More RAM..faster game? - Printable Version
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More RAM..faster game? by Rubber Stamp on 01-14-2006 at 05:22 AM
i have a 256 mb gforce gfx card..but when i run games like quake 4 or nfsmw on high gfx settings, they run slow. i have 512 mb RAM, so if i upgrade my RAM to say 1024 mb, will they run fine?
does my gfx card support it?
RE: More RAM..faster game? by [MR] on 01-14-2006 at 05:32 AM
more ram will help, but what is the speed of your cpu, that can also be the problem.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by Rubber Stamp on 01-14-2006 at 05:38 AM
2.66 GHz, its an intel P4.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by Adeptus on 01-14-2006 at 06:24 AM
As [MR] said, more RAM never hurts (to a certain point). Going from 512MB to 1GB usually makes a very nice difference.
However, you didn't say what kind of graphics card you have. There are all sorts of Nvidia GPU-based cards that have been offered with 256MB -- including lower end "value" products.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by Rubber Stamp on 01-14-2006 at 06:42 AM
yeah i have the value product..FX 5200.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-14-2006 at 11:52 AM
Adding another 512Mb module would help... but what is really holding your PC is the video card, which is a bit obsolete for the new games, get at least a 6600GT and you would be perfect!
RE: More RAM..faster game? by ShawnZ on 01-14-2006 at 12:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by D:Frag
Adding another 512Mb module would help... but what is really holding your PC is the video card, which is a bit obsolete for the new games, get at least a 6600GT and you would be perfect!
At least? I have a 5500GT(OC) and it runs any game fine...
RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-14-2006 at 12:30 PM
At top settings? You have the GT Overclocked, so it should run games at good settings, but not to the max, have you tried F.E.A.R.?
RE: More RAM..faster game? by ShawnZ on 01-14-2006 at 12:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by D:Frag
At top settings? You have the GT Overclocked, so it should run games at good settings, but not to the max, have you tried F.E.A.R.?
No I haven't... by the way, it's overclocked to 290/410 MHz
RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-14-2006 at 01:03 PM
nice clocks there for that card... the 6600GT is about 500/1000 std and it's not expensive, around $120 USD, which is great value for price... even the 6800GS's price is going down too... not to say the 7800GT between $400 and $500, but that's overkill for now 
I tried Quake 4 on the 6600GT 128Mb and runs fine at 1024 x 768 on max settings in multiplayer. F.E.A.R. still thinks it needs 256Mb to get full textures, but it runs fine at same resolution.
Btw, NFSMW runs excellent at 1280 x 1024 at max settings.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by Rubber Stamp on 01-14-2006 at 04:34 PM
i usually run games at 800x640 res. bt FEAR wont even run on that.
and what exactly is overclocking, does it help in running games and how can i do that?
RE: More RAM..faster game? by ShawnZ on 01-14-2006 at 04:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by D:Frag
I tried Quake 4 on the 6600GT 128Mb and runs fine at 1024 x 768 on max settings in multiplayer. F.E.A.R. still thinks it needs 256Mb to get full textures, but it runs fine at same resolution.
Half Life 2 and Counter Strike: Source work with no lag at highest resolution and settings
RE: RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-16-2006 at 09:19 AM
quote:Wikipower: Overclocking is the process of forcing a computer component to run at a higher clock rate than designed or designated by the manufacturer.
Originally posted by Rubber Stamp
i usually run games at 800x640 res. bt FEAR wont even run on that.
and what exactly is overclocking, does it help in running games and how can i do that?
While you can overclock your card it won't be enough to play the newest games, it's not only speed they seek, but newer technologies in the newest cards too. If you want a cheap but great card that plays all current games, choose the 6600GT, if you got the $199USD then get the 6800GS. ATI makes great cards too, but my last upgrade was aimed to play specifically FEAR and Call Of Duty2, and after many recommendations and short budget, I choose the 6600GT.
More memory definitively will improve overall performance and 1Gb is greatly recommended for the newer games.
