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vista - 1 gig RAM or 2?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by thacabbage, Jul 1, 2007.

  1. JeeberD

    JeeberD Member

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    Most likely. Not long ago I was shocked when I saw a hard one terabyte harddrive out there. I remember about ten years ago when my parents got a computer that had a whole GIG on it. It was so exciting!
     
  2. Xenon

    Xenon Member

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    As someone stated before, Ram is very cheap right now and there is no guarantee it will ever be this low again. DDR2 is even cheaper than DDR as an example. I would get at a minimum 2gb, but aim for 4gb if you can.
     
  3. professorjay

    professorjay Member

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    So you expect ram to possibly go back up in price? Why is that? I'm not challenging you, it's just the possibility never occured to me.
     
  4. Xenon

    Xenon Member

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    RAM prices fluctuate quite a bit at times. They have increased from their lows of just a few weeks ago. Alot of it is simply supply and demand. Once DDR3 ramps up the supply of DDR2 will dwindle, increasing prices.
     
  5. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    RAM prices always fluctuate, but lately they've been trending upwards. Xenon put it best, you'll see older technology RAM actually increase in price as time goes on (at least initially) as newer technology RAM comes in. It's one of the reasons I tell people to go ahead and get more than they think they need if prices are cheap so they don't have to worry about it in the future.

    Here's one article : http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;173763745
     
  6. Man

    Man Member

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    hey, is there any way to get Microsoft Office at a relatively low price? new laptop ---> 60 day free trial.
     
  7. wreck

    wreck Member

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    More than 1 gig is a must!!!!!

    Im going to repeat that go for more than 1.

    I just got a vista desktop and it has 1 gig and about the same processor as my previos computer. It slows down bad. ITs a lot slower than my other computer which was ddr, and this one is ddr2. So anyway I recommend 2 gigs or just buy a 1 gig and upgrade, i think an upgrade is fairly cheap
     
  8. aeroman10

    aeroman10 Member

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    I am looking for a Vista desktop now.
    If I am buying a pre-configured one with 1GB then I am definitely getting more RAM. If I am configuring it myself I am getting 2GB to start with atleast.

    I cant find a good cheap desktop with Vista Business in stores though :(
     
  9. professorjay

    professorjay Member

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    Ah, that makes sense. I never realized, considering I'm usually in the market for RAM maybe twice a decade. I wish this would've came up earlier.

    A few days ago I could've gotten a 2 gig kit of RAM for my Macbook for $55 total (Crucial, through Buy.com I think?). I decided against it for several reason, one of which is I really want to get 3 gigs total. Probably should've bit the bullet and sold the extra stick on eBay.
     
  10. Rockets2K

    Rockets2K Clutch Crew

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    just picked up a nice mini-desktop(HP) for a client a little while back.
    IT was right at 600. and that was at a overpriced Office Depot.



    Im using 2G on this vista laptop, and it runs like a dream. I even have done some of last seasons video encoding on it, and the time needed was noticably less.

    I have seen zero problems and rest assured I have put it thru its paces.

    BTW.....Office Student/Teacher edition is 149 iirc.
     
  11. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    For those of you looking to buy a new desktop based on an Intel processor, you may want to hang on for about 3-4 weeks. Intel is about to slash prices on their higher-end CPU's around July 22nd. The prices on CPU's have started dropping as a result, but we're nowhere near the bottom. I was about to build another system when I caught wind of this, so I'm waiting another couple of weeks for the prices to crater on the E6000 dual core series or Q6600 Quad Core chip.
     
  12. BrockStapper

    BrockStapper Contributing Member

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    well, you video and graphics guys are the lucky ones in regards to Vista. There will be benefits for us audio folks eventually - but Vista's main reason for being is to address video and graphics and I'm not suprised at all that you see better performance in that area. Audio folks are also reporting better peformance in some cases but it will be a little while before we see the stability that you video folks will have.

    Vista is designed to let the graphics cards do more of the work and make things more efficient and higher quality in regards to video and graphics. For audio we are still dealing with tons of ram, latency issues and cpu for all tasks not related to video. In XP I can load up three to four instances of Kontakt before I start pushing against my 2 gigs of ram (this is with the host software running as well). In XP I would have to incorporate what they call the 3gig switch in order to address more ram but it comes at a price of stability depending on your hardware.

    In Vista I could easily use over three gigs of ram. If you are running a quad processor machine it becomes even more imperative to have more ram. 1 gig, in my opinion, is the bare minimum for Vista regardless of the work you do. 2 gigs is what I would suggest for most folks. 4 gigs if using a quad (or more) processor machine or use very ram intensive software.

    I'm hoping at some point to see the benefits you see, R2K. For now I'm thinking about just going with XP64 and wait to see what happens.

