XP 32 on 2gb or 4?

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FragMagnet

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 11, 2000
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I'm throwing together a system to get me through the next year, and then I'll hand it down to the gf. It is basicaly an I-net box, and gaming, burn a couple cd's etc. Since this is a budget build, is there any point in getting 4gb over 2gb ? I haven't had a desktop for a year so I'll be playing through the HL2 series, and FEAR since I bought them and never got to them.
 
i'm assuming your building a ddr2 machine.. ram is cheap, so the decision shouldn't be that hard... but 2gb will allow you to play these games no problem...
 
Personally I'd go with 4GB and Vista x64, but XP should be fine with 2GB. A few games like Crysis run better with 3+GB however.
 
thanks, I have a E8400, and I'm going to use the Asus P5Q-E, it has some compatability issues with mem, since I want to buy localy in case I have to return it, and the choices I have are limited, in Canada the diff is $60, so being a budget build with a gaming lifespan of about a year, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't giving up much, or if I did go with 4gb, even if Windows didn't see all of it, that it wouldn't cause instability or other issues.
 
There is almost zero reason to get over 2GB on an XP box. If you did go over that, you would know that you needed it.
 
Ram is cheap get 4gb. Sure you won't be able to use some of it in 32-bit, but even with a 512mb card you should still have access to over 3gb.
 
ambientZ said:
Ram is cheap get 4gb. Sure you won't be able to use some of it in 32-bit, but even with a 512mb card you should still have access to over 3gb.
Click to expand...

^^^ This. You're talking about less than $45 for 4gb of ddr2-800. Even in XP, even if it ends up being 3-3.5GB that's a much better place to be than 2GB. If you play the rebate game you can actually get something like this Corsair stuff for $24.99AR. That's better than a lot of non-rebate 2GB kits.
 
this machine is only for a year.. not point having extra ram for a year.. just get 2 GB and save 30 bucks
 
mjz_5 said:
this machine is only for a year.. not point having extra ram for a year.. just get 2 GB and save 30 bucks
Click to expand...

A year is a long time. I don't see how you can save $30 over something which costs $25. Again if the price is virtually the same or $5-10 more what's the harm of the extra ram?
 
Thanks Gonzo, but Newegg.com doesn't sell into Canada, you have to use Newegg.ca. So that same ram that you pointed out, is $82 + tax + shipping, then you get the rebate 3- mos down the road, if it comes at all. If you get a dud stick, then you have to deal with more shipping. Newegg.ca is less than a year old, and if they are shipping from the U.S. wharehouse, customs etc add to the cost and time, that's why I prefer a local outlet.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
 
You can always buy 2GB now and add more later if you find you need it. I initially built my system with 2x1GB of XMS2 and then added another 2x1GB later when I discovered Crysis Warhead ran like crap :p I probably paid about US$40 for each set, and that's in Sweden with 25% VAT included.
 
Just buy 4GB now. It is so cheap that there is almost no point in buying less than a 2 x 2GB kit.
 
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