 x 1gb dimms they will oc better than 2x2gb?
well this'll make shopping for good kits easier since the 2x1gb ones are always the highest performance (highest mhz with the tightest timings

)

Yes, that's true, in all cases. Unless the 1GB sticks are totally teh sux.

As for SupCom, 4GB is enough.

If you get lags, blame your sub-3GHz dual-core processor. The game lags even with a 4GHz Penryn.

skoreanime · June 9th, 2008, 00:33

2GB's is pretty much a need nowadays, with apps becoming more and more system eaters nowadays....especially for Vista and gamers. For Vista, even more so, so 4GB for Vista is like 2GB for XP.

If you want a good set that overclocks well, Crucial Ballistix is a popular brand. Micron D9s are the best for overclocking, especially with a budget build.

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by skoreanime

2GB's is pretty much a need nowadays, with apps becoming more and more system eaters nowadays....especially for Vista and gamers. For Vista, even more so, so 4GB for Vista is like 2GB for XP.

Turn off page file.

You'll notice a significant performance boost.

Quote:

If you want a good set that overclocks well, Crucial Ballistix is a popular brand. Micron D9s are the best for overclocking, especially with a budget build.

Crucial Ballistix memory modules only used to be good. They suck now. Micron D9s have a lot of variant, and Crucial doesn't have the best sticks, evidently. If you want those good sticks, start eying Team Group and the such.

MrPink · June 9th, 2008, 00:42

i've always wondered: how can you tell which memory chips are in what brands? I always read about "micron such and such chips giving monster overclocks" but where do you find this out? is it on the manufacturers website; Corsair, G.skill, OCZ, etc.?

i spied these on newegg
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

in the second review someone said they oc'd to 2000mhz with 8-7-6-18 timings

. Does this memory happen to have the fabled micron chips?

Quote:

Originally Posted by runawayprisoner

Turn off page file.

You'll notice a significant performance boost.

this is one of the reasons i was looking at 4gb kits, i would buy two for a total of 8gb or ram then disable my pagefile

are you telling him to do this with only 4gb of memory?

Last edited by MrPink; June 9th, 2008 at 00:44.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 00:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPink

this is one of the reasons i was looking at 4gb kits, i would buy two for a total of 8gb or ram then disable my pagefile

are you telling him to do this with only 4gb of memory?

Do so even at 1GB total.

Why? Because accessing your HDD is hella slower than accessing your RAM. Previously, the concept of page file was to prevent RAM from being overwritten (from an application that uses way too much memory space), but it's kind of useless now.

I'm running my Vista computer without a page file at only 1GB (single stick).

P.S.: And even with that, only Crysis would lag. No other game I play lags.

MrPink · June 9th, 2008, 01:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by runawayprisoner

Do so even at 1GB total.

Why? Because accessing your HDD is hella slower than accessing your RAM. Previously, the concept of page file was to prevent RAM from being overwritten (from an application that uses way too much memory space), but it's kind of useless now.

I'm running my Vista computer without a page file at only 1GB (single stick).

P.S.: And even with that, only Crysis would lag. No other game I play lags.

well when i'm 40min into a supcom match and the game is using 1.5 to 1.8gb...memory tends to, run out

even so, i've got my pagefile set to 2gb and i have 2gb of ram and never get any problems. i suppose i would disable it if i had 4gb of ram

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 01:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPink

well when i'm 40min into a supcom match and the game is using 1.5 to 1.8gb...memory tends to, run out

even so, i've got my pagefile set to 2gb and i have 2gb of ram and never get any problems. i suppose i would disable it if i had 4gb of ram

Actually, it won't die. Trust me. Just turn it off, and run the game, then see for yourself. It won't exceed 1.8GHz.

If you ask me why, it's because the game reserved an amount of available memory before hand, and if any application steps into that memory space, Windows will automatically prevent them from doing so. So... just try.

**Cid Highwind** · June 9th, 2008, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPink

so if i get 4 x 1gb dimms they will oc better than 2x2gb?
well this'll make shopping for good kits easier since the 2x1gb ones are always the highest performance (highest mhz with the tightest timings

)

The only thing you won't be able to do is set your latencies to 1T, which actually happens to be the most performance enhancing of the entire set. Unless newer RAM and chipsets can prevent this forced thing.

__________________
PC Specs:
CPU: Intel Q8200 @ 2.8GHz // GPU: Sapphire ATi HD5870 1GB // Mobo: Gigabyte EP35-DS3
RAM: 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 // HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint // SPU: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music
PSU: Hiper Type-R 580W // Monitor: Iiyama B2403WS / 1920*1200

Join the NGEmu Folding @ Home community NOW!

MrPink · June 9th, 2008, 18:14

can you set to 1T with a 2x2gb kit?

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 18:32

Yes, if it's a golden pair of 2GB sticks, and if your motherboard can stand the strain. Practically, that's like... 1 stick out of every 1000 sticks, and the motherboard that can stand the strain has gotta be a monster.

**Cid Highwind** · June 9th, 2008, 18:35

Really? I thought it wasn't possible due to the fact you'd be pairing up four sticks, independent of the size of them.

__________________
PC Specs:
CPU: Intel Q8200 @ 2.8GHz // GPU: Sapphire ATi HD5870 1GB // Mobo: Gigabyte EP35-DS3
RAM: 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 // HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint // SPU: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music
PSU: Hiper Type-R 580W // Monitor: Iiyama B2403WS / 1920*1200

Join the NGEmu Folding @ Home community NOW!

runawayprisoner · June 9th, 2008, 18:49

Ehh... 4x 1GB would be harder.

