Does RAM really matter?

[Domo]

I'm currently getting a 3D2001 score of just under 15,000 at 800x600. Will increasing my RAM from 512 to 1024 increase the score and (of course) make for better gaming?
I've installed Farcry and the auto-detect sets everything to medium!?
Current setup:
P4 2.6 with HT
Intel D865PERL mobo with HT enabled
512M RAM : Corsair DDR400 (2 x 256 in dual channel mode)
Asus 9600XT
XP Pro

 

[ComradeMishkin]

Well not sure, but i'm getting score just over 12k in 3dmark2001 at 1024x768, with Graphics card quite a bit slower than yours, and my rig is:

AthlonXP 2600+
Biostar M7NCD Pro
3x512Mb of RAM DDR333
GForce4 Ti4200

So i would have thought it will make the difference, not sure by how much though.

 

[splenda20]

Who cares about your 3DMark score. I know for sure that if you increase your RAM, your performance in FarCry will increase.

 

[Slava]

RAM always matters. You can never go wrong with more RAM. As long as your budget can take the hit - go for it without hesitation. In simple terms the more stuff is pre-loaded into memory the faster your CPU can access it (as opposed to accessing it on the hard drive, for example). All else equal, in general, more RAM=faster application performance.

<font color=green>Stingy people end up paying double. One kick-ass rig that will go strong for three years or one half-decent one every year?</font color=green>

 

[cleeve]

512 megs VS 1024 megs will make NO difference in 3dMark... but it will make a HUGE difference in certain games.

3dmark is a system/video card speed bench. But many games require a lot of RAM to run smoothly... especially new ones.

Load times are shorter, and swap files are used less with a gig of RAM. I was VERY surprised by the performance jump a gig gave me.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 340/310)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2750+</b></font color=red> <i>(2400+ @2.2Ghz)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b>

 

[scottchen]

I agree with you, 3dmark at 1024x768 doesn't need that more than 512mb so you wouldn't see the difference, however if you increase the res to 1600x1200 in 3dmark03, you'll see a difference.

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