    Cheers,
    Brock
     
  13. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Hey everyone! I looked through 11 pages in search for info about Vista 64 bit and couldn't find anything. This thread at least mentioned it (somewhere!). At any event, I'm going to buy a new desktop gaming rig, probably from HP (yes, I know there are a lot of smaller PC companes making great gaming desktops, but I think I'm going this route), and I'm going to get Vista with it. Been using XP Pro.

    Question: Is it worth getting 64 bit Vista, as opposed to 32 bit? Is Windows Ultimate worth an extra $175 or so? (it's also 64 bit)

    Here's what I'm probably buying:

    HP Pavilion Elite d5000t ATX PC

    Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)

    Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q9450 (2.66GHz)

    Memory 3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x1024,2x512)

    Graphics card 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT, 2 DVI, HDMI adapter

    Networking Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n & Bluetooth(R )

    Hard drive 640GB RAID 0 (2 x 320GB SATA HDDs) - performance

    Primary CD/DVD drive LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive

    Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio

    TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

    Sound Card Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

    Security software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 15 month
    Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
    Keyboard and Mouse HP keyboard and HP optical mouse

    $1,429.99

    I'm be giving the mouse and keyboard to Goodwill. Don't need them. Will be getting rid of some of the software that comes with it and getting different stuff. I'll be replacing the memory with something much better, but some comes with the deal. If I get 64 bit Vista, I'll put 4 gigs in it. Thoughts?
     
  14. Rockets2K

    Rockets2K Clutch Crew

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    64 bit will allow you to access all 4G of RAM if you decide to go that way.

    Funnily enough, Vista 32 bit doesnt see all 4G, it sees like 3.5G.

    BUT

    64 bit is not available for all applications at this time, most of the drivers for the more recent and common hardware is out and working so that shouldnt be an issue...unless you try to run older peripherals with it.

    seems like a decent deal Deck....you could probably get one for closer to 1200 if you shopped around and maybe found something on sale....but if you like that one go with it, you arent getting ripped off anymore than any of us are when buying computers. ;)
     
  15. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Thanks, R2K. I think I'll go with the 32 bit and replace the 3 gigs of memory with some high speed sticks from Corsair or something similar. I knew I could count on one of the resident PC experts here to help me out. I've gotten pretty clueless about this stuff now. You'd never guess that I used to build computers back in the day, like an IMSAI 8080. Pretty freaky in the mid-'70's! :)

    [​IMG]
     
  16. omair

    omair Member

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    Get 32 bit vista and 3gb ram. I just bought an HP with 3 gb ram and it works great. You will hardly use the benefits of having a 64 bit OS and for most software that comes out there will be a 32 bit (which is more common) and a 64 bit.
     
  17. chow_yun_fat

    chow_yun_fat Member

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    i'm running 4 gigs of very OC'able G Skill ram on my current build. xp can only read 3.5 gigs, but i think i notice a small increase from 2 to 3.5 gigs.
     
  18. thelasik

    thelasik Contributing Member

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    i agree with omair, i was his main adviser for his laptop purchase.
     
  19. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    I was very impressed with the specs for the cpu. Here's what HP had on it:

    Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q9450 (2.66GHz)

    FEATURES: Processor speed 2.66GHz, 12MB L2 cache, up to 1333MHz FSB capability, system limitations may limit FSB speed.

    The other component that grabbed my attention was the new 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT. Here's the specs on it:

    1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT, 2 DVI, HDMI adapter

    FEATURES: 1GB dedicated video memory, 2 DVI-I (one daul-link, one single-link), VGA adapter, HDMI adapter. Supports DirectX(R) 10. BENEFITS: GeForce 9800 GT GPU delivers the price/performance gamers have been demanding. Featuring 112 processor cores each individually clocked at a blazing fast 1.5 GHz and an impressive 256-bit framebuffer interface running at 900MHz, GeForce 9800 GT delivers a level of price/performance that hardcore gamers are requiring. Featuring the second generation NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology engine, this card delivers brilliant Blu-ray movie picture quality. Latest generation graphics architecture featuring support for Microsoft(R) DirectX(R) 10. Dual-compatibility with HD DVD and Blu-ray.


    It's an improved 8800 GT (as best I can tell!) with 1 GB of memory. I should be able to play the games I enjoy (mostly RTS's, which are surprisingly demanding these days) on pretty high settings without much trouble. Yes, after some convincing on my part, my sweetie has given me the OK. Crazy how you have to jump through hoops to buy something like this when you're married, even if you don't consider it a major purchase. One of the reasons I didn't go with a better gaming rig was that the companies were ones she had never heard of! Oh well... this will make me happy for at least the next couple of years and I'll be able to improve the rig over time. :)

    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...+Vista+Home+Premium&series_name=d5000t_series
     
  20. Omer

    Omer Member

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    Vista is trash with 1gb.

    I bought my laptop last summer with 1gb RAM, it sucked and I immediately upgraded to 2gb within a month.

    These days you should get a computer with 2gb at least, it'll help in the long run.

    I recommend getting as much RAM as you can afford, its crucial in speed.
     

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