Conflicting Answers: 4GB RAM for XP Gaming

[KlausK]

I've read so many conflicting articles/posts about the benefit of having 4GB
RAM in an XP system.

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally experience
stuttering when entering new areas in games like COD4 and Gears of War. Will
4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

My system:
XP SP2
Q6600 on Intel 975XBX2
2GB Ballistix Ram
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD

 

[Fishface]

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally experience stuttering when entering new areas in games like
COD4 and Gears of War.
Will 4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

My system:
XP SP2
Q6600 on Intel 975XBX2
2GB Ballistix Ram
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD

Which video card and with how much video memory?

 

[Conor]

I've read so many conflicting articles/posts about the benefit of having 4GB
RAM in an XP system.

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally experience
stuttering when entering new areas in games like COD4 and Gears of War. Will
4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

My system:
XP SP2
Q6600 on Intel 975XBX2
2GB Ballistix Ram
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD

4GB is pointless. 2GB is fine. I have a X2 4800+ system and I'm always
one of the first into a map on BF2. Try giving the HDD a defrag.

 

[RobV]

I've read so many conflicting articles/posts about the benefit of
having 4GB RAM in an XP system.

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally experience
stuttering when entering new areas in games like COD4 and Gears of
War. Will 4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

My system:
XP SP2
Q6600 on Intel 975XBX2
2GB Ballistix Ram
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD

32 bit OSes like XP can't address more than 4 GB total addresses. The
MB components (PCI/ PCIe devices (sound, video, etc.) need addresses, so
the upper ~ 1 GB is set aside for that. So, with 4 GB RAM, ~ 3 GB is
available for use by the OS. I've experimented with this and the system
is faster and more trouble free with 2 GB RAM installed. The extra GB
with 2 more sticks installed does not really help anything. 2 GB is
more than enough for nearly any application.

Follow some of the excellent suggestions given in the other replies;
your answer does not lie in adding more RAM.

 

[KlausK]

32 bit OSes like XP can't address more than 4 GB total addresses. The MB
components (PCI/ PCIe devices (sound, video, etc.) need addresses, so the
upper ~ 1 GB is set aside for that. So, with 4 GB RAM, ~ 3 GB is
available for use by the OS. I've experimented with this and the system
is faster and more trouble free with 2 GB RAM installed. The extra GB with
2 more sticks installed does not really help anything. 2 GB is more than
enough for nearly any application.

Follow some of the excellent suggestions given in the other replies; your
answer does not lie in adding more RAM.

Thanks for all who replied. I have an ATI HD3870. Hmm...I haven't defragged
my HDDs since I built my PC 1 year ago. Maybe, that's why I experience
stuttering.

 

[RobV]

Thanks for all who replied. I have an ATI HD3870. Hmm...I haven't
defragged my HDDs since I built my PC 1 year ago. Maybe, that's why I
experience stuttering.

Yeah, that could be it. You are way overdo for a defrag, in any case.
;-)

 

[Bill]

I've read so many conflicting articles/posts about the benefit of having 4GB
RAM in an XP system.

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally experience
stuttering when entering new areas in games like COD4 and Gears of War. Will
4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

My system:
XP SP2
Q6600 on Intel 975XBX2
2GB Ballistix Ram
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD

If your not doing video editing in the background, going to 4 GB wil
probably do nothing for your games. Try upgrading your video card
instead < which you failed to make any note of >.

Bill

 

[John Doe]

I've read so many conflicting articles/posts about the benefit of
having 4GB RAM in an XP system.

Probably not here.

I currently have 2GB in my XP SP2 system and occasionally
experience stuttering when entering new areas in games like COD4
and Gears of War. Will 4GB make games run smoothly like butter?

No. Like another reply author said, what about your video card?
As far as I know, MemStatus 2.50 is the simplest/smallest free
utility for showing at a glance how much system memory and video
memory you are using, including the peak numbers (if you don't have
a secondary monitor). Good for a gamer IMO.

 

[Ed Medlin]

Thanks for all who replied. I have an ATI HD3870. Hmm...I haven't
defragged my HDDs since I built my PC 1 year ago. Maybe, that's why I
experience stuttering.

Your video card is not a particularly great gaming card. An Nvidia 8800GT or
GTS would run much better in a gaming invironment. Your card is a good video
output card, but lacks in overall speed needed for more modern games.

Ed

 

[DaveW]

Win XP in its 32 bit version can only recognize up to 3.2 GB of RAM even if
4 GB are installed.