Reccomendations/advice for new RAM

[Razor]

Hi all

I am looking at replacing the ram on my gaming desktop PC but need some technical advice first rather than making a 'best guess'.

Machine Specs:

OS: Windows XP Pro SP3 32 bit. (Max 3GB ram recognised)
Motherboard: Asus P5E Deluxe
CPU: Core 2 Duo 3Ghz
Ram: Current: 2 x 512mb Corsair PC2-5300 333mhz DDR2-667 plus 2 x 1024mb Kingston PC2-5300 333mhz DDR2-667 (Total 3GB)


The Mother board can take "4 x DIMM, Max. 8 GB, DDR2 1200*/1066/800/667 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture" (From Asus website)

My question is twofold.
1) Since Win XP can only recognise 3GB ram is it better to buy 2 x 2 GB and let it only use 3, buy only 2 GB, or buy 3 x 1GB modules and run two as a pair and one as a single? (I understand there are performance issues but not sure which is the best option.
2) I am currently using PC2-5300 333mhz DDR2-667 modules. Will the motherboard accept a PC2-8500 module (DDR2-1066)? The Asus website says it will take up to DDR2-1200 but says nothing about the PC2-5300/8500 bit. Can this part of the Ram be explained please?

Many thanks

Razor

[Computer_Commando]

You don't need new RAM.  A different configuration will offer no improvement.

[Razor]

Hi computer_commando

Thanks for the advice.

So to get better performance I'd have to upgrade to a new PC? I had thought that because I was running different sized ram etc that it might be degrading performance.

Thanks again

Razor

[DaveLembke]

Also to mention that you will need to upgrade to XP, Vista, or 7 ((64-bit)) OS to get more than 3GB usable. My wife has that same ASUS P5E Deluxe motherboard you have and she is running the Pentium E5400 2.7Ghz dual-core in it with 4GB 800Mhz FSB DDR2 RAM on Windows 7 64-bit with GeForce 9800GT video card. For games my wife runs its plenty. But this system would be stretching itfor some modern game titles and play the games without lag etc.

1.) If you want to upgrade for better performance, first I'd detrmine what games you want to run. 2.) Find the game in your list of games that you want to run that requires the Most of your hardware for Recommended Performance. ( *Always use Recommended Hardware Requirements and ignore minimum requirements for best performance ).
3.) Lastly check to see if its worth while to spend the money to upgrade pieces of hardware or to completely replace the system for all new hardware.

The most powerful CPU that this board can handle is a Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3Ghz with a passmark score of 4376, your Core 2 Duo scores 2175, and my wifes Pentium E5400 scores 1609.

Here is link to CPU's supported: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5E_Deluxe/#CPUS
Also when it comes to games video cards make a big difference, its not all about CPU power as GPU processing power is equally important.

What are you using for video card(s)?
This motherboard supports Crossfire with 2 x ATI PCIe video cards where you can team up 2 video cards. (* I never used this feature of this motherboard yet as for a single GeForce 9800GT video card was plenty for the games that she plays, and the power supply I am running in her system is only 500watts. If running any Dual Video Card setup, I'd always go with at least 650 watts of power available. )

Depending on what you want to play for current games as well as games that are released in the next few years, it might make more sense to keep your current system as a 2nd computer and buy a new system with say a Core i7 CPU etc and modern video cards with Windows 7 or 8 and 4 or 8GB RAM and then add a memory upgrade to this if needed where depending on what games you want to run you will probably get more for your investment with future gaming hardware demands. My youngest brother spends crazy amounts of money on hardware when it first comes out and was one of the first to have the Core i7 2600k 3.4Ghz with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD with dual high end video cards running Windows 7 64-bit. I wish I could have that kind of power for gaming, but I can see so many other uses for a couple grand and am happy with my current Athlon II x4 620 2.6Ghz quadcore system on 4GB Ram with a cheap ATI 5450HD videocard with 1GB DDR3 running Windows 7 64-bit.

[Razor]

Hi Dave

Additional specs is

Nvidia Geforce 9600 GPU
750 watt PSU (So from what you say plenty of power to spare)

I think from what you are saying I will need a completly new PC and keep this one for older games that won't run on Win 7. I want to get games like Cyris and Skyrim but haven't because of performance issues. The main reason I am looking at upping current performance is I play Age of Empires 3 online a lot and the game is constantly lagging. I know some of it is network performance, but we have fairly good speeds here so was thinking that PC performance might be affecting things.

