Ideal amount of RAM?

[Vivi]

What's the ideal amount of RAM?

I only have 512 mb and my PC games are kind of sluggish. I was thinking about either getting another 512 stick of a 1 gb stick.

[ADM]

I think 2gb is a good amount of RAM to have nowadays. It's more then enough for pretty much all games and the only reason you would need more is if you do major 3D work and need to manage bigger scenes.

[Vivi]

Cool, thanks.

[zilppuri]

I'm doing minor 3D work at the moment with 1GB of RAM and it's really enough.
But for future, I'd suggest you buy that 1GB RAM stick, since memory isn't that expensive. 1,5GB should be more than enough unless you do some heavy stuff like HDTV video editing.

[Kevin Wolff]

What's the ideal amount of RAM?
640k should be enough for anybody.

[avatar_58]

640k should be enough for anybody.

:ted:

[Yatta]

2 gigs and you're set for 3 years.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Just like that Alienware right?

[Yatta]

Just like that Alienware right?
Yep, it lasted three years.

[Travis]

I have 768, but I'm not gonna upgrade...I'll just get more RAM when I get a whole new computer.

[Jeff]

I currently have 1 GB of RAM. There is some sluggishness, so I don't know. It's not I don't have any RAM left for use. It's just that sometimes when I'm playing games it gets sluggish. RAM is basically something that allows temporary storage for programs and other things.

[dark_angel]

What's the ideal amount of RAM?

I only have 512 mb and my PC games are kind of sluggish. I was thinking about either getting another 512 stick of a 1 gb stick.

It really depends on your PC specs :

If you have a High-End system go for a 2 gig Rams

else if you have a Mid-End system go for a 1 gig Rams

else, for a low-end system I guess 512-768 Rams suffice.

[Jeff]

It really depends on your PC specs :
If you have a High-End system go for a 2 gig Rams
else if you have a Mid-End system go for a 1 gig Rams
else, for a low-end system I guess 512-768 Rams suffice.

Sounds like I've got some shopping to do. I can support up to 3 GB on mine, but 2 GB would be enough to make some of the sluggishness go away.

[Damien_Azreal]

Don't go over 2 GB now. Not many games require more than 1 gig, and the ones that do run great on 2.
Plus going over 2 gigs to like 3 or 4 actualy doesn't spead anything up. Your PC has more work to do addressing that much ram so it doesn't help. 2 is your ideal place now.

[Phayzon]

I dont think any games require 1GB, I think its just recommended. I plan on getting some more RAM soon too (currently I have 2x512MB DDR400, idk if ill get 1x1GB or another 2x512MB)

[Little Conqueror]

Don't go over 2 GB now. Not many games require more than 1 gig, and the ones that do run great on 2.
Plus going over 2 gigs to like 3 or 4 actualy doesn't spead anything up. Your PC has more work to do addressing that much ram so it doesn't help. 2 is your ideal place now.

I've started going into some major 3D work, so 4 GB has really helped me out. But 2 GB should be more than enough.

[Jeff]

Someone I work with said that WOW runs better on 2 GB than 1, so it's probably good that I get some of that before splurging for a new system.

[Phait]

It's kinda funny when you look at the evolution of memory requirements...

The ideal numbers at this point are in single digits, but they're in GIGAbytes and not kilobytes. In the future people will laugh, "just TWO gigabytes? Ahahaha! Oh I remember the days I longed for 2GB, and now I have 512 of them!"

[0marTheZealot]

It's kinda funny when you look at the evolution of memory requirements...

The ideal numbers at this point are in single digits, but they're in GIGAbytes and not kilobytes. In the future people will laugh, "just TWO gigabytes? Ahahaha! Oh I remember the days I longed for 2GB, and now I have 512 of them!"

Man I remember when having 2 megabytes of RAM meant you were the shit. I remember having 512K on my 386 and not being able to play Doom because I didn't have 640K minimum. Those were the good ol days...

[Yatta]

Man I remember when having 2 megabytes of RAM meant you were the shit. I remember having 512K on my 386 and not being able to play Doom because I didn't have 640K minimum. Those were the good ol days...
If I remember correctly, Doom needed 8 MB ram to run. I couldn't run it on me 2MB 368 PC.

[jimbob]

i still have 8 MB edo ram ( double sided \o/ ) laying about :p

actually, quite a few. :(

[Hudson]

I think 2gb is a good amount of RAM to have nowadays. It's more then enough for pretty much all games and the only reason you would need more is if you do major 3D work and need to manage bigger scenes.

Correct. 2GB is the ideal amount for gaming (for general use, 1GB is fine). Having too much RAM can actually lower your performance, so the "more is better" idea doesn't always apply.

[Hudson]

i still have 8 MB edo ram ( double sided \o/ ) laying about :p

actually, quite a few. :(

Haha, EDO. I have an entire drawer full of that shit. :D

"I cannot believe how FAST this 386 is!!"

*sigh* Man how time flies :(

[Kevin Wolff]

If I remember correctly, Doom needed 8 MB ram to run. I couldn't run it on me 2MB 368 PC.
It was 4MB.

