Buying a new PC

[foq]

I would just go with the 2x1gb

[spooker]

about the having mismatched ram, from my research it looks like the big problem with that is it disables the dual data rate and sets it back to single. yeah it has to be same speed, voltage, layout (dual sided vs. single sided), but that should be easy to get

[Grim]

Okay foq important question: i have 4 ram slots, currently with 2x512 mb;

Grim, you mean 2x1GB?? 1GB memory is becoming a little bit obsolete....

His board has 4 slots according to the specs I read. ATM he has 2x512m which is 1024 or 1g of ram. He needs to either go to HP and find the same type that he has now and utilize the remaining two unused slots that would give him 2g or throw what he has away and get just two sticks. Either way would work but I can't justify not using something that's already there.

Dell, Gateway, HP are somewhat famous for having unique ram for their equipment. Usually they have custom part# that fit that machine. I'm not saying that there's nothing else that'll work, I'm simply implying that it's sometimes better to be safe than sorry.

[foq]

Girm, you mean 2x1GB?? 1GB memory is becoming a little bit obsolete....

Sole, depending on what RAM you get, adding 2 more sticks varies on the strain. My RAM takes 2.6V I beleive... some RAM takes as little as 1.8 and as much as 2.8... My processor (P4 Pescott) takes around 1.475 volts... I may be missing something, but voltwise RAM takes more than a processor... so I would stick with 2 at the most.

[Grim]

How much strain does 2 more sticks of mem cause to the PS?

Not really that much. Personally I'd go for two x 512. Something certified to work specifically in your system. Whichever way you wish to go, six one way, half a dozen another.

[Solecord]

How much strain does 2 more sticks of mem cause to the PS?

[foq]

I wouldn't try running 4x512. Not only does it put more strain on your power supply, but that configuration may have issues.

Personally, I would never try and run more than one type of ram (very specific down to speed, memory, company, voltage, model number). You could do it, but it just seems like a bad idea. I would never run more than one exact type of RAM in my system.

Spooker, that system is prebuilt right? Then you'll have a hard time finding the right model of memory... I would just buy the 2GB kit.

[spooker]

This is how I view it--the crapware on prebuilt systems is offset by the fact that you don't have to buy an operating system for $100-$200 (and i will pirate anything, except an operating system, just from practical considerations. yes the manufacturers buy windows but in bulk and they pass the savings on to you). The price of all the components for a custom system is comparable to the same hardware in a prebuilt system, but with the prebuilt you get an OS, but on the downside also crapware.

Okay foq important question: i have 4 ram slots, currently with 2x512 mb; you gave me a link to a set of 2x1 gb sticks; would that be better than adding 2 more 512 mb sticks? it is certainly more expensive. so basically, which is better, 2x1 gb or 4x512 mb?

[foq]

This is another reason why I like custom systems...
For spooker: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227210

[spooker]

ah yes grim, the stupid pre-installed programs. Ive heard someone call them "crapware". This is the one fatal flaw of prebuilt machines. I'm impressed that dell lets you choose what you want, but i suspect theres still boatloads of needless crap you don't need. No, HP didnt give me the option of what to install, i removed most of it myself, and spent a few hours documenting each of the 60-70 or so running processes. These pieces of crapware actually reduce the price of the PC, cuz software companies pay loads of money to use your new desktop as advertising space. i hate it

[Grim]

Looks fine for what your're running. Memory upgrade it is. Just like the specs call for. 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) PC-3200 MB/sec.

I noticed all the other extras that come with the software package. When installing the OS, does HP give you the option to choose what to install?

Dell does and I only installed what I use. Nothing worst than installing crap that's going to going to use resources when I could be utilizing it for something else.

[spooker]

PC-3200
here are the detailed specs although it is 2 years old, I love my HP! it does run slow sometimes, but its mostly cuz i pirate so much crap! particularly startup--takes 2-3 minutes, though fully 1 minute of that is because it is loading linksys wireless config utility gayness

[foq]

Eh, I thought you said x1650. No big deal, maybe 2fps difference lol.

Spook, what kind of RAM are you running??

[spooker]

lol Foq my personal hardware counselor. Its an ATI radeon x1600, PCI-E 256 mb. Yeah i think it's nicely balanced. i will probably get more ram, when i get more cash

[foq]

related question. i have an AMD athlon 64 X2 4200+ system, but only 1 gb of ram. I think the ram might be the biggest bottleneck.. is it worth upgrading to 2? i play mostly quake but also a lot of newer games

It's only worth it depending on what you do with your PC. If you have say 250MB memory usage in windows, I say get 1.5GB. Any more 2GB would be better.

Dual channel 1.5GB:
DIMM1 512MB
DIMM2 256MB

Grim, he has a x1650 PCI-E. That's nicely balanced with an X2 4200+ imo

DIMM3 512MB
DIMM4 256MB