RE: RE: More RAM..faster game? by zach on 01-16-2006 at 10:45 AM
quote:So are you saying that if he (and I) buy that card, we will be able to play the latest games on high graphics fine? Then what is better about the other cards that are at least twice as expensive. I'm thinking of upgrading also.
Originally posted by D:Frag
Adding another 512Mb module would help... but what is really holding your PC is the video card, which is a bit obsolete for the new games, get at least a 6600GT and you would be perfect!
here is my results from Dacris Benchmarks
RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-16-2006 at 12:12 PM
Well... the 6600GT it's not perfect, from my own experience I'm able to play FEAR, Quake4, Call Of Duty2, with max settings except for resolution (1024 x 768) and no antialias all without lag. Need For Speed Most Wanted at 1280 x 1024 with full antialias. CPU and memory play a big part too...
Yup, even your benchmark report says your bottleneck is your video card if you can, one more stick of 512MB RAM will improve the overall performance.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by zach on 01-17-2006 at 12:26 AM
quote:Okay. It says:
Originally posted by D:Frag
. the 6600GT it's not perfect, from my own experience I'm able to play FEAR, Quake4, Call Of Duty2, with max settings except for resolution (1024 x 768) and no antialias all without lag. Need For Speed Most Wanted at 1280 x 1024 with full antialias. CPU and memory play a big part too... Yup, even your benchmark report says your bottleneck is your video card (Smilie) if you can, one more stick of 512MB RAM will improve the overall performance.
- Your memory is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
Your hard disk is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
Your video card is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
I need to update all the main components really because if I update my ram, processor, video card and hard drive I will need a new motherboard.
Edit:
ECS N2U400-A Motherboard
http://www.ecs.com.tw/products/pd_spec.asp?product_id=380
AMD Barton 2500+ Athlon CPU
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInform...0_118_3734,00.html
RE: More RAM..faster game? by Timothy003 on 01-17-2006 at 12:42 AM
If the game you are playing is laggy the whole time, then buying more RAM will only decrease rendering speeds (in 3D games) for storing lots of textures. You would need good graphics cards to keep your framerate high.
RE: RE: More RAM..faster game? by D:Frag on 01-17-2006 at 09:22 PM
quote:200Gb drives are insanely cheap these days, games today eat around 1Gb average, if you can list your motherboard make and model and your CPU (I assume it's an Athlon socket A) we'll be able to give you more suggestions.
Originally posted by zach
Okay. It says:
So I think I will need to upgrade my processor to get the most out of the other components. I was thinking of getting a new computer when Vista came out, but I think it might be better to just upgrade parts of my current computer to save costs and vista is likely to have compatibility issues. You can see that I need more disk space. What size upgrade do you recommend? I think I will need to get someone to help me format the new drive because I want to move my current programs and games to the new drive.
- Your memory is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
Your hard disk is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
Your video card is a little too fast for your processor. You may wish to upgrade your processor for better performance.
I need to update all the main components really because if I update my ram, processor, video card and hard drive I will need a new motherboard.
If you're already thinking in upgrading everything it would be better to wait, since most of the videocards today are coming in PCI-Express form and if you get the AGP version to fit your old motherboard you will be very limited when you need to upgrade it.
I upgraded to a motherboard with an AGP slot to fit my old card and save, I needed to upgrade my video card too and I already knew what card I wanted and it came in AGP version too but now I regret it, since the newest video cards only come in PCI-Express form. My 6600GT will hold on for a while, but when I need to get a better one I will have to upgrade the motherboard too.
RE: More RAM..faster game? by jordanspringer on 01-29-2006 at 08:29 PM
I currently have the ATI RADEON 9800 ALL IN WONDER PRO graphics card, 128MB. I like this graphics card alot, it supports multiple monitor support, as well as multiple inputs so you can plug in TV, VCR, XBOX or anything, and use your monitor for the screen, as well you can pause Live Tv, record tv and burn to dvd for example. I am not too familiar with graphics cards, but in todays market, how does the 9800 All in wonder Pro stack up to todays graphics cards?