DDR2 800 4 x 1 or DDR2 1066 2 x 2

[toddstew]

I am currently running windows XP and am getting ready upgrade to Windows 7. My Gigabyte MB currently has G Skill DDR2 2 x 1GB memory. I want 4 GB ram.

Would it be better to simply add two more 1 GB memory modules at DDR2 or would it be better performance to replace the current memory with DDR2 1066 2GB x 2 for a 4GB configuration? Would there be much noticeable difference regarding watching Netflix online and some games?

My CPU is an AMD Brisbane X2 2.7 GHz.

Thanks for your help.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

If you are moving to win7 soon, my advice is to go win 64bit. 4gb in vista or win7 is fine, but I know when I went from 4gb to 8gb my system ran smoother, and responded more quickly. It didn't speed up programs very much if at all, but thangs like multitasking, and general usage was much more favorable.

Even though I tweak my system, and minimize starter programs, with 4gb at windows start up I had about 30% memory usage, now it's down to about 16%. I don't feel the same lag that I used to feel.

My advice, install 6gb, if it works great, if not, stick with the 4gb. It only takes a few seconds to install/uninstall ram,

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

There is a great article that expresses your very question. You can read the whole thang, or just read the first couple paragraphs on the last page. I hope this helps.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html

When I had XP and 4gb ram, with 512mb descreete card, my properties shows 3.25gb ram. There is only a total of 4gb of system memory supported, which you probably aready know. So I'd imagine that onboard would be the same.

 

[toddstew]

Best answer selected by ToddStew.

 

[toddstew]

There is a great article that expresses your very question. You can read the whole thang, or just read the first couple paragraphs on the last page. I hope this helps.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html

When I had XP and 4gb ram, with 512mb descreete card, my properties shows 3.25gb ram. There is only a total of 4gb of system memory supported, which you probably aready know. So I'd imagine that onboard would be the same.

wow. that is an excellent article. greatly helpful. Now I'm ready to load up my mb with 16 GB of ram...it's frustrating that 4gb modules are still so expensive. I'll have to suffice with 6 gb for now.

 

[toddstew]

well...clearly is was oblivious...DDR3 4gb modules are dirt cheap. DDR2 4gb sticks are expensive. I may need to rethink this. I'm thinking i mb + RAM + CPU is all going to happen for less than 16gb of DDR2 RAM.

O my goodness. DDR3 is revolutionary.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

Honestly, jumping to 6 or 8gb would be a huge leap for you. I think you would be pleased with the results.

I was like you thinking the switch to DDR3 would bring a huge increase in performance, but for me it was a waste of money.

I went from AMD x4 oc'd to 3.6ghz 8gb DDR2 @940mhz, to AMD x4 @4ghz with 8gb DDR3 @1660 mhz, and I haven't noticed a single difference. I switched bcuz I wanted a mobo with two PCIe x 16 slots. I regret the purchase.