Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Atlantic Rim
Posts: 570

128 vs. 256MB of Ram?

I currently have 128MB of PC100 ram on my Gateway 400c machine. With RAM so cheap I am considering adding another 128MB. Anyone out there notice a big performance gain in going from 128 to 256, or is it so much overkill for Office apps and basic Photoshop 5.5 rendering?

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Bismarck, ND
Posts: 114

I would definitely do it. They say that memory upgrades are the best upgrades you can make to your computer!

I have 384mb now (3 banks of 128) and am thinking about doubling it, or at least getting a couple of the 256's.... They're $38 a piece now!

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J. Sean McKay, Ph.D.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

Get 256's. If you're running Photoshop, it'll help some. Office won't care much, but your system will appreciate it.
I currently have 704MB (64+128+256+256); I plan to excise the two smaller chips eventually in favor of 256's.

Check out these articles at HowStuffWorks for more help:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question175.htm

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 15

getting more memory dosen't make your system faster per se, but rather it prevents your computer from slowing down when you're throwing too much at it. when you start hearing your hard drive cranking endlessly away while you're working it's time to get more memory.

just remember more memory=less hard drive swapping. and there's no such thing as 'too much memory'

depending how big the files you work on in photoshop, it will help some to a whole whole lot. when you're dealing with 10, 20+ meg files and manipulating a good size chunk of that data at a time, it helps to keep as much of the file as possible in ram. So with large files in Photoshop going from 128 to 256megs will give you a noticable difference in speed.

The same of course applies in Office. But rarely does someone work on 10+meg word or excel files. So for a typical user a jump from 16 to 64 megs would make much more of a difference in Office speed than say someone going from 128 to 256.

But all the above also depends on how much system resources your system is handling (drivers, system tray crap, other applications). Having more memory at the very least will allow you to run more applications at the same time without having it choke.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by Yorick
Get 256's. If you're running Photoshop, it'll help some. Office won't care much, but your system will appreciate it.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 137

Does it matter what kind of brand of memory you buy?

I can go down the street to a local company that sells generic memory, but it only has a 30 day warranty.

However, it I buy from Crucial.com (a Micron company), it'll cost more but there's a lifetime guarantee. Plus, sharkyextreme.com recommends Crucial.

Is this really a big deal?

I would also get the 256MB. It's so cheap now!
BTW, I have a Dell Dimension 4100 800MHZ.

Mike

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by chungmike
Does it matter what kind of brand of memory you buy?

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Elkins Park, Pa
Posts: 577

Hi. RDRAM came with my PC. Where can I get it cheap? Nowhere?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by ernieba1
Hi. RDRAM came with my PC. Where can I get it cheap? Nowhere?

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

Just a little background on Photoshop's RAM usage. THis app is one of the biggest RAM hogs on the market (the I know of at least). It will take everything you have and more.

When you open a doc in Photoshop, it will try to open it completely in RAM first, then overflow to a tmp file after that. A document in PS usually takes around 3-5 times its file size in RAM.

I personally have PS RAM usage set to 75% of available. For me that is around 190megs or so. You can change your RAM settings in preferences (CTRL + K or CMD + K).

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

quote:

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originally posted by headgamer
I have 384mb now (3 banks of 128) and am thinking about doubling it, or at least getting a couple of the 256's.... They're $38 a piece now!

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

quote:

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Originally posted by chungmike
Does it matter what kind of brand of memory you buy?

I can go down the street to a local company that sells generic memory, but it only has a 30 day warranty.

However, it I buy from Crucial.com (a Micron company), it'll cost more but there's a lifetime guarantee. Plus, sharkyextreme.com recommends Crucial.

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Registered: Nov 2000
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I always buy Crucial, just ordered a 256mb stick less than a month ago from them.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Bismarck, ND
Posts: 114

quote:

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Originally posted by swendor


WHERE!?!?!?

I've seen 128's that cheap, but not 256's.

Do inform!

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I use Micron - and that is the price for Micron PC100 256mb modules.

Try Pricewatch...

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J. Sean McKay, Ph.D.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In every work of genius....
we recognize our own rejected thoughts."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 268

Keefer,

What O/S are you using? Win95/98 does not manage memory above 128MB well. You will see very little difference between 128MB and 256MB, if at all. WinNT and Win2K, on the other hand, can manage memory much better and you WILL see an improvement.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 447

quote:

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Originally posted by sammich


just remember more memory=less hard drive swapping. and there's no such thing as 'too much memory'

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And less hard drive swapping=less drive fragmenting=running Defrag utilities less=less frustration.