Gaming Memory Upgrade?

Steve Mavronis

Steve Mavronis

New Member
I have a Gateway FX530 and I'm thinking about replacing the standard memory I have with faster memory. I have 1gb of memory modules in each of my 4 slots for a total of 4gb. It takes DDR2 667mhz pc2-5300 240-pin SDRAM memory. What choices do I have for a decent upgrade of high performance memory for gaming, preferably with heat spreaders, etc?
 
Thanks! That Patriot memory looks very nice and prices are always good on Newegg. I might get 2 pairs of them soon to replace all 4gb in my PC. I guess you are saying they would be faster without overclocking than my default pairs of Samsumg (http://support.gateway.com/s//MEMORY/DIMM/5001238R/5001238Rnv.shtml) and Kingston memory (KVR667D2N5) that are in my system now? The Kingston memory you linked doesn't look like it has heat spreaders from the picture because I can see the chips instead. But I guess memory with the heat spreaders are good for overclocking, if someone can briefly explain how that works? If anyone else has more suggestions keep 'em coming.

Would these Patriot PDC22G5300LLK (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220095) memory 2x1gb paired kit for just a few dollars more work too?

http://www.patriotmemory.org/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=5&catid=2&prodgroupid=61&id=405&type=1

"Patriot Extreme Performance (EP) Low Latency line is engineered to expand your gaming options. These modules are designed to operate at PC2-5300 with timings of 4-4-4-12 and are available in 512MB to 4GB Kits capacities. They are equipped with Patriot Bladed heat shield technology to improve module stability performance while operating under extreme overclocking conditions. Engineered with the best quality components, the Patriot Extreme Performance line is the ultimate solution for extreme overclocking and games."

Note - I was reading Gateway docs on my system and I'm not sure if it's worth getting the "heat spreader" version of this memory if the motherboard support note below means you can't overclock memory, what do you think?

Motherboard Intel® 975X (Big-Arm) - Viiv™ capable
Northbridge: Intel D975X
Southbridge: Intel ICH7-DH

Memory Support Note: The motherboard does not support memory higher than 667 MHz.
Four memory slots support the following:
DDR2 667/533 MHz SDRAM DIMMs
8 GB total memory capacity
Supports modules sizes of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, or 2 GB
 
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If you want performance then you need choose memory of higher frequencies such 899,1033Mhz and so on...
 
667mhz is the highest the memory slots recognize on this motherboard. I've read on other forums that FX530 owners have been able to overclock beyond the 677mhz default rating via BIOS memory timing settings.

I'm trying to see what I can do to improve my memory speed and was thinking the RAM that I have is generic and not high end. My Vista experience index (as a measure) is only 5.4 out of 5.9 because it uses the lowest scoring category which is memory in my case. All other categories measured 5.9 which is the highest you can get.

Windows Vista (TM) Ultimate

Base score: 5.4 (Determined by lowest subscore)

Component Details Subscore:

- Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz 5.9
- Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB 5.4
- Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 5.9
- Gaming graphics 2174 MB Total available graphics memory 5.9
- Primary hard disk 192GB Free (466GB Total) 5.9
 
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You talk like 5.4 is bad :P

Getting faster RAM and clocking the timings as low as you can get it should improve the score but Vista scores much better on raw bandwidth than timings. I know going from 1GB -> 2GB gives a pretty good boost to the score and going to 4GB (changing nothing else) doesn't improve it.

The Memory Score
The memory score measures the bandwidth of moving data into and out of memory in Mega Bytes per Second. The higher the bandwidth, the better the memory.

Not having enough memory is a limiting factor on performance. As a result, the amount of memory in the system constrains the score value. The amount of system memory is determined by the overall system memory minus any memory reserved for graphics (if any).

The amount of memory limits are:

Amount of memory
Highest possible score

Less than 256 MB
1.0

Less than 500 MB
2.0

512 MB or less
2.9

Less than 704 MB
3.5

Less than 960 MB
3.9

Less than 1.5 GB
4.5
Click to expand...
 
My memory (and base score) went from 5.2 to 5.4 when I upgraded from 2gb to 4gb. I was falsely expecting my memory to go to 5.9 or closer than 5.4 because I maxed it out to 4gb for a 32-bit operating system.
 
What's the difference between 667mhz PC2-5300 and PC2-5400 memory?
Click to expand...
In the grand scheme of things? Nothing. If you want to be picky, 5300 is actually 662.5MHz DDR and 5400 is 675MHz DDR.
 
Okay, well tomorrow I will most likely order this from Newegg:

2 Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G5300LLK
Item #: N82E16820220095
$49.98
 
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