For gaming Which is better: Faster Memory or more memory. IE: 2GB PC2-8500 or 4GB of PC2-6400?

Question

For current games like Call of duty 4 and Crysis

Answer 1

2Gb of high performance memory is usually optimum. 4Gb is wasteful in a 32bit OS. About 750Mb will just sit in the memory hole that is literally invisible to the OS and therefore unavailable for use by your programs or games.

Answer 2

More memory, especially if you're going to be using Windows.

Compared to the CPU, even the fastest RAM available today is still horribly slow. So in the big picture, the relative difference between PC2-8500 and PC2-6400 will be barely noticeable.

Now if you were to compare the slowest RAM available today with your hard disk, your hard disk is super ultra mega slow. Because of this, your CPU will be spending much more of its time accessing data from your hard disk than it will from memory; even if you're using the slowest RAM you can find.

Your system stores various working data in RAM, but if your system needs more memory than you have in RAM, it will start using virtual memory on the hard disk. You want to minimize this because when memory is swapped to and from your hard disk, your system performance will suffer greatly. You will notice this much MUCH more than the difference between 8500 and 6400. The best way to minimize this loss in performance is to maximize the amount RAM.

This is especially true if you're going to be running Windows Vista, which sucks up nearly a GB of memory when it's idle. As soon as you fire up a game, you'll approach and possibly exceed that 2 GB pretty quickly.

Answer 3

It depends on your circumstance. If you aren't overclocking then you have no need for the faster ram because it will be running at stock speeds.
I would say go with the larger amount of ram. 2GB is the minimum i would go with, there have been games out for the last 2 years that have pressed the 2gb line, BF2 being one i can name off hand. It's not required but smoothes everything out and maps load faster. with all of these new games coming out they will be stepping near or over that 2gb line. If you can get the 4gb of pc6400 and aren't overclocking then go for it. it'll help futureproof your computer as well as be cheaper, you can probably get that 4gb for around $80 after rebates if you look for deals.
instead of getting faster pc-XXXX ram look at the timing speeds of the ram, get some pc-6400 that has timing of 4-4-4-12, this is where the speed of ram is measured when compared with sticks of the same pc-XXXX speeds.

Answer 4

In general, with games out right now, I would say 2GB of PC2-8500 would be preferable, since 2GB of RAM is probably superfluous for virtually all games.

Answer 5

memory will in easy terms run as as speedy by way of fact the bus velocity of the motherboard -OR- as speedy by way of fact the slowest RAM module put in. in case you install PC2-8500 alongside PC2-6400, it particularly is going to all run at 6400 bus velocity (800Mhz). in case you install all PC2-8500, and you motherboard might help 1066Mhz, it particularly is going to run at 1066Mhz. Overclocking won't advance the bus velocity, in easy terms the CPU velocity.

Answer 6

both... but if you have to choose one, it should be 'faster memory'

Answer 7

faster.