how much will i benefit from 2gb of ram?

[jpph]

yo my specs are
athlon dual core 2.0ghz
8600gt
xp
1gb ram

i was thinking of upgrading my ram to 2gb just cos 1gb isnt much and 1gb is only minimum for most new games. i was wondering if 2gb would help my pcs performance in new games a lot?
cheers

[halo-fan-4ever]

are you adding 2 more or will you have 2gb in total? RAM is cheap these days anyway theres no need to get the really expencive ones, more expencive isnt allways the best

[cw695356]

Theres no reason not to get more ram if you can afford it

[jpph]

i want to have a total of 2gb.
my only concern is my psu. its pushing it already with an 8600gt. i was told that my games might start freezing, and they havent until about an hour ago, when blood money just stopped. i loaded it up again and it stopped again.
will ram strain my psu anymore?

[cw695356]

RAM doesnt use a great deal of power at all so it shouldnt be a problem as far as i know

[halo-fan-4ever]

but if ur being dragged down by your psu then get a new one of those instead of the RAM

[Punkster]

i'd recommend getting more RAM. I noticed a decrease in loading times of games and more consistent frame rate. it's the cheapest upgrade you can get for your PC, so just get it, is what i say.

[MurdersGalore]

A ram upgrade is the most noticeable performance increase you will see right off the bat. Go fo it. But If you suspect you have a psu that may be crapping out I would investigate that further. Better safe then sorry. In a worst case scenerio a faulty PSU can damage your hardware, especially if the voltage regulators start to fail and the voltage on the rails starts to fluctuate. Apevia makes reliable and cheap PSUs that you can score on newegg for $14.99 up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2+50001998+40000058&Manufactory=1998&SubCategory=58&SpeTabStoreType=1

I have done a few builds with them and have had no complaints. Actually, the cheapest one would be enough for your current specs but I would go with atleast one of the 500watt models. The APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W is what currently powers my rig. Has been a trooper for 2 years plus. Quiet and cool.

[halo-fan-4ever]

kingston RAM is the best value for money RAM that i have come across

[canveyboy]

more ram always helps, you will see a big improvement going from 1 gig upto 2 gig.

[jpph]

A ram upgrade is the most noticeable performance increase you will see right off the bat. Go fo it. But If you suspect you have a psu that may be crapping out I would investigate that further. Better safe then sorry. In a worst case scenerio a faulty PSU can damage your hardware, especially if the voltage regulators start to fail and the voltage on the rails starts to fluctuate. Apevia makes reliable and cheap PSUs that you can score on newegg for $14.99 up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2+50001998+40000058&Manufactory=1998&SubCategory=58&SpeTabStoreType=1

I have done a few builds with them and have had no complaints. Actually, the cheapest one would be enough for your current specs but I would go with atleast one of the 500watt models. The APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W is what currently powers my rig. Has been a trooper for 2 years plus. Quiet and cool.

thanks for contribution. il consider it. are psus difficult to install?
i was told that 300w psu would "crap out" with an 8600gt and its already two years old so yeah maybe i better. but i cant do any difficult installation!:(

[cw695356]

not hard at all. Just unscrew the old one and put the new one in. Obviously you need to plug all the power connections back in though.

[jpph]

not hard at all. Just unscrew the old one and put the new one in. Obviously you need to plug all the power connections back in though.
my pc is premade from hp. does that make a difference?

[cw695356]

Shouldnt do but open it up and have a look.

[jpph]

will do.
what power psu do you recommend?
if the psu is more powerful does it mean your pc use more energy/electricity?

[cw695356]

of course if your psu is a higher wattage then it will draw more power although the increase in cost is probably less than £0.02/$0.05 an hour. I dont know if a psu draws its maximum rated power constantly or if it only draws what it needs, you would need to ask someone else or wait for another reply.

[MurdersGalore]

A 500watt PSU won't constantly draw 500watts. Your PC will use about the same amount of power as it always does. What switching to a higer wattage PSU will do is allow you more power for future upgrades and also a more stable current to your components thus a more stable system.

[Booma]

2 GB of ram is kinda essential for pc gaming these days if you want to run games at decent graphics settings.

[/XK/AnthraX]

more RAM could be useless if uve got a crappy psu. but u have good enough a processor to use it so id say get both.