How much ram does a good computer need?

L

LaGlaceMince

New Member
I just bought my new computer, and all the parts are pretty powerful, but I only have 2 gigs of ram. will this be enough for full blast gaming? most games today have a recomened ram amount of 1 gig, so twice that much should be fine... right? my build is in my signature. thanks!!
 
You spent on the Ultimate version there I see. They were sold out at one pc fair atttended. Have fun getting drivers! 2gb has been running here well for the average gaming with Prey, Fear, Half Life 2, and others. Vista no longer has the 4gb max that XP saw. Having 2gb will help with the load of additional items that load with Windows like the new welcome center and side bar.

Plan on spending far more time installing games and other programs with all of the new security prompts seen. Even with the firewall turned off and the full version of the Windows Defender disabled those still act like a second firewall is running where you need to give administrative permission on everything.
 
ya, vista seems like it can be a pain in the... well, you know. But, directx 10 support is a must in my opinion, and since this is a new comp, not an upgrade, I figured why not just take care of the OS now.

so, you are saying 2 gigs should be enough for max settings on alot of the current games? because if 4 gigs is necessary... i might as well shell out the money, already gone this far :eek: . thanks!!!
 
The only version of Windows prior to Vista to support over 4gb is the Winserver 2003 Enterprise edition for some 32gb of ram there. 2gb is now starting to be the choice of the average gamer even for XP. With Vista being loaded even more with desktop side bars and welcome screens at the desktop that autoload you will need the increase in memory just to keep up!
 
Windows 2000 Advanced Server supports 8GB of RAM and Windows 2000 Datacenter server supports 32GB.

2GB probably is more RAM than you will need, very few people use 2GB let alone 4GB now.
 
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There's no surprise to see that other server versions handled over XP's 4gb limit there. Those are involved with nettworking rather then desktop apps and gaming where the rules are a little different to some degree. On a dual channel board 2gb works out seeing 1gb for each channel.

Unless you plan on running super large applications for CAD or graphics design or even large math calculations for physics you generally see a smooth running system with no more then 2gb installed. Spend more time on deciding the best make and model rather amount to see the best results. Some makes of boards seem to prefer some brands of memory while not others. Corsair is one of the better names for gaming builds.
 
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