How does my processor compare to the new stuff?

[Lord Burgess1]

Solid state drive.

 

[Quixote]

It sounds good.

But I have no idea what it does.

 

[Sushiman70]

It uses flash memory instead of a disk. It's faster than a disk, but usually more expensive.

 

[Archonsod]

Alternatively, simply create a ramdisk and do the same thing. Cheaper, and if you're running 64 bit gives you an excuse to add that 8Gb of RAM it's designed to run with.

 

[Kevlar]

Also, (and as a disclaimer, I don't know much about RAMdisks) it would seem to me that the biggest problem with a RAMdisk is that it doesn't give the OS the boost an SSD would, since it's volatile memory and you can't install the OS on it.

Ramdisk is a lot better for server use, not so much for personal use (unless you intend to have the computer on 24/7)

 

[Archonsod]

8Gb?  Windows 7 Home Premium supports 14, if I remember correctly.

16Gb, although Professional and up supports 192Gb. x64 has a theoretical limit of 4Tb of RAM though (physically getting that much into a desktop might be a bit tricky though).

it would seem to me that the biggest problem with a RAMdisk is that it doesn't give the OS the boost an SSD would, since it's volatile memory and you can't install the OS on it.

Why the **** would you want to install the OS on it in the first place? Note the SSD is only faster than a hard drive on read operations; when it comes to writing (which the OS will do an awful lot of) it's actually slower than a regular hard drive. Throw in that the lifespan of the SSD is counted in the number of write operations, and that they still have a tendency to wipe themselves from time to time, and you're just asking for trouble.

Ramdisk is a lot better for server use, not so much for personal use (unless you intend to have the computer on 24/7)

/facepalm

 

[BadabombadaBang]

Good god, 4TB of RAM would be insane..

 

[bgfan]

Is there really a need to go over 8 gb, though? I'm running 6 and I've never encountered any problems. Hell, I know people that get by with just 4 on Win7.

 

[Kevlar]

there's no reason not to invest in extra RAM.

Here's a reason, you wouldn't use more then you need so it would be a waste...this coming from a guy who spent $600 on a computer case 

 

[K-64]

I'm running 16GB of RAM. Just because I bloody well can. Plus it's useful as ****

 

[Archonsod]

Is there really a need to go over 8 gb, though? I'm running 6 and I've never encountered any problems. Hell, I know people that get by with just 4 on Win7.

x64 is designed for use with 8Gb RAM, under that and performance suffers slightly. Given how cheap RAM is though a better question is whether there's any reason not to shovel as much as you can in there. Unless you're running NT or Windows 9x.

Here's a reason, you wouldn't use more then you need

Windows is designed to use as much RAM as you can throw at it.

 

[Kevlar]

Here's a reason, you wouldn't use more then you need

Windows is designed to use as much RAM as you can throw at it.

Windows, maybe, but what about the programs?

I have 6gb and don't see a huge need for it even (I basically only game). Now if I did photo/video editing and had to render a lot I could see a purpose but for general use or even just gaming I don't see why people think more is better (when compared to faster timings).

 

[Archonsod]

Windows, maybe, but what about the programs?

What the hell do you think is assigning them memory, BIOS?

I don't see why people think more is better (when compared to faster timings).

The more memory you have, the more can be loaded into memory, which is a lot faster than having to swap it in and out from disk.

 

[Llew2]

Here's hoping going from 4 to 8Gb helps my rig. Getting a bit slow these days.


(Also, cheers for getting 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM for $29 on Newegg.)

 

[Caba`drin]

(Also, cheers for getting 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM for $29 on Newegg.)

[me=Caba]grumbles about being an idiot and buying a motherboard that only takes DDR2 RAM and how DDR2 is more expensive than DDR3 *[/me]

...though that was over 2 years ago now. You weren't supposed to get old so fast, machine! [me=]shakes fist *[/me]

 

[Quixote]

Also another thing:

Will my Processor net nicely fast loading screens on a game like Skyrim? I seem to have recently had slower load times than expected on some games. I went and played Runescape for nostalgia the other day, and going into new places made everything laggy as hell. When I got to the places, it was smooth. Is this even an effect of my Processor? Or completely my 8800 GT?

-Surprised

 

[Lord Burgess1]

Or your ram.

 

[Quixote]

Or your ram.

Hmm, maybe. I have had trouble with RAM in the past. Though I just bought an additional 1GB to replace a broken 512. Memory says 4.5GB, I thought that would be good.