[Phayzon]

I have a drawer full of EDO too (well, if I put it all together, its scattered about my housem and shed[s]).

[Damien_Azreal]

Yeah, I remember upgrading my old 486 from 4mb to 8mb for Duke3D. Thought I was all sorts of badass for a while.

[Yatta]

It was 4MB.
idsoftware.com store says it's 8 MB.

[Phayzon]

I love how sometimes old dos game installers recignize(sp) ~512MB/1GB as not meeting the 640K-4MB minimum :love:. MechWarrior 2: GBL still wants me to upgrade my ram/

[Damien_Azreal]

Ha... nice.

I installed Heretic on Bon's PC (768MB RAM) so i could run it with DoomsDay. During the install it told me the system did not meet the requirements. It didn't recognize the CPU or amount of RAM.

[Phayzon]

Ah yes, CPU is another goodie, even in some Win95 era stuff (MechCommander) gives me issues with that. "Your CPU doesnt meet the 233Mhz requirement, your CPU is only 2657Mhz" or something like that.

[Damien_Azreal]

Yep, I laughed my ass of at that... Bon just stared at me like I was a r-tard.

I swear I've heard her mutter, "Can't believe I'm gonna marry you." :p :D

[Phayzon]

Rolf. Nice :p

[Kevin Wolff]

idsoftware.com store says it's 8 MB.
That's the Windows version...the DOS version (not sold anymore) required 4MB.

[Phait]

Upgraded from 512 to 1GB today. Thief 3 runs smoother generally, Mafia definitely runs smoother in general driving but during driving-combat/chases still slows - could be my draw distance cranked too... IL-2 Complete Edition runs better over city/town details, general combat among a few planes has been fine but when I get into bigger stuff, meh.

I'd be better of with a new card but I'm not upgrading this computer anymore/too much.

[RedTiger]

What's the ideal amount of RAM?

I only have 512 mb and my PC games are kind of sluggish. I was thinking about either getting another 512 stick of a 1 gb stick.

It's a bit trickier than "more RAM+better performance."

What games play? Older titles, newer titles or a mixture of both? What resolution and detail level do you prefer while playing those games? How fast are your support FRU's? CPU, video hardware, HDD's, stuff like that. What's the vintage of all these things? Does it make sense to slap more RAM into a machine that you might want to replace soon?

Ask yourself these things (and more) and you'll be better able to make the right decision about what you need. Generally speaking, 1gig for casual gaming is good, if you play older games. 2gig is golden for hardcore gaming where you want to crank up resolutions. Even with an equation like this, it still DEPENDS. ;)

[avatar_58]

That's the Windows version...the DOS version (not sold anymore) required 4MB.

If the new versions are anything like the original Doom 95 release, then the DOS version is still on the CD. Mine has the 'setup' on the disc, but if you enter the DOOM2 directory the dos version is there. :D

(This is with Doom 2, I don't actually have the CD version of Doom 1)

[Phayzon]

I do, ill look when I find it (Might have to upgrade from 1024MB to 4MB first :p )

[Kevin Wolff]

If the new versions are anything like the original Doom 95 release, then the DOS version is still on the CD. Mine has the 'setup' on the disc, but if you enter the DOOM2 directory the dos version is there. :D

(This is with Doom 2, I don't actually have the CD version of Doom 1)
I have Doom Collector's Edition (hardly collectible, but I digress). The DOS versions aren't on the CD.

[Jeff]

Just upgraded to 2 GB of RAM, and I notice a difference when playing games. Not as much lag or performance hits.

[Rellik66]

from the Ultimate DooM readme.txt
-------------------------------------------------------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------------------------------------------------
DOOM(TM) requires an IBM compatible 386 or better with 4 megs of
RAM, a VGA graphics card, and a hard disk drive. A 486 or
better, a Sound Blaster Pro(TM) or 100% compatible sound card
is recommended. A network that uses the IPX protocol is
required for network gameplay.

oh, and EDO ram? hah! i got some 32 pin memory, SIP memory and DIP memory lying around

[Phayzon]

I just purchased an extra gig. Now I have a total of 2GB in 4x512MB. Not the as efficiant as 2x1GB would be, but hey it still runs great now (Quake4 on Ultra @ 1280x1024 16xAF 4xAA).

EDIT: Fixed a typo
@^ Yeah, tons of all kinds (from EDO-SDRAM) of RAM (save DDR) laying around.

[Agulf]

Ideal amount of RAM?

2x512MB. My motherboard starts bitchin' if I use sticks of 1024. But atleast it's better than the 256MB that came with the computer so I'm not complaining. Going from 15 minute loadtimes to 10-20 sec is fine enough for me.

[Damien from omen]

Yeah i'm thinking of going with 2x 1GB G.Skill DDr400's in the Latency ranges of 2.5... But i might go with 3GB of that Corsair Value select crap. Should i go the 3gb? I do video editing and enjoy playing games alot :)

Sorry to intrude. I have some PC100 lying around hehe. Not that old but meh.