3GB? Worth it?

According to what I hear, it would apparently improve my perfomance if I upgrade for an extra ram module, especially in my current primary focussed game, Age of Conan. And i'm sure I'l continue to play this for the coming next few years (assuming eveything goes planned). So I figured, why not invest a little bit in extra Ram, for better perfomance compensation.2GB a year ago used to be the norm. But I assume things have changed now. I've been searching for this, but I'm seeing different claims everywhere, so I'm not exactly sure. What would you personally recommend? Stay with my current amount of ram, or upgrade? Will XP even take advantage of the the extra added Ram in the first place?Thanks in advance!My current system: Quad Core 6600, 8800GTS 512mb, and 2GB RAM devided into 2 seperate modules of 1024mb DDR2 667mhz.3GB? Worth it?
I think XP 32bit uses up to 3.5GB ram, but that includes things like your graphics card. I think with 3GB you should be able to use it all, although not sure what happens to dual channel when you include the extra stick, not sure if it'll run the 3GB in single channel which means your best to stick with what you have, or maybe buy a cheap 2 X 512MB kit to fill all 4 slots.3GB? Worth it?
2gigs of ram is just fine for xp...but another gig is what like $25? go for it
[QUOTE=''southeastblue'']I think XP 32bit uses up to 3.5GB ram, but that includes things like your graphics card. I think with 3GB you should be able to use it all, although not sure what happens to dual channel when you include the extra stick, not sure if it'll run the 3GB in single channel which means your best to stick with what you have, or maybe buy a cheap 2 X 512MB kit to fill all 4 slots.[/QUOTE] Yes I was thinking about the same thing. But I guess I'l have to do some more research into this. I'm reading different articles, all claim different things. So it gets me quite confused.
Don't worry about the research, I'll clear it up for you right now. A 32-bit version of Windows can address up to 4gb of ram, INCLUDING the vram. Vram is always counted first and counts towards that 4gb total. In your case, you can have up to 3.5gb of system ram addressed by your system because your graphics card has 512mb of vram. To answer your question directly, yes, another gig of ram will improve performance in Age of Conan, especially in more populated areas.
[QUOTE=''DGFreak'']Don't worry about the research, I'll clear it up for you right now. A 32-bit version of Windows can address up to 4gb of ram, INCLUDING the vram. Vram is always counted first and counts towards that 4gb total. In your case, you can have up to 3.5gb of system ram addressed by your system because your graphics card has 512mb of vram. To answer your question directly, yes, another gig of ram will improve performance in Age of Conan, especially in more populated areas. [/QUOTE] Thanks for clearing that out :)Is it recommended to seperate the ram modules to 512 each?
Also have a qeustion related to the mhz of the ram. My current modules are both 667mhz. I was informed that the speed of the ram doesn't matter unless my CPU fsb exceeds a certain speed limit. Since I have a Q6600 I took the 667mhz. But i'm still kinda skeptical, will I see difference in it? Should I purchase the exact same speed? I assume so. correct?
And to clarify, my CPU is not overlocked, and I'm not considering to it either.
[QUOTE=''PullTheTricker'']Also have a qeustion related to the mhz of the ram. My current modules are both 667mhz. I was informed that the speed of the ram doesn't matter unless my CPU fsb exceeds a certain speed limit. Since I have a Q6600 I took the 667mhz. But i'm still kinda skeptical, will I see difference in it? Should I purchase the exact same speed? I assume so. correct? [/QUOTE] I have a similar problem, I want to increase my RAM to 3GB aswell, but I have 800Mhz and the other gig of ram I want to add is 677mhz, is it worth it to add the extra 1GB of RAM with the slower speed?Also, PullTheTricker, just buy the same speed of RAM that you have, because if you buy a lower speed RAM, it will use the slowest speed, and not the highest. (For example, you have 800mhz, but buy 667mhz, the computer reads 3GB of 667mhz RAM).
Why don't you buy ddr2-800 or do you already have it? DDR2 800 seems cheaper than 667, maybe because its more common now...
[QUOTE=''Captain__Tripps'']Why don't you buy ddr2-800 or do you already have it? DDR2 800 seems cheaper than 667, maybe because its more common now... [/QUOTE] Because as far as I'm aware ram speed is only necessary for fsb multiplier when overclocking. Q6600 has low multiplier, and + I don't overclock it. Besides, I wouldn't want to replace my current 667mhz modules for minescule things.[QUOTE=''crazy-player''][QUOTE=''PullTheTricker'']Also have a qeustion related to the mhz of the ram. My current modules are both 667mhz. I was informed that the speed of the ram doesn't matter unless my CPU fsb exceeds a certain speed limit. Since I have a Q6600 I took the 667mhz. But i'm still kinda skeptical, will I see difference in it? Should I purchase the exact same speed? I assume so. correct? [/QUOTE] I have a similar problem, I want to increase my RAM to 3GB aswell, but I have 800Mhz and the other gig of ram I want to add is 677mhz, is it worth it to add the extra 1GB of RAM with the slower speed?Also, PullTheTricker, just buy the same speed of RAM that you have, because if you buy a lower speed RAM, it will use the slowest speed, and not the highest. (For example, you have 800mhz, but buy 667mhz, the computer reads 3GB of 667mhz RAM). [/QUOTE] I'm considering to install my Vista oem again. I might actually buy 2x 1024 ddr2 ram modules of each at 667mh. Its worth it for a long term investment. i'l be playing the game for a long time come. And I want to have a comfortable perfomance as much as possible.Should I go back again? Vista home premium.