Is 4gb of RAM stupid on a desktop?

Z

Zeek

New Member
Hi guys, I have a custom built computer running Windows XP with currently 2 GB of ram. I ordered another 2 GB to bring me to a total of 4 GB, but I spoke to a friend who said that while having 4 GB wouldn't hurt my setup, it wouldn't make a big difference. He said that Microsoft limits the amount of ram on XP that can actually be used to like 3.x GB so 4GB is kinda overkill. He told me to return it and not even bother.

In your personal opinion, do you think that I should return it? It was $100, which I mean, if it's going to make at least a decent difference, I will consider worth spending.

Here's the RAM I bought. It's the same kind of RAM I have in there right now: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820220040

I appreciate the help.
 
Well, I do know that XP 32-Bit has a cap of 3 GB....I have 3 GB in my comp, and obviously my comp runs super smooth

From 2 GB to 3 or 4 GB I dont think you'll notice an increase in performance, unless you are running multiple ram-heavy software utilities at once....

what are your other specs?

EDIT: I would probably return the ram myself..... plus 100 for DDR 400 is rediculous imo.... newegg still rocks
 
I'm a web designer and I'm on the computer 24-7 so I often have TONS of programs running, many of which are rather memory intensive.

Here's the rest of my computer's info:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2.2GHz Socket 939 Processor
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
XFX PV-T73G-UDF3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Thanks for the help

Zeek
 
Yes. 2GB is enough for almost any application these days. By the time you need it, the computer's either already outdated or the RAM's prices have dropped
 
xp can only take 2 GB of ram after that more rams actually make your computer run slower. that is the flaw of a 32bit XP window there is no fix for it. if you do gaming a lot then 4 GB is definitly helpful but only have a 64bit OS. for me right now 3 GB is not even enough i need 4 GB
 
The 32bit versions of Vista also see the 3gb barrier where Windows will map memory addresses out to hardwares after the 3gb mark. While in theory the 64bit versions of Windows that include the new version for Vista the boards seen offering 8 or 16gb capacities seem to have another problem. They use the same chipsets geared for 2-4gb model boards.

An 8gb model with 8gb will see a 1gb drop due to this seeing only 7gb. As far as the 64bit versions of Windows there are a serious lack of drivers and programs since 64bit is still rather in it's own infancy unlike the fast turnover from 16 to 32bit seen with 95's OSR2 release with NT 3.1 being the first true 32bit version seen.
 
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