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JohnyCanuck Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:03 PM
Original message
Computer techies. Question on memory requirements for Windows XP

My nephew is asking my advice on purchasing a low cost computer that comes with a Pentium 4, Windows XP, 256mb ddr ram and an onboard Intel i845GE graphics card. Like most 14 year olds he is really into gamming on the PC (which I am not). Do you think he would gain much by shelling out a bit extra to upgrade the memory to 512mb from 256mb.

Thanks for any suggestions or comments
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kalian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:05 PM
Response to Original message
1. Definitely....
XP is memory intensive. I would recommend 512MB as a minimum.
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no one in particular Donating Member (417 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:07 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. Seconded.
512MB minimum.

I got a big boost going to 1 gig. Most of my use is games and music production.
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papau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:29 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. Agree - although more than 512 unlikely to be as important as 7200 on
the hard drive rpm or the speed of the motherboard chip set.
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Nlighten1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:51 PM
Response to Reply #1
11. Thirded.
512 is minimun with XP. Did you know that 2003 server has an option to disable the swap file if you have enough memory and want to be daring?
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raysr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:06 PM
Response to Original message
2. Yes
cheaper to get it up front than add later.
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Triscuit013 Donating Member (25 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:06 PM
Response to Original message
3. Definitely
Edited on Thu Mar-04-04 08:07 PM by Triscuit013
256 MB is about the bare minimum for good gaming. It'd also be worth it to go extra money for a higher quality graphics card.
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no one in particular Donating Member (417 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:10 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. Definitely needs a new video card.
That onboard Intel is definitely a no-no as far as gaming.
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FireHeart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Mar-05-04 04:24 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. That is for certain.
Some folks forget that integrated video/sound cards suck up some of the available DDR that you have installed. An indie card with it's own video RAM will really help improve performance.

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Florida_Geek Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:16 PM
Response to Original message
6. For Gaming I would add a 512K stick
He may not need it today, but within a year or two he will.
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Deja Q Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:18 PM
Response to Original message
7. You can disable some unneeded services, but I agree
- up that RAM!

I'm not sure on the grtaphics card's specs.

The ATi Radeon 9800 Pro is a great model for the money.

But if you want Linux, stick with nVidia as they know how to write good drivers (in general, but their Linux drivers are far, far better than ATi's in terms of performance and installation...)
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Resistance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:30 PM
Response to Original message
9. yep it's worth it
upgrade that video card though
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JohnyCanuck Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Mar-04-04 08:35 PM
Response to Original message
10. Thanks for the suggestions and advice. I'll pass them on n/t
n/t
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OKNancy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Mar-05-04 04:46 AM
Response to Original message
13. It's real easy to do it yourself too
Check out prices just to make sure it is cheaper to have it done before you buy it. Here I am, a middle-aged housewife in Oklahoma, totally self-taught on a computer, but I have installed the memory pins on two computers that I have owned. ( and tons of other stuff too!! I'm not afraid )

I got mine from Kingston tech. They are a good company.

Caution: If you are the kind of guy who doesn't like to read instructions, then nevermind. It's like cooking....follow the recipe.
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jmowreader Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Mar-05-04 06:13 PM
Response to Original message
14. I don't think so. It's not enough.
My rule for Happiness in Windows is to take the side panel off the machine and throw RAM at it with both hands. If he can swing 1GB, that should hold him for a few days.

2GB would be better.

Y'all are laughing right now, but I clearly remember the days when 300MB hard disks were so unbelievably huge you'd never fill one up. I have individual files that won't fit on a 300MB hard drive.

And yes, I walked uphill to school both ways.
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