RAM

[Rostum]

Hey, I need a little help with choosing RAM.

Currently I have somewhere around 700mb RAM, and I'm not really sure what type it is... But it's in 2 sticks. I have 2 more slots available I believe. The current RAM is also at different speeds, which causes problems I heard.

Anyways, I'd like to get 2GB RAM. I really need it for audio stuff, and games. But I'm not sure what to get, and if I should just chuck out my current RAM for it, as it's different speeds.

I'd also like to get it at a decently cheap price, so nothing fancy. Just something that does the job properly. And if anyone in Australia knows where I can order it, please tell.

[Nominus Experse]

Once I know what type of RAM is compatible with your machine, I ought to be able to help you shop.

[o_O]

In order to know what type of RAM to get, you'll need to know what model of motherboard you have, since different frequencies and different sizes are supported by different motherboards.

I personally recommend getting dual channel RAM, because it's cheaper and faster.

As for brands, you can't beat Corsair, but that's extremely expensive as far as RAM goes, so I use Legend, which is nice, as it comes with a lifetime warranty.
Legend is an Australian company, so I think you'll find that it's more than readily available where you are.

[Rostum]

How do I check what type of RAM my motherboard can hold? i.e. check the model number of it. And I may as well go with Legend if it's local and cheap.

Edit: Also, I wanted to know if it'd be wise to upgrade my ATI 9800 Pro 128mb to this nVidia Geforce 7600GT? The price isn't too expensive I guess, at the time (around 4 years ago) I bought the 9800 for $500AUD. BTW. I only have AGP.

[o_O]

The best way to find out what sort of memory you need is to go to http://www.crucial.com (using IE), and do the system scan on the front page.
There is a chance that it won't find the memory speed or the motherboard manufacturer, in which case, post the whole output of the scan, and we might be able to help.
Also try <a href="http://www.majorgeeks.com/download181.html">Aida32</a>. That should give you the model of motherboard too.


As for the graphics card, the 7600GT is a very nice card; not as nice as a 7950GTX, but adequate for today. It's not overly powerful, but then again, you're not paying a huge amount for it. It's likely to be perfectly adequate for whatever you want to do at this stage; my 6600GT runs Oblivion at medium quality, with a res of 1280x1024 with no problems.
You'll want to be aware that the card isn't going to last much longer with the release of DirectX10, and the inevitable migration of software producers to the new standard. That auction states that the card is built for Vista - It is not built for Vista; if it was, it would have DirectX10 support.
Also be aware that Palits are some of the cheapest GPUs I've seen; I've never used them though, so I don't know how good the quality is.

Really the main thing that I'd consider would be the lifetime of the card. I make a lot of noise about being anti-Windows, but in reality, I keep a Vista partition for my games, and with games there comes DirectX. OpenGL is always there, but the majority of game developers are using only DirectX and DirectX10 is the next step, so don't want to shell out for a GeForce7, since they don't support DirectX10, and I don't want to shell out for an 8800GTX (one of the few cards that do support it), since they're like, a grand.
I'm going to hold off until GeForce8s come down a little in price and get an 8800.

[Rostum]

I'll do the scan tomorrow and tell you. I can also check up my computer model on IBM's website I think -- that might also be able to tell me.

I'd really love to just buy a whole new computer with a dual core processor and the like, but I don't really have the money for that (or Vista). I know the card won't support DirectX10, but maybe it'd last me at least another year or two?

See, I've had my computer for a few years now and it's stood up fairly strong, so I just figured if I put in some more RAM and a nice but not expensive card, it could run most of the latest games on my new 21" widescreen. (Mainly looking at all the new MMO's coming out, like Vanguard and LotR).

So yeah, it's a really hard thing to do, to upgrade, imo. ><; I'm not even sure if I can get the money for both the RAM and the graphics card.

[ValiantKnight]

700 sounds like you have 768mb ram.

Likely a 512mb stick and a 256mb stick. The only critical problem with differing speeds, is that the faster one will usually clock down to the lower one, as long as the motherboard supports both. I've heard stories of it shortening ram life, but not critically.
If the motherboard supports it, two 1gb sticks in dual channel, or even two 512mb sticks will do nicely if you are more budget minded. However spending a pretty penny on the graphics card, i'd go for two 1gb sticks in dual channel.

