Enhancing Gaming Performance: RAM Vs CPU

Hi Forum,

Please accept my apologies if this question has been done to death before. Broadly speaking though, which will increase gaming performance the most (with an X1600/7600 card): extra RAM or extra processing speed? e.g. 1.83GHz CPU + 2GB RAM Vs 2.0GHz CPU + 1GB RAM. I'm assuming the former.

Please post me alternative threads if this has been covered at length already.

Many thanks.

 

1.83GHZ + 2GB will outperform 2.0GHz + 1GB.

Amount of RAM is the single most important factor affecting performance.

 

Thanks jetstar. That suggests I would have been better advised going the 1.83GHz CPU / 2GB RAM route with my Asus F3J rather than the 2.0GHz/ 1GB one. Price wise they are much of a muchness.

 

RAM will make a major difference right up to the point where the entire game or application fits in RAM. Then the extra memory will make ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER.

For example, you will find no measurable difference these days in any game moving from 2 GB to 4 GB. There are a few games where you see a benefit going from 1 GB to 2 GB (Battlefield 2, for sure, and some others). However, if your game (or application) fits comfortably inside of 1 GB, the extra memory will be a waste. Then, CPU makes the difference.

If I was buying a new computer today, I would consider 2 GB of RAM to be a sweet spot. You are doing yourself a disservice buying only 1 GB.

 

Yes, as jetstar has mentioned, the 1.83 GHz with 2 GB will be faster. This will particularly be the case, when in games such as Battlefield 2/2142which uses alot of RAM. However, if you plan on doing some encoding, then you should be aware that the 2 GHz will be a little faster, due to fact it has a slightly higher clock. That is the case, when the two processers come from the same range.

 

Well i would think 1.83ghz / 2gb would be like $60-70 more expensive then 2.0 / 1gb....

If they are the same price go with 1.83 / 2gb.

If you have to pay more then $60 for 1.83 / 2gb compared to 2.0ghz / 1gb then go with the ladder.

You don't need 2gb of ram to play at WXGA+ well.

2GB of ram is only needed for playing at 1920x1200 or WSXGA+

 

The resolution really doesn't make much difference. Battlefield 2, for example, really likes more than 1 GB of RAM whether you are playing at WXGA+ or WSXGA+.

 

Thanks guys. My question was based purely from a gaming standpoint, and predominantly with RTS/RPG games in mind such as Medieval Total War II, Oblivion, Spellforce 2, etc.

 

I'd most definitely go the 2GB route. That's what everyone is telling you.

Some rare tasks will be slightly slower but we are talking only single-digit percent slower, while other tasks will be substantially faster. Plus 2 GB gives you more room to grow.

 

I'm sure you're all right, so many thanks for the kind and prompt feedback. I think the X1700 card combined with the 2GHz processor was what swayed me the other way, but it does seem that GO7600/2GB RAM/1.83GHz processor will provide better gaming performance and, as yamla says, will give us more room to grow. I should have stopped to consider the affect the double memory would have on things

 

Other than, when it comes to a laptop, it is MUCH easier to upgrade the RAM than it is a CPU.

You might want to take that into consideration ...

 

Oh in that case with the GPU involved i would say:
x1700/2.0ghz c2d/1gb ram > 7600go/1.83ghs c2d/2gb ram

 

From what I've read, much of which has been on this forum, there doesn't seem to be a huge leap from the 7600/X1600 to the X1700 though. I gather the X1700 is less of a step forward from the X1600 than the 7700 is to the 7600. But you think the X1700/2GHz/1GB RAM combo is still the stronger of the two discussed here link1313?

 

Kind of yea =/
But like i said "If they are the same price go with 1.83 / 2gb."

 

For myself i've choosen for the 2Gb of ram and a 1,83Ghz processer too. If i had a 2Ghz processor and only 1Gb of ram then i wouldn't game as smooth as now!

For myself i think that a big amount of memory is needed for not slowing down your computer or notebook. Memory won't make a pc faster at a certain point but if you have too less memory in a notebook or pc it will slow down the tasks for a computer.

 

Hindsight is an amazing thing. I think I really knew the answer to my question, so I can only think the shiny new X1700 card clouded my judgement when I was buying. Don't get me wrong, the F3Jp is a classy number for the money, but for the same money the 2GB RAM offset against a slightly slower CPU and GPU would probably have given us more room to grow as yamla said.

Thanks everyone for your most helpful feedback. Mucho appreciated.

 

Depends on what you are playing, though 1.83 vs 2.00 does not have a noticable difference. BF2/2142 will love the RAM, while the CPU difference is negligible, even in CPU intensive games.

EDIT: You can't update the CPU as easily sure, but then again, updating to 2.0 won't really make a difference in games. Besides, there are loading times to consider, and that 2gb in next-gen games running on Vista will MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER. If all you're doing with gaming, I'd go with the 1.83/2gb (7600?).

 

Due to all your great feedback I've decided to run with the F3Jv with 1.83GHz CPU, 256MB GO7600, and 2GB RAM. For the same money as the F3Jp this should keep the RTS, FPS, and RPG brigade in our house happier for longer.

 

Great choice!

 

2GB RAM is definitely more future-proof. 1GB is ok for *most* games now, but in a year or two, more RAM will definitely come in handy.

More RAM only helps if the game frequently accesses more memory than is physically available.
That causes pagefile accesses, which are sloow.
An easy way to check if this is a problem is to monitor the number of page faults in Windows Performance Monitor or Task Manager. Or just listen for harddrive activity.
It should be almost idle when you're playing (not loading).

but if the harddisk is already idle in those cases, more RAM will do nothing at all.

 

All things being equal (price especially), I'd opt for the extra RAM. Since you are asking from purely gaming perspective, the CPU difference is negligible. The x1600/go 7600/x1600/go 7700 are all in the same class anyway, so it's not like a whole new world when you move up to the newer cards (although I have seen some impressive numbers from go 7700 owners). You would see that kind of difference by moving up to a higher-class of GPU (like the go 7950 GTX).

But the extra RAM will relieve some of the bottlenecks that can occur from time to time--particularly for newer games (some of which are RAM-hogs).

Of course, you could always stick with the x1700 & T7200 and then add more RAM later on for the best of both worlds.

 

Chrisyano, took your advice and bought a 7950GTX based system...
just kidding

When you start researching a considered purchase such as this, you have a budget and spec in mind. And I don't know about you guys, but I then fall into the trap of "Oh, well the next model up is only £50 more... and then if you add the extra RAM it's £100 more, which is OK... and then, hey, may as well look at a G1... OK, now if I'm going that far I may as well look at an XPSM1710 as it's only £250 more". For goodness sake, that's 50-60% over budget now, what was I thinking!! But it's easy to fall into that train of thought, or maybe that's just me There's just so much choice these days, which is great of course, but also leads to a whole load of indecision. Thank heavens for superb forums such as this one to help us make the best and most informed decisions we can.

After all that waffle, I just wanted to confirm that I've listened to everyone's advice and have requested a change to the F3Jv with 1.83GHz CPU, 256MB GO7600, and 2GB RAM.... 7950GTX system will have to wait until next week