System RAM upgrade question.

XabbaRus · 12-25-07, 06:20 AM

OK Xmas money is being spend on RAM upgrade. My Mobo can handle 4 GB of RAM but XP Home will only see 3 possibly 3.5 so getting 4 is pointless so I will get 3.

Now I have 4 slots so I was thinking 2 slots will have matched 1 GB modules and the other slots will have 1 x 512MB Module each matched of course. Is this the way to go?

About whether Xp 32bit can see 3GB or 3.5GB which one is correct. Either way 3.5 would end up with one unmatched pair.

Chock · 12-25-07, 07:18 AM

As far as I know, the problem is not that XP will not 'support' 4GB, as far as I'm aware, it actually will, it's just that it won't allocate more than 2GB to a single process, or at least that's the case with the 32Bit version, the 64Bit version is capable of doing so. Some older Asus motherboards can cause issues too apparently, with a bottleneck at one of the bridges. Even so, it is still worth getting 4GB of RAM, just don't expect 4GB of work on a single app.

Chock

XabbaRus · 12-25-07, 07:45 AM

Cheers chock

I know that Xp will find 3.5 of 4 and allocate the other half gig to OS or GFX card? Since my GFX card uses some system RAM this can only be good.

I'll get whole 4. A bit of reading cleared that one up.

Konovalov · 12-25-07, 08:03 AM

It seems a good time to get memory too. I can't believe how cheap it now is. A year ago it cost me £200 for some top notch Corsair Dominator DDR2 matched 2GB pair. Now I can get better RAM that that for less than £100.00.

fatty · 12-25-07, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konovalov

It seems a good time to get memory too. I can't believe how cheap it now is. A year ago it cost me £200 for some top notch Corsair Dominator DDR2 matched 2GB pair. Now I can get better RAM that that for less than £100.00.

Hell yes. I just bought 2gb of low latency OCZ dual channel DDR2-800... $20 after mail-in rebate. NOW IS THE TIME!

Godalmighty83 · 12-26-07, 06:08 AM

3gb is pointless on xp and actually slower then just a pair of 1gig sticks.

stick a decent pair of ddr2 1 gig pc6400 sticks in the 1st and 3rd ram slots for dual channel and away you go. stick another stick in and it gets knocked back down to the slightly slower single channel and xp rarely pulls more then 2gigs even with a very hefty game going.

just a few results from my system

3dmark06-

e6600 @ 3.2ghz
8800 gts 320
2x1gb sticks single channel

13412 3dmarks

3x1gb sticks single channel

13416 3dmarks

2x1gb sticks dual channel

13700 3dmarks

nowadays the graphics card is much more important presuming you have a decent c2d cpu.

12-25-07, 06:20 AM	#1
XabbaRus Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,330 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	System RAM upgrade question. OK Xmas money is being spend on RAM upgrade. My Mobo can handle 4 GB of RAM but XP Home will only see 3 possibly 3.5 so getting 4 is pointless so I will get 3. Now I have 4 slots so I was thinking 2 slots will have matched 1 GB modules and the other slots will have 1 x 512MB Module each matched of course. Is this the way to go? About whether Xp 32bit can see 3GB or 3.5GB which one is correct. Either way 3.5 would end up with one unmatched pair. __________________

12-25-07, 07:18 AM	#2
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	As far as I know, the problem is not that XP will not 'support' 4GB, as far as I'm aware, it actually will, it's just that it won't allocate more than 2GB to a single process, or at least that's the case with the 32Bit version, the 64Bit version is capable of doing so. Some older Asus motherboards can cause issues too apparently, with a bottleneck at one of the bridges. Even so, it is still worth getting 4GB of RAM, just don't expect 4GB of work on a single app. Chock __________________

12-25-07, 07:45 AM	#3
XabbaRus Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,330 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Cheers chock I know that Xp will find 3.5 of 4 and allocate the other half gig to OS or GFX card? Since my GFX card uses some system RAM this can only be good. I'll get whole 4. A bit of reading cleared that one up. __________________

12-25-07, 08:03 AM	#4
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	It seems a good time to get memory too. I can't believe how cheap it now is. A year ago it cost me £200 for some top notch Corsair Dominator DDR2 matched 2GB pair. Now I can get better RAM that that for less than £100.00. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

12-26-07, 06:08 AM	#6
Godalmighty83 Sonar Guy Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 398 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	3gb is pointless on xp and actually slower then just a pair of 1gig sticks. stick a decent pair of ddr2 1 gig pc6400 sticks in the 1st and 3rd ram slots for dual channel and away you go. stick another stick in and it gets knocked back down to the slightly slower single channel and xp rarely pulls more then 2gigs even with a very hefty game going. just a few results from my system 3dmark06- e6600 @ 3.2ghz 8800 gts 320 2x1gb sticks single channel 13412 3dmarks 3x1gb sticks single channel 13416 3dmarks 2x1gb sticks dual channel 13700 3dmarks nowadays the graphics card is much more important presuming you have a decent c2d cpu. __________________ Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?