Corsair is a great memory company... but they are a bit pricey. I've got 2x 1gb Kingston DDR400 PC3200 in mine, and it runs well.
For dual channel you'll need exact size and speed matches I believe, and exact matches would be ideal(same brand).

If its an AGP motherboard it could be DDR266, DDR333, DDR400, RDRAM, DDR2 I think... think thats about it.

The motherboard will really help on finding out what memory and card though. I had an older motherboard with a 1800XP processor and the AGP had 4x as the max it could go... So I could not upgrade to a more recent card.... forcing me to get a new motherboard.

A model number on the outside of the case somewhere(sticker or barcode/shrugs... on the back will allow you to search for the computer if its a mainstream and not a custom build).

[Yamaneko]

It's likely to be perfectly adequate for whatever you want to do at this stage; my 6600GT runs Oblivion at medium quality, with a res of 1280x1024 with no problems.

I don't believe you. Do you have the PCI-E version with 256MB of GDDR2 RAM? I know the AGP version wouldn't run the game without immense stuttering, especially at 1280x1024.

Omecle: What CPU do you have? You might not see a huge leap from a 9800Pro to a 7600GT. And an underpowered CPU might just bottleneck a newer GPU. Oh and I'm going to guess that you'll need DDR400 RAM. I would suggest to get them paired.

[o_O]

It's likely to be perfectly adequate for whatever you want to do at this stage; my 6600GT runs Oblivion at medium quality, with a res of 1280x1024 with no problems.

I don't believe you. Do you have the PCI-E version with 256MB of GDDR2 RAM? I know the AGP version wouldn't run the game without immense stuttering, especially at 1280x1024.

Yes, I have PCI-E, but 256Mb of GDDR3 RAM. I wouldn't buy AGP.
It stutters occasionally, but that happens very rarely. I attribute it to my AMD 3200+.

[Yamaneko]

Yeah, that extra 128MB of GDDR3 is helping a lot I'm guessing. Is that an Athlon XP or 64?

EDIT: Does your custom title give the answer?

[MecaKane]

Speaking of Oblivion, AMD 3200+ run it well? Also is <a href="http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10078442&catid=10524">this</a> the graphics card you're talking about? It doesn't gave <i>G</i>DDR, if that's terribly important.
I'm getting a new computer in the next couple of months and I really, really want to be able to play oblivion.

[Yamaneko]

If you're getting a new computer you'll want to look beyond the Geforce 6 series. By then we'll see greater availability of budget 8 series cards (and maybe budget Radeons based on the R600 chipset)

[Rostum]

Well, I have a 2.8GHZ P4 processor.

And here's what that website had suggested getting, including the graphics card.



You think it'd be wise to at least go with the X1300 pro?

[Samuraid]

Well, I have a 2.8GHZ P4 processor.

And here's what that website had suggested getting, including the graphics card.



You think it'd be wise to at least go with the X1300 pro?

The X1300 pro is OK, but not exceptionally fast at all. A 7600GT is a much better choice.

[o_O]

[q=Samuraid]The X1300 pro is OK, but not exceptionally fast at all. A 7600GT is a much better choice.[/q]
Personally, I wouldn't go ATI at all. We'll have to see how they perform after pairing up with AMD, but for now I'd buy a nVidia. Crossfire is generally less supported than SLI, especially under Linux compositors, so that's a big factor for me.
[q=Yamaneko]Yeah, that extra 128MB of GDDR3 is helping a lot I'm guessing. Is that an Athlon XP or 64?

EDIT: Does your custom title give the answer? [/q]
Yep.
[q=MecaKane]Speaking of Oblivion, AMD 3200+ run it well? Also is this the graphics card you're talking about? It doesn't gave GDDR, if that's terribly important.
I'm getting a new computer in the next couple of months and I really, really want to be able to play oblivion.[/q]
A 3200+ will run Oblivion very smoothly at a res of 640x480, pretty smoothly at 1024x768 and smoothly enough at 1280x1024.
There are quite a few different models of 6600GT; you'll find permutations with 128MB or 256MB of GDDR2 or GDDR3, different clock speeds, PCI-e or AGP, etc. The best one you could get would be PCI-e/256MB of GDDR3.