Best RAM Upgrade: DDR2-667 PC2-5300

[radowl]

I asked this question in the wrong forum, so I'm asking again here. I want to upgrade my RAM (DDR2-667 PC2-5300). My Gateway 6850fx notebook has a 2gb and a 1gb stick factory installed, and can support 2x2gb. To save money I thought of just buying a 2gb stick of Kingston ValueRam and pairing it with the installed 2gb stick. But Tom's advice is to buy 2 of the same sticks. Any advice from the great folks here?

Why upgrade? My computer bogs down during big fights in Counter-Strike Source, and my guess is that the 3gb of system RAM for a 32-bit Vista OS machine is not enough. If I'm going to upgrade, I want the fastest RAM for gaming and graphics. Kingston is recommended in Tom's forum, but I'm also looking at Patriot, PNY and Crucial. Recommendations? THank you!!!

PS- I'm running the Crucial memory scanner right now ... waiting for results.

PSS - The computer has 512mb of dedicated video memory.

 

[whoelseisbored]

I'm not a player of CSS (or a fan for that matter ;D) but it's a bit odd that ever with 2gb of ram and a 512mb gpu that you are getting crunching in it. Requirements is only 512mb ram and a directx 8.1 gpu (probably at most 256mb).

Sorry i cant add any more than that. Just thought it was a bit odd :/

 

[Gamer-girl]

According to Microsoft's own knowledge base article 929605, all 32-bit versions of Vista support up to 4GB of memory, but the actual usable address space will be less than 4GB. The reason for this is that a section of the memory is set aside for memory map interfaces. This is generally a space that is set aside to ensure driver compatibility and the amount used will vary depending upon the devices installed in the system. Typically, a system with 4GB of RAM will report only 3.5GB of addressable space.

Your vram will also eat into this aswell so really after upgrading to 4GB you will only see around 3.2GB in windows.

Says on the gateway site that you have a mobility radeon hd 2600 512mb graphics card am i right? This might be the weak point in your system.

Can lower your graphics settings? You could also try disabling Aero in vista.

I don't think upgrading your ram is worth it, save your money.

 

[radowl]

I think you're right: the video card is the weak point in the system, though the graphic settings are low and I can get 100+ fps on 32-person servers (had it running at more than 200 fps a few weeks ago). I'll watch my performance monitor during game play and it will sometimes lag terribly. My CPU will jump to 100% for a minute or more but then falls back normal, only to spike again moments later. I turned off all unnecessary Windows services, turned down the graphics, turned off all Windows pretty graphics features that eat video resources, and turned Norton on silent mode.

I'll look into disabling Aero. This is the best I can do until Santa Claus shows up with a new computer. Gotta work with what I have.

Thanks for your reply!

PS - I ordered 4gb of G.Skill CL 5 RAM last night from Newegg. Turns out that the factory installed two different kinds of RAM memory, one pc-5400 and the other pc-6200. Violates the golden rule to always match RAM sticks, but what do I expect for a TigerDirect refurb?

 

[Gamer-girl]

maybe you should replace norton with avast, avg or microsoft security essentials(they are all free- you don't have to get the premium edition).

I you like the silent mode in norton avast has a gaming mode which i think is similar. Norton is a resource hog, might want to see what time at automatic scans are too.

 

[radowl]

Yesterday I combed over my system to turn off anything that isn't needed, then applied a bunch of settings to lessen the load on the vid card and CPU. Seems to have worked well so far -- my FPS in CSS stayed pretty steady. Norton is a resource hog, for sure, but silent mode pretty much puts it in the background while the game is being run. The biggest difference was probably the "-high" command in CSS launch options, setting the game as the highest priority for the CPU. Big fight scenes still bogged the system down to about half its normal frame rate, but that's enough to keep game play smooth. I might still switch to Avast....

Thanks, gamer! BTW, my favorite CSS server is 47-R. I go by "[D]elete" so say hi if you ever drop by...

 

[Gamer-girl]

your welcome but I don't play CSS or any CS for that matter, might pick it up when the next version comes out if it's not too close to BF3.

 

[radowl]

I'm not a player of CSS (or a fan for that matter ;D) but it's a bit odd that ever with 2gb of ram and a 512mb gpu that you are getting crunching in it. Requirements is only 512mb ram and a directx 8.1 gpu (probably at most 256mb).

Sorry i cant add any more than that. Just thought it was a bit odd :/

My sense is the problems occur mostly on really big 32-player servers. When testing the graphics card I get great fps -- in combat with 20 little guys running around on the screen my i/o shoots through the roof and fps drops in half. But yes, the minimum requirements to run the game are a bit deceptive. It works when playing single player, but big multiplayer servers require powerful systems and super fast Internet connections.