Actually, I don't think I've even heard of that. 2x 2GB should be more possible, and 2x 1GB should be easier. However, that doesn't mean just about anyone can do it. It won't be so stable, either.

June 8th, 2008, 20:48	#1
MrPink Pink Poney Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Big Sky Country Posts: 727	What do you think of 2GB memory kits vs. 4GB kits? I'm wondering this because there are some 2gb (2 x 1gb) DDR3 kits on newegg that are really actually affordable. Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory Do you think it'd be a bad idea to buy all 1gb DIMMS and max out the memory capacity of your system at 4GB? I i've only been looking at 4GB kits recently so I can max out at 8GB....but considering how most programs are still 32-bit, their usage is limited at ~2gb.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

June 8th, 2008, 20:52	#2
runawayprisoner Level 9998 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Java Posts: 9,377	Do you do professional image editing, movie editing and professional 3D rendering? If not, then 4GB is already overkill. It's better to have 4x 1GB than 2x 2GB or even 4x 2GB simply because 1GB sticks are easier to overclock.

June 8th, 2008, 21:01	#3
MrPink Pink Poney Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Big Sky Country Posts: 727	I don't do anything on my comp besides watch anime, browse, and game (school work doesn't count). Right now I have 2 x 1gb of DDR I wondered because my 2gb has lasted me the life of my chipset...an nforce 4 socket 939. I doubt 2gb will last the life of my next upgrade, but do you think 4gb might? Because yeah, I do know that smaller dimms oc better than heavier ones. Can you see games consuming more than 2gb of ram in the future? Though, they'd have to start making them 64-bit first which I haven't seen except for Crysis and Hellgate.

June 8th, 2008, 21:07	#4
runawayprisoner Level 9998 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Java Posts: 9,377	Crysis needs only 2GB for maximum details and everything else. Unless you often forget to turn off Photoshop before you run Crysis, there is not a single reason why you have to go for more than 2GB.

June 8th, 2008, 21:10	#5
MrPink Pink Poney Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Big Sky Country Posts: 727	Okay. But I like my Supreme Commander, CoH, and other RTS fare ...and I can really see those games demanding more than 2gb of ram in the future since supcom already maxs 2gb on the largest 8 player maps maybe 3gb? is it ok to have 3 dimms? I always thought it had to be an even number for some reason. edit: and I don't even own photoshop. Honestly, i'm pretty pathetic because I really under utilize my comp as long as I can play games for a few years before upgrading again, i'm set. I know it sounds awfully stereotypical of someone as learned as myself about computers, but its true :/

June 8th, 2008, 21:39	#6
Sceptor @ES Supporter Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: guess Posts: 144	If you only run 3 dimms for ram I wouldnt advise it as you loose the dual channel mode. Try to keep in sets of 2 or 4 for your best performance I know it isnt that much better in some cases but still I wouldnt advise it

June 8th, 2008, 23:12	#7
MrPink Pink Poney Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Big Sky Country Posts: 727	so if i get 4 x 1gb dimms they will oc better than 2x2gb? well this'll make shopping for good kits easier since the 2x1gb ones are always the highest performance (highest mhz with the tightest timings )

June 8th, 2008, 23:59	#8
Sceptor @ES Supporter Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: guess Posts: 144	Well it really depends on several things.. first of all not all 1gb dimms do better then 2gb.. Check out some reviews before you make your purchase to see what the overall percent is of people that get a good OC.. I have 4 gigs of ram 2x2gb and they overclock very well for the price. But to answer your question you are right that normally 1gb sticks do OC better then 2gb's ones due to voltages and timmings. Hope that helps maybe some

June 9th, 2008, 00:33	#10
skoreanime Your resident reaper... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 6,031	2GB's is pretty much a need nowadays, with apps becoming more and more system eaters nowadays....especially for Vista and gamers. For Vista, even more so, so 4GB for Vista is like 2GB for XP. If you want a good set that overclocks well, Crucial Ballistix is a popular brand. Micron D9s are the best for overclocking, especially with a budget build.

June 9th, 2008, 18:14	#17
MrPink Pink Poney Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Big Sky Country Posts: 727	can you set to 1T with a 2x2gb kit?

June 9th, 2008, 18:32	#18
runawayprisoner Level 9998 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Java Posts: 9,377	Yes, if it's a golden pair of 2GB sticks, and if your motherboard can stand the strain. Practically, that's like... 1 stick out of every 1000 sticks, and the motherboard that can stand the strain has gotta be a monster.

June 9th, 2008, 18:35	#19
Cid Highwind The Hunter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NL Posts: 15,877	Really? I thought it wasn't possible due to the fact you'd be pairing up four sticks, independent of the size of them. __________________ PC Specs: CPU: Intel Q8200 @ 2.8GHz // GPU: Sapphire ATi HD5870 1GB // Mobo: Gigabyte EP35-DS3 RAM: 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 // HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint // SPU: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music PSU: Hiper Type-R 580W // Monitor: Iiyama B2403WS / 19201200 Join the NGEmu Folding @ Home community NOW!*

June 9th, 2008, 18:49	#20
runawayprisoner Level 9998 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Java Posts: 9,377	Ehh... 4x 1GB would be harder. Actually, I don't think I've even heard of that. 2x 2GB should be more possible, and 2x 1GB should be easier. However, that doesn't mean just about anyone can do it. It won't be so stable, either.