Thinking of buying a new CPU

B

BballSteve

New Member
Hi, I'm currently running on my first build, which was about a year ago. I've added RAM and video cards, but i'm still with the same CPU I started with. It's an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ OC'd at 2.04GHz (which isn't the best). I currently play games a lot on the computer (World of Warcraft, occasional CS:S). Now here comes the nub question. What exactly is the difference between the speed of the CPU and the speed of RAM. Say I have a crap CPU (2.04 GHz) but 2 gigs of RAM. What does the RAM make faster on the computer? Now say visa versa, I have a fast CPU, lets say 3GHz just as an example, what would happen faster on the computer? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

(Oh yeah, my current motherboard is the ASUS A7N8X-X and have 1 gig of RAM(2 512mb's))
 
Well, extra RAM will allow you to browse windows lots faster, and loading times in games (And Play) will be better.

A better CPU will allow you to multitask more, or do heavy stuff like video editing, video streaming etc.
 
the ram would make your computer go faster, (the bad cpu / good ram scenario), but getting a good CPU (say some AMD 64 processor) would do better. However, that motherboard is probably Socket A so you really dont have much room for expansion CPU wise.
 
liuliuboy said:
the ram would make your computer go faster, (the bad cpu / good ram scenario), but getting a good CPU (say some AMD 64 processor) would do better. However, that motherboard is probably Socket A so you really dont have much room for expansion CPU wise.
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Yeah, it's Socket A. I've talked with a friend, and I think i might just buy another gig of RAM. That's 2 512mb's, and 1 1gig stick. Is 2gigs too much?
 
BballSteve said:
Yeah, it's Socket A. I've talked with a friend, and I think i might just buy another gig of RAM. That's 2 512mb's, and 1 1gig stick. Is 2gigs too much?
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2 gigs is definitly not too much. todays programs and applications can now seriously utilize 2 gigs of ram. its worth it.
 
bigsaucybob said:
2 gigs is definitly not too much. todays programs and applications can now seriously utilize 2 gigs of ram. its worth it.
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Well allow me to retort, if your just gaming 2 gigs isn't going to do squat. If your video editing thats a different story. Is that all you do is play games? or do you do other stuff?
 
MIK3daG33K said:
Well allow me to retort, if your just gaming 2 gigs isn't going to do squat. If your video editing thats a different story. Is that all you do is play games? or do you do other stuff?
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newer games such as F.E.A.R and bf2 and others seriouly can benefit from 2 gigs of ram. i wuldnt say that 2 gigs in gaming would do squat.
 
lol, well when i play HL2 it doen't even use half of my one gig.


EDIT: Lets face facts here gentlemen 2 gigs isn't going to do a damn thing with a processor like that. The real problem is the CPU, sorry theres no way around that man.
 
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RAM vs CPU

HI there,

in terms of you question...

RAM - Is a pool of memory resources your compurter draws on to allow software to operate quickly. Data is held in the RAM every time you start a new application and is relinquished once you close that application - More RAM allows you to run more applications at once, or handle larger files (games etc) and run more demanding applications.

CPU - This device actually deals with processing requests from all other hardware and really allows them to communicate with each other. The speed of your CPU will determine the overall speed of your computer to deal with all its jobs.

More RAM is always a good thing. Get as much your computer can handle before you consider changing the processor. if its time for a new processor it time for whole new computer.

hope the above clears things up.
 
MIK3daG33K said:
lol, well when i play HL2 it doen't even use half of my one gig.


EDIT: Lets face facts here gentlemen 2 gigs isn't going to do a damn thing with a processor like that. The real problem is the CPU, sorry theres no way around that man.
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You think HL2 is memory demanding? :P

2GB is definitely the sweetspot for gamers today.
 
yea nobody needs 2gb though... you only WANT 2gb of ram. :)
also, id say a faster hard drive like 7200rpm and 8mb cache... say in RAID 0 with another identical hard drive... would increase performance alot more.
either way, if you upgrade your cpu its not worth it if you dont go all out.
also, amount of ram just matters in NOT BOTTLENECKING
ram SPEED actually matters more in my opinion, which is why i have extremely low latency ram, with 2-2-2-5 timings.
also, it depends on the application and the game. personally id prefer a fast cpu and more ram, im going to upgrade to 2gb as soon as its convenient. (and when i can sell my old stuff)
 
MIK3daG33K said:
Well allow me to retort, if your just gaming 2 gigs isn't going to do squat. If your video editing thats a different story. Is that all you do is play games? or do you do other stuff?
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When i'm playing a game, I usually have these running
-World of Warcraft
-Ventrilo server
-Ventrilo application
-AOL
-Windows Media Player
-Internet browsers
and maybe a few other little things

I guess then I might get a good processor, and then get another gig of RAM if I need it?
 
BballSteve said:
I guess then I might get a good processor, and then get another gig of RAM if I need it?
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Yeah, thats a good idea. I would even think about building a new computer, using a few of the older parts (Maybe)
 
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