Pentium4 3.0GHz w/XP Pro...4GB RAM???

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H

H

Hello,

I've got a Dell Dimension Pentium4 3.0GHz system running XP Pro. Is it
worth upgrading to 4GB? I've got 2GB now.
I will do some video editing, as well as run Virtual PC 2004. Will
there be a significant notice if I up it to the max of 4GB?

Thanks...
 
The only benchmark I have for that is the game Gothic 3.
I've tried the game on several different high-end PCs, and
the only box that really ran the game smoothly had 4 gigs
of ram, and an nVidia 6800 card ( not a big card ). My
personal game box only has 2 gigs, but it also has an
nVidia 7900 GTO ( a super big card ). It does not run
the game as well as the 4 gig machine. ??????? You
tell me ??????????????

johns
 
johns said:
The only benchmark I have for that is the game Gothic 3.
I've tried the game on several different high-end PCs, and
the only box that really ran the game smoothly had 4 gigs
of ram, and an nVidia 6800 card ( not a big card ). My
personal game box only has 2 gigs, but it also has an
nVidia 7900 GTO ( a super big card ). It does not run
the game as well as the 4 gig machine. ??????? You
tell me ??????????????

johns
Click to expand...
AFAIK Most motherboards will not address more than 3Gb with a 32bit OS.
Mike.
 
H said:
I've got a Dell Dimension Pentium4 3.0GHz system running XP Pro.
Is it worth upgrading to 4GB? I've got 2GB now.
Click to expand...

Unlikely, most motherboards dont support 4GB with XP Pro.
I will do some video editing, as well as run Virtual PC 2004.
Will there be a significant notice if I up it to the max of 4GB?
Click to expand...

What does the Peak Commit Charge show in the Task Manager
when you have been doing both those things that use lots of memory ?
 
H said:
Hello,

I've got a Dell Dimension Pentium4 3.0GHz system running XP Pro. Is it
worth upgrading to 4GB? I've got 2GB now.
I will do some video editing, as well as run Virtual PC 2004. Will
there be a significant notice if I up it to the max of 4GB?

Thanks...
Click to expand...

How much longer do you plan to use this system? We've noticed a
significance increase in efficiency in moving to Pentium D CPU's
running at 3.4 GHz from comparable systems running P4's at 3.0
GHz, both designs with 2 GB of RAM. And we expect more improvement
when moving up to Core 2 Duo CPU's, once they get into the 3.0
GHz range. For the short-term, save your money. For the long-term,
develop the system further.
 
What does the Peak Commit Charge show in the Task Manager
when you have been doing both those things that use lots of memory ?
Click to expand...

On my game box, Far Cry shows 800 meg, but
needs 2 gigs to run smoothly without respawning.
Gothic 3 shows 1.3 gigs peak, but does not run
smoothly until the system has 4 gigs of ram.
I think this has more to do with stack boundaries.
Stacks want to start on a specific zero address,
and build from there. It would not surprise me to
find out that game stacks jump over into the 3 gigs
area ... I have to install 4 gigs because my system
requires pairs of ram sticks even though the last
stick may not be used. Also, it might be true that
the area of ram that is reserved for OS and video
addressing, might also be used for OS stacks
of some kind ????? In dedicated processor
boards I have worked with in industry, part of
ram ( above ram top ) is totally dedicated as
a place to store system config data, so that on
boot up, that area is read to calibrate controller
variables. So the thing will report that it only
has 32K ram, while a few more K exist above
ram top for calibration use. I'm pretty sure PCs
have and use that same concept ... which might
mean, the PC sees max ram on bootup, and
then sets a ram top where game stacks begin
.... up to 4 gigs. ????? Maybe there's an EE
gamer out there who really knows more about
this.

johns
 
MOST motherboards will NOT run stablely with all four RAM slots used.
However, if your motherboard supports it, you could use (2) 2 GB RAM sticks
to stablely get 4 GB.
 
Why put 4 slots in the mobo if it would make
the system unstable? I talked to Gigabyte
about this a while back, and the tech there
said 4 sticks might load the psupply in a
cheap system, but if the system had any
quality at all, it would handle the 4 sticks,
but to compensate, the ram speed would back off
from ddr400 to ddr333, to reduce the power
loading.

johns
 
johns said:
Why put 4 slots in the mobo if it would make
the system unstable? I talked to Gigabyte
about this a while back, and the tech there
said 4 sticks might load the psupply in a
cheap system, but if the system had any
quality at all, it would handle the 4 sticks,
but to compensate, the ram speed would back off
from ddr400 to ddr333, to reduce the power loading.
Click to expand...

Nope, to increase the stability.
 
Nope, to increase the stability.
Click to expand...

Hmm ? .. isn't that the same thing?
If the psupply is getting pulled down
.... or the local electrolytics by the ram
are not able to supply the "quick"
current, the ram will go unstable ?
I wish I knew more about this. There
is no doubt about G3 getting smoother
with 4 gigs. That is a mystery.

johns
 
johns said:
Rod Speed wrote
Click to expand...
Hmm ? .. isn't that the same thing?
Nope.

If the psupply is getting pulled down
Click to expand...

It wont be when the board is designed with 4 slots.
... or the local electrolytics by the ram
are not able to supply the "quick"
current, the ram will go unstable ?
Click to expand...

Pity the problem is actually due to the 4 loads on the signal lines.

Running at a lower speeds allows more time for the signal risetimes.
I wish I knew more about this. There is no doubt about
G3 getting smoother with 4 gigs. That is a mystery.
Click to expand...

Yeah, looks like a very dubious proposition but since I dont run it I cant easily try it.
 
Ghostrider said:
How much longer do you plan to use this system? We've noticed a
significance increase in efficiency in moving to Pentium D CPU's
running at 3.4 GHz from comparable systems running P4's at 3.0
GHz, both designs with 2 GB of RAM. And we expect more improvement
when moving up to Core 2 Duo CPU's, once they get into the 3.0
GHz range. For the short-term, save your money. For the long-term,
develop the system further.
Click to expand...


I just got the system, so it'll be for a while. I'll stick with the
2GB and monitor
the Peak Commit Charge.
Thanks to all for the replies.
 
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