A RAM question

Tnuh555 · Sep 29, 2010

I am considering asking for some RAM for Christmas. I currently have 2 GB and was looking to double it to 4 GB. The thing is that I don't know if it is worth it. :confused:

At 2 GB, Vista seems to run at an optimal level. The thing is, I tend to play some games on this laptop too. I have an ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 series graphics card with 256 MB of dedicated VRAM and about 800 MB of Shared ram (give or take 50 MB).

I play games like Half-Life (both first and second) Deus Ex... etc... I don't really play many of the new, top of the line games. The graphics work good at high levels, but in some areas it seems to get bogged down. I'm thinking that it is the game itself, but there is the possibility that a background app is causing it. But going off the assumption that it is just the game itself, would doubling my RAM have a good effect, or would I need to upgrade my video card in order to get it to work good?

Also, I know that increasing your RAM has a good effect on battery life, but do you really see a difference if you get a decent amount of life at 2 GB?

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks!

Some additional details:
I think the current RAM is 2 GB of Samsung DDR2 RAM
I wanted to upgrade to 4 GB of Crucial DDR2 RAM

02befree · Sep 30, 2010

Upgrading to 4 can upgrade your performance, but the gains from say, 1GB to 2GB, are more dramatic. There are several good articles out there like this one:
DIY Guide: How much memory is enough in Windows Vista? - PCSTATS.com

ilikefree · Sep 30, 2010

An increase in Ram won't make your graphics card any better.

Tnuh555 · Sep 30, 2010

ilikefree said:
An increase in Ram won't make your graphics card any better.

I know, but wouldn't it speed up games?

The lag seems to occur in a cycle (e.g. lag, then 5 mins, then another lag, then 5 mins...).

With that, I don't think that the graphics card is the culprit, but I may be wrong.

Thanks for the replies guys.

ilikefree · Sep 30, 2010

What is your lowest score in Windows Index Experence
Control panel,Performance infomation and tools

Tnuh555 · Sep 30, 2010

Lowest score is a 3.8 in Gaming graphics.... I see where you are going.

I tried looking for a gfx card for my computer to no avail.

I still wonder it it's the graphics card since the lag happens in a cyclic pattern.

And upon further examination, I only have 1789 total usable ram. Vista likes to eat more than half that... but I don't mind it for now. Mainly using this PC for school purposes at the time being.

Thanks for the reply!

Patonb · Sep 30, 2010

Definately a ram increase will help you out, but might not stop the lag...

What are you running when you get the lagging?

I find, vista will always use half your ram no matter what you have in there.

Tnuh555 · Sep 30, 2010

Well, games like Half Life 2 see these "lag cycles" that I have mentioned. Deus Ex: Invisible War runs decently, but has some troubles every now and again (don't care much for this game though, it's far inferior to its predecessor). Even the 2d fighting game MUGEN slows down while displaying various colors/animations... Might be the fact that it is played off a Flash drive though.

HL2 settings are medium to high in some spots, I think Anti Aliasing is disabled...

I gotta get to bed, so i'll go into more detail tomorrow.

Thanks for the replies and goodnight!

ilikefree · Oct 1, 2010

You could try defragging the Ram it may help the lag.

Iolo® Memory Mechanic

Tnuh555 · Oct 1, 2010

Unfortunately, I downloaded the program, but it says that it only works on 32 bit Operating Systems, so I couldn't use it. I'm using Windows Vista Home Premium x64.

Thanks for the reply.

Tnuh555 · Oct 6, 2010

After giving it some thought, I was thinking instead of a RAM upgrade I would change my processor to the Core i3 line. Yes, I would probably need to have someone install this for me and mess with the power and stuff, all over my head for a model that I cant seem to find much info on.

But in the end, would it even be worth it in a speed increase? I haven't singled out a single version of the processor yet, but the one I looked at was only $100. The ram was $88. Looking forward to your responses!

(Might not be able to do this, setting aside incompatibility possibilities, I think one of the screws that holds the computer together is stripped. Don't know if it would come out.)

Patonb · Oct 6, 2010

Is this for the laptop in your sig?

As you can't do anything to a laptop but ram.

bruce2 · Oct 6, 2010

Hi tnuh555,

How are you?

As shown in your specs, the ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 series is an integrated gpu if I am not wrong. Integrated gpu is not for gaming purpose as it is only good for the minimum requirement for some old games with lowest settings. Also, integrated gpu take up a big chunk of your 2G of rams to process graphic as it works. Therefore, this obviously seems to be your lagging cause.

The critical upgrade needed is a gpu. A couple of G of ram would help but not much. Cpu is fine.

About the striped screw, use a pliers to pull while turning counter clock wise to force it out. Shouldn't be a much of a problem. Good luck.

Hope this helps and post back and let us know what you think.

Bruce

ilikefree · Oct 7, 2010

Just to be sure have a look at your temps.

A RAM question

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