Thanks for replying and I think I will have to price up a new PC... and save

Cheers

Razor

[Computer_Commando]

...I know some of it is network performance, but we have fairly good speeds here so was thinking that PC performance might be affecting things...

Cable or DSL?  What speeds?
Slowest cable is faster than any DSL speed.

[Razor]

Tests from speedtest.net show I constantly get 15mb upload and 1mb download. According to Steam that's fast enough to play AoE 3 multiplayer which is why I suspected PC performance.

I have just defraged my drives so I'll see if that makes any differerence.

The only other thing that was suggested by a friend is getting a new cooling fan for my cpu - it runs at 100 degrees C during gaming when the day is hot.... might be cooking the poor thing.

I'm in New Zealand so our internet isn't the fastest sadly. (Unless one wants to pay mega bucks)

[Salmon Trout]

Tests from speedtest.net show I constantly get 15mb upload and 1mb download.

That's weird. Usually the download is way faster. Are you sure you haven't transposed the speeds?

[Razor]

Yep sorry - typo

15mb download 1mb upload. I am having a day of it 

Thanks for spotting.

[DaveLembke]

The only other thing that was suggested by a friend is getting a new cooling fan for my cpu - it runs at 100 degrees C during gaming when the day is hot.... might be cooking the poor thing.

Regarding this statement, 100C is pretty hot for that CPU.

 I'd try to keep it below 80C with 50-60C being even better for this type of CPU. Be sure your CPU heatsink is adequate size for processor and you have fresh and not old dry chalky thermal compound ( artic silver works best "thick grey heatsink compound" ) between CPU and heatsink to draw away heat and run cool.

Make sure heatsink for CPU is clean and not clogged with dust, and your computer case has plenty of airflow.

Make sure computer is not exposed to direct sunlight etc such as a black colored computer tower under direct sunlight etc. Try to use this computer in a room with air conditioning etc or at minumum a box fan to blow possibly cooler air from the floor to the rest of the room if operating in a room that is greater than 85 degrees F.

If you have an issue where internal case temperature is getting too warm the quick solution can be simply running the computer without the lid on it and a small fan pointed at the open area of the case to provide airflow to the components that create heat and need to cool. ( But this only works if you dont have to worry about cats or kids playing with the computer guts that are exposed. ) * Had a cat once decide to pounce on a CPU heatsink cooling fan while it was running that was I guess making a noise that the cat was annoyed with. Needless to say the cat bolted back when its paw got scuffed/bit by the fan blade and knocked my tower onto its side killing the hard drive in the process of the crash with the clunk of death. So lesson learned to keep computers closed up around cats, and just guessing it could also attract children to poke their fingers in there too.

If you want to have your computer closed up and have a cooling issue to get rid of excess heat, you can always stuff specially designed and inexpensive muffin fans that install into unused card slots (however most of these require a P-connector to be powered vs SATA power connection), as well as most modern cases come with an outlet airflow fan or location stamped out of the steel to install a 80mm fan to draw heated air out of the case. Some also have a location to install a fan if one is not already installed at the lower face of the computer tower frame to draw cooler air in.

If overclocking, I'd go with liquid cooling vs standard heatsink. Only non-liquid cooled heatsinks I have seen be able to keep CPU's cool when overclocking are massive in size and one of them would not fit into a standard computer tower because it was so tall standing off the CPU/Motherboard and would require a very wide case so that the side panel could be closed. Liquid cooling has come down in price and is the best solution for cooling.

[Razor]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the advice. I don't overclock so thought this heatsink/fan would do the job better than a standard cpu fan: http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=401605

A friend put one in when his cpu kept overheating now it doesn't go above 50C

[DaveLembke]

Cool... That one is pricey, since most I spend for heatsinks is usually $25 or less, but that one will definately do the job installed properly. I noticed that this heatsink comes with a 4 year warranty that the ones that I buy do not, so it must be a good quality product at that price since the manufacturer is offering 4 years of warranty on it. This heatsink you linked is more advanced than the cheap ones I use which are usually cast aluminum, or cast aluminum surrounding a copper core slug.