How much ram do you have and what type of ram are you using?

[Ninjabear]

I know most of you would have 1gb ddr sdram but would it boost much performance for a intel 3ghz computer to have 2gb ddrsdram?

Would it make much performance in terms of incoding movies?

Would all 1Gb ram be used to incode movies or is there a maxiumum about xp allows certain amount of ram be used?

Im sure there should be no limit...

[drcspy]

well I dont got a gb of ram I usually only have 512mb in the system altho occasionally I'll chuck another stick in just for fun. AS for video encoding nope i dont believe that doubleing your ram is gonna do much at all it'll only perhaps allow you to do something else as well when you are encoding..........how about playing around wiht hyperthreading, try turning it off for encoding it may 'focus' the cpu a bit better on that single task.

[Big John]

I know most of you would have 1gb ddr sdram but would it boost much performance for a intel 3ghz computer to have 2gb ddrsdram?

Would it make much performance in terms of incoding movies?

Would all 1Gb ram be used to incode movies or is there a maxiumum about xp allows certain amount of ram be used?

Im sure there should be no limit...

1GB of DDR2. The more ram you have the more programs you can run at the same time without the swap file kicking in too much and slowing things down. Also Dual Channel has to be a must if you want real speed.

[Metla]

Video-encoding uses 100 percent of system resources, Its a very intensive task for any computer to take on, The faster components and more resources you have the quicker the job will be done. 2GB of ram should give a performance increase provided you have the cpu,harddrives and motherboard to match it (by this I mean a well balenced system with no bottlenecks, an unhealty OS could be termed a bottleneck as well)

Dual channel will give minimal increase in performance, possibly a couple of minutes knocked off a job that takes hours (Shock horrer, there are "budget" nforce2 boards out there that only suport single channel that outperform dual channel boards)

[Alexf2]

Video encoding is a CPU intensive task, and since the CPU is the bottleneck in this case there is nothing to be gained from adding ram. If while encoding you find the hard drive churning over due to paging and the CPU isn't at 100% then there would be something to be gained, but once you go over 1gb diminishing returns applies.

1gb is the sweet spot these days and unless you are running several memory intensive applications at once you don't really need any more. :)

(that's not to say it isn't nice to have though ;))

edit: I have 1gb in single channel. Tried 1.5gb once but couldn't perceive any difference.

[pctek]

I have 1 Gb of DDR400 which is being used as dual channel.Whether I need it or not is another thing...

[plod]

I have 1.5 of ram runs fine, as for video encoding I usually hit the start button as I walk off to bed, that way I'm not tempted to play around while it's doing it's thing.

[Prescott]

i think 4gb is the limit that xp accepts

[Speedy Gonzales]

And it also depends on how much the mobo can handle / go up to.

Not all mobos can go to 4 GB.

I use 1 GB of DDR on 2 PC's here

[Morgenmuffel]

I have 20Mb of ram on my lc 575 mac, and as they say its not the size that matters it's what you do with it, (I use it as a paper weight)

Hmmmm, I feel quite inadaquete(spellingk), just as well the work machine has 500Mb, would doubling the ram (on the work machine) make a noticeable difference it has an nforce mobo asus a7n8X something xp2500+

and while we're at it would increasing the ram on the mac make a difference, it's quite a handy machine for the kids to use, but painfully slow online we're on bitstream but it crawls as if it's on dialup

cheers

[BootyLicious]

You could be better off with a faster hard drive.

i have 1 gig of ram, 4 harddrives, 3ghz p4, and a video camera.

[Ninjabear]

Im getting 1gb ddr 400 ram and Uh 80gb harddrive with ati 9500se.My dad used some third party software to enable to other 4 pipe lines.Now there are 8 running.
I will be encoding alot of memories and play alot of games.DO i really need more than 1gb ram?

How much are 1Gb ram?My dad says at the moment you won't be able to get any more ram because it has 2x Dimm slots.2x 512 ddr.If u wanna get more ram u will have to buy 2x 1GB ddr ram

[Metla]

1GB is plenty, Hell, I only have 512mb and the machine is a rocket.

[vapo]

Going from a computer with 512 MB to one with 1 GB of RAM you will notice smoother graphics in games due to the page file not being used as much. Sometimes with 512MB and a memory intensive game (most new ones) you may notice stuttering or pauses and this is due to the page file being used to cache important game files.

The difference isn't exactly measurable in frames per second, you won't see much of an increase there, the difference is in how smooth the gameplay will be. 1.5GB is supposed to be even better.

Multitasking is also a lot nicer on 1GB systems and up depending on what type of work you are doing.

[Ninjabear]

Encoding videos is what i meant not encoding memories...Wrong word..


With 1gb ram.Does windows xp need to use any virtual memory at all?

[SonicNZ2]

I have 1.5 GB of RAM upgraded from 512, 4 sticks of it running in Duel Channel mode. It's the Adata brand. Since I got it cheap I wasn't really worried about any sort of performance gain, to my surprise games run heaps better as well as my apps.

Basically 1 GB is fast becoming the minimum these days and the more RAM Windows has the better.

