ram or proccessor

is it better to have more ram or a better processor, for games like battlefield 2142, counter strike source.

what i wanna get
-1g ram
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5500 1.66GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB

or
-256mb ram
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB

i dont know anything about intel processors, cause i have amd

 

RAM. Definitely RAM. You can barely run Windows on 256MB RAM, let alone games. Best would be to get at least 512MB RAM with the T7200, and then upgrade as soon as possible IMHO.

 

For gaming, the amount of RAM is important. Take option 1, with the !GB of RAM. Also, a dedicated graphics card is vital for games like Battlefield 2142, CSS, etc.

 

I weighed a similar decision when I bought my notebook. My logic was definitely to go with more RAM because:

1) More immediate benefit with games and such.

2) CPU prices drop a lot faster than RAM prices, so in a year it will be less expensive to get a faster C2D processor than to buy the pair of DDR2 chips you would need to up your memory.

 

Get the RAM.
256mb is inadequate for a large portion of todays computer uses.

 

You'd be amazed at the performance difference in Windows and in games between 256 and 512; and 512 and 1024 of RAM. Most games are rarely held up by the CPU (unless it's outrageously old)- it's your graphics card and your available RAM that really do the work.

 

I am "amazed"...

Who sells a T7200 with 256 MB RAM... that's ridiculous

If you once see how " playable" is XP on 256 MB RAM you will never even think about that.

 

Ram is far the most important in that case, but I say processors are more expensive to update. For most not VBI PCs, you can update the RAM yourself, but it will be tricky to change the processor.
Anyway 256 of ram is far too few for running anything, so till you update it you almost wont use your PC (may be office will run).

 

RAM

My 2GB Ram and my 7200 RPM HD makes my 1.6GHz Pentium M laptop feel much snappier than my friend's 1.6 GHz core 2 duo laptop with 512 MB ram and a 5400 RPM HD.

 

I would suggest going with option B), then upgrading your memory to 2GB as soon as you can save up another few hundred dollars.

 

My four year old laptop from 2002 had 512 MB SDRAM out of the box, so you probably know my response...

 

Are you a UF fan as well, gatordude?

 

I would get the T7200 and then put in 2 GB of DDR667 RAM. It will be a gaming monster.

 

RAM. Even if you have a dual core 4 GHz processor (which isn't available right now), you'd die from the 256 MB RAM. 1 GB of RAM is the standard now, you should get that, or 2 GB if you want it even better.