Do i need 2 Gb of memory?

[YceC]

If i am trying to get a gaming PC.
Would be absolutly necesary to have 2 Gb of ram?
1 whant to get 1 Gb, but i have some questions

the motherboard suports only 800\667 memory.
I should get a 800 mhz memory with CAS4 or 3, or i should get a 1066 mhz memory with CAS4 or 5.

Also, if i have a good CPU and a decent video card, is there necesary to get 1 more Gb of ram, for my games to run at high levels?
I whant to get all the new games... sow....

 

[Mondoman]

What motherboard and CPU will you be using? Will you be overclocking the CPU?
1GB (as 2x512MB) is enough for now; with a four-slot MB, you can always add more later.

 

[YceC]

i what to get an pentium core2 duo E6400, and yes i will overclock it a little.
And for motherboard i will go for
ASUS P5W-DH-DELUXE, socket 775 
or
Gigabyte DS4

but i should get a 800mhz ddr2 or 1066 ddr2 CAS4 ???

 

[ZozZoz]

if you overclock a little, than 800mhz will do just fine.
there's mobos out there that supposedly support 1066 ddr2, but in fact can't make it work at those speeds, even some of the top asus models.

 

[YceC]

Thanks.

i will overclok my cpu to 2.4 or 2.7.. or around there.
and i will go for 800 mhz memory CAS 4 from corsair, but for the latest games, i really need 2 Gb?
since the video card alredy has 640 mb memory, do i see the big diference between games running on 1 Gb Ram and those running on 2 Gb ram?

 

[BigOldAl]

With the setup you suggested it should be OK for now with 1GB of RAM, DDR2/800. However I wouldn't go for 2X512MB, since by the end of the year you would probably go for more RAM anyway. Just buy brand-name RAM, so you can create your dual-channel later.

 

[kickbutt]

Still most games run good / desent on 1Gb but if u can afford 2Gb go for it (many new games make good use of it + Multi works better).

And when the game DO make use of the extra RAM it will make a large diffrence on performance.

For the ram 800Mhz cas 4 should do fine (with some extra voltage it will prob go higher / or same speed with some better timings - use the money from going from cas3 -> cas4 to get 1GB more ram)

Why wouldnt mb work with 1066?? Off course they do
U should run the ram with 1:1 thats 400*8=3200MHz => 800MHz
That is what u should aim for (and of course u can clock it higher if u can/ want to...)

 

[Mondoman]

...
Why wouldnt mb work with 1066??

Because DDR2-1066 is currently the "bleeding edge" of memory technology. Many MB designs cannot handle that speed with any RAM; even those that can will be picky about the RAM that works at that speed.

...U should run the ram with 1:1 thats 400*8=3200MHz => 800MHz

this calc is pretty confusing. If the FSB (CPU) is OC'd to 400MHz, then its bandwidth is 400MHz * 4 = 1600MHz. On the memory side, 1600MHz in dual-channel mode is 800MHz per channel, or DDR2-800 memory speed.

 

[kickbutt]

this calc is pretty confusing. If the FSB (CPU) is OC'd to 400MHz, then its bandwidth is 400MHz * 4 = 1600MHz. On the memory side, 1600MHz in dual-channel mode is 800MHz per channel, or DDR2-800 memory speed.

kk sorry

400 fsb = 1600MHz Quad pump
ddr2 800MHz ram 400x2 800MHz
So 400MHz FSB + 400(x2=800) Ram -> 1:1 ratio

What I was pointing out was that his cpu (6400) is a 8 divider and with a 400MHz FSB (thats 1600 quad pumped) will give him 400*8=3200MHz CPU speed - and he should then go with 1:1 for best performance
He could go with 2:3 div for 1200 ram or 4:5 for 1000MHz ram
the 4:5 will prob give him worse performance (given higher timings and the "divider penalty" (not going 1:1) 1200MHz might give then adge in some applications but here we start having some MB trubbles - u need top edge with wery pricy MB and RAM.

Sorry for for not pointing it out but as most ppl here know it...

Most good quality MB (asus gigabyte) is good for 1066 Ram
Sure they can be picky with timings and brands but thats how it is.
(most is irond out tough)

Edit this is a false statement
***And going with 2:3 or 4:5 div will often give u worse performance then going 1:1***
KK so U will often not get any gains (1%) going from good latancy 1:1 to higher latancy 4:5 - so 1:1 is prefered.

Srry again for not beeing clear about what I was trying to say

 

[Mondoman]

...
Most good quality MB (asus gigabyte) is good for 1066 Ram
Sure they can be picky with timings and brands but thats how it is.

You're right that the better quality the MB, the better the chance of running DDR2-1066 w/o problems; you need to do your research first. (Pickiness is part of the "bleeding edge" I was talking about)

And going with 2:3 or 4:5 div will often give u worse performance

Do you have a link for this? The data I've seen shows the opposite, except for really slow latencies (see http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=1962&articID=472 ).

 

[kickbutt]

You're right that the better quality the MB, the better the chance of running DDR2-1066 w/o problems; you need to do your research first. (Pickiness is part of the "bleeding edge" I was talking about)

Do you have a link for this? The data I've seen shows the opposite, except for really slow latencies (see http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=1962&articID=472 ).

1st there are many mb that can run 1066MHz ram
And I have done my reserch the mb I mentiond in my prev post (asus and gigabyte can run 1066 and higher) Are this somting to iam for if your not running the ram in 1:1? No but if u want to klock your 6300 to 500+ FSB then u need ram that can to ...

Sry I have looked for over 30min and I cant find the one Im looking for

And yes just regarding ram speed my statemen was False I have corrected it
"U will not really gain anything (if any) from going 1:1" is much better

But go back on the one u posted from mad shrimps
the 533 is the mem running in 1:1 (266FSB)
U can see even there the diffrence between
533 -> 667 thats 4:5
533 -> 800 thats 2:3

533with good timings beat 667 and comes close to 800

So ...
RAM running in 1:1 IS the best price/performance wise

EDIT : This was not the link I was looking for but ...
It clearly show the benefits from going 1:1 instead of going with divider and higher speed ram
http://www.tech-hounds.com/article24/ArticlesPage2.html

 

[YceC]

Ok, stop the fight.

I will go with 2Gb of Dominator, at 800 CAS4...
i think this will make my day....