[Renmoo]

i think 4gb is the limit that xp accepts
Modern Mobos can support up to 4GB of RAM (Not talking about PCI-e), while XP can support up to 2GB of RAM.

Cheers :)

[godfather]

James, XP can support 4 GB of RAM
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/india/Pages/WinXP_FA_Upgrade_100401_757.htm

I doubt that it will actually use it, but it will address it.

[Myth]

If you are thinking of getting 1GB of RAM, I personally would go for 2*512MB sticks.
As far as my specs, I have 1*512MB PC3200 DDR although the mobo slows it down a bit (MSI P4MAM)

[Renmoo]

James, XP can support 4 GB of RAM
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/india/Pages/WinXP_FA_Upgrade_100401_757.htm

I doubt that it will actually use it, but it will address it.
I appologise for any confusion that may have inflicted upon any people who read my previous post above. And thanks godfather for correcting my mistake! :thumbs:

Cheers :)

[JJJJJ]

James, XP can support 4 GB of RAM
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/india/Pages/WinXP_FA_Upgrade_100401_757.htm

I doubt that it will actually use it, but it will address it.

But how do you fit 4 gigs in? My asus mb has only three slots. I know intel have 4, but where do you get 1 gb sticks of ram?

[Speedy Gonzales]

But how do you fit 4 gigs in? My asus mb has only three slots. I know intel have 4, but where do you get 1 gb sticks of ram?

You cant or wont get 4gb, unless u have 4 slots.

Some places in NZ do sell 1GB but not many...Most shops dont think people will buy them.

[godfather]

Windows XP supporting 4 GB is totally different to your motherboard supporting it.

[Rob99]

My mobo has 4 slots, so one would think I could jam 4X1Gb sticks to give me 4Gb on board. But the mobo will only take 6 sides of ram, so unless I can find single sided 1Gb sticks the most I will be able to run is 3Gb.

With the new OS comming out next year and running 64bit how, if I wanted to, would I go about installing 16Gb or more ram?

[Edward]

Encoding videos is what i meant not encoding memories...Wrong word..


With 1gb ram.Does windows xp need to use any virtual memory at all?

IIRC windows xp uses virtual ram no matter how much normal ram you have

[sambaird]

and while we're at it would increasing the ram on the mac make a difference, it's quite a handy machine for the kids to use, but painfully slow online we're on bitstream but it crawls as if it's on dialup

cheers
how are you connecting the mac to the router the network card may be to slow
or it may just be to old

[Morgenmuffel]

Wow a reply to my little old Mac diversion
thanks Sam :thumbs:
It connects

network card ---> hub -----> router ---> wild blue yonder

don't know how to check the speed of network card ( not up on Macs ) --it was pretty hard to get a network card for it in the first place (the mac cost $5), and the cheapest I could find a nic was $50, finally got one from a friend for $4

I have a feeling its possibly the small amount of ram, i'm running iCab browser which is marginally slower than the old netscape 3 or 4, but it works with 90% of the sites

none of the old edo ram I have works in it either, night be different type of EDO who knows

Cheers

[Ninjabear]

I think I will upgrade my graphics card.

I have 9500 se ati radeon.What would be the upgrade version of that?

I don't want a graphics card too expensive or too cheap.

I just want something that will play high end games which will help with the 1gb ram I have

I have agp 8x but don't have any pci express slots

[gibler]

I have 20Mb of ram on my lc 575 mac, and as they say its not the size that matters it's what you do with it, (I use it as a paper weight)

Hmmmm, I feel quite inadaquete(spellingk), just as well the work machine has 500Mb, would doubling the ram (on the work machine) make a noticeable difference it has an nforce mobo asus a7n8X something xp2500+

and while we're at it would increasing the ram on the mac make a difference, it's quite a handy machine for the kids to use, but painfully slow online we're on bitstream but it crawls as if it's on dialup

cheers

lc575 info (http://www.lowendmac.com/500/lc575.shtml) That is a very old mac - I'd just throw it in the trash where I work...

[Morgenmuffel]

Throw out a working computer!!!
I remember when my old 386SX with mono screen and 40Mb harddrive got tossed about 4yrs ago I was most out out (probably the best thing for it though)

but seriously it works, and is quite easy for the kids to use (there is also a PC they use), just need to get more ram and software for it

Is therea way to tell what speed ram is (the old edo ram) and if it's doble banked or single banked

cheers

[gibler]

Yep you have to throw them out as no one wants to pick them up for free and they just sit around and don't get used.

Anyway, if it is double banked then there will be chips on both sides of the ram module. The speed is usually marked at the end of some sort of code either as a sticker or marked onto a chip on the ram module e.g 64MNNBF-75 (the 75 would indicate the speed).

[azaufc]

I have a single stick of DDR2 pc4200 Corsair RAM in my Abit AA8XE Mobo.
It's not just about the size of the ram, you have to look at the speeds and cas timings etc.. I am thinking about buying another stick and making it dual channel 2gb. For $190, its a waste if i dont need it, and i have no probs atm.

To reply to a previous post, 1gb sticks are pretty easy to come across pm me and i can direct you if you want. You can even go for a 2gb stick! Although with only 3 dimm slots, i doubt your mobos would support more than 2 or 3 gb anyway.

CHeers