upgrading graphics!

[Algorithmus]

are you joking me, my assingment for both of you is find me a bench that shows 2gb vs 4gb ram drastically improving gaming performance. Now, you need a new psu ( just to throw it out there I will sell you a nice one either a rp-550 used for 35 plus 8 dollars shipping or a rp-550-2 for 50 shipped) and a 9800gt would see much larger performance gains. O and chances are you have xp which can't support 4gb.

I don't know if I'm saying this rite. This is my understanding of RAM, its not that XP cant support 4gig's is that a 32-bit O/S only supports up to 4gig's (Vista - 32 & XP - 32). Now lets say you have 4gig's in your current build (example) and you are running XP 32 - Bit. Now if you take a look at your computer properties it should show that you are running 3.5gigs of RAM, the other 512MB is being used for video. Now lets say you take a 8800GT or something that has 512MB of on board RAM and you install it; it should still say 3.5gig's. But if you get a GPU with 1gig of RAM on board and installed it, it should say 3gigs of RAM. I'm not sure but I think if you take 2 GPUs that have 1 gig each on a 32 - O/S, it would show 2gigs of RAM (if you have 4 gigs installed). I don't know if I'm 100% correct but I'm not sure.

 

[Redmo0n]

Thats how i calculate it and i have been told otherwise.

 

[Fat.Clown]

wrong.

how much ram you can use in 32bit is limited by the 32bit OS itself, not because you have a discrete graphic card.

graphic card does not even come into play unless you have integrated graphic card.

In order to access Address X, the CPU needs to store the value of X in a register in the CPU and tell the memory to read the contents of the address stored in that register.

Registers in x86 PCs are limited to 32 bits, which means the biggest number that can be stored in that register is 2^32, or 4,294,967,296; which means that the CPU can access up to "ADDRESS 4,294,967,296" which is the 4th GB of data.

The problem is that the CPU also access I/O devices (printer, USB, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.) by assigning them an address as well. So it reserves half a GB or so of the memory addresses to talk to the I/O devices... So you have 4GB - ~0.5GB -> 3.5 GB (on Windows it is 3.2GB).

As for 64 Bit well it can recognize and utilize up to 128GB of RAM or something amazing like that.

please refer to this thread for more info
http://www.techist.com/forums/f9/difference-between-32-bit-x86-64-bit-x64-171390/#post1349279

I was looking at the 9800 GT, but I have 2 open ram slots, (currently 2x1gig, 666mhz) what if I added 2 more 1 gigs? would I have to worry anything about the timing (as I have never built a pc from the ground up, I am unsure If I could handle this.)

Ram-wise, would it be better to go 4x1 or 2x2?

Gfx card- do most gaming cards require more then the stock psu? and what would the minimum power supply need be? also, what kind of connectors do most cards take, and on what rail? ty for all the help so far!

1. no
2. 2x2
3. depends, if it were a prefab gaming PC, probably fine with stock, however MOST prefabs aren't gaming PCs so probably need a stronger PSU
4. there is no minimum, it all depends on what you want to run in your PC
5. 6pin? I think
6. 12V rail

 

[Ethan_Kaizer]

RAM isn't supposed to give you more FPS, but if your computer is lagging a lot, even at the menu, then you might need more RAM to run the game smoothly. I have 2 gigs of ram, and Crysis takes over 1gb itself while it's running for me, so it definitely makes a difference.

If you have 2 free slots, and already have 2 x 1gb of RAM in your computer of DDR2 667, then I suggest getting this:

Newegg.com - Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

You should look into what kind of power supply you have now. If it's a low amount like 400 or less, and you don't want to spend the money to get a new psu and graphics card, I suggest this:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

That's the card I have, and it can play any game smoothly, on high settings (at 1280 x 1024 resolution).

 

[harnar123]

doesn't the 8800gt still beat that card for the same price?

 

[Hussein19891]

doesn't the 8800gt still beat that card for the same price?

If you can find a 8800 GT for the same price as a 4670. Then stop typing and order that 8800 GT.