More ram or faster ram?

[Matt Anderson]

I have a comp with 512mb of ram, which was originally running at 266, until
I just bought a 512 stick of 333. This gives me a total of 1G of ram in my
possession, but only 512 runs at 333. I'm wondering if I'd be better off
(for running Doom3 and the like) with the 512 of faster ram, or
underclocking it and having 1G at 266.
BTW, I tried overclocking the 266 sticks, to no success whatsoever. I
didn't try very hard tho, I'm not that pushy on my hardware.

Thanks for opinions.

If it helps, I'm running XP
Athlon 2000+, not overclocked.
ATI 9600, 256 mb ram
The 2 sticks of 256 @ 266mhz are Micron/crucial
The new 512 @ 333 is Corsair valueselect

--

Matt Anderson
Newton North HS Physics, Ultimate Frisbee
http://science.andersonscience.net
(617) 559-6400 x454127

 

[Fitz]

If you're running an Athlon 2000+, not overclocked, then you're running a
266FSB. There is no advantage to removing the 512MB of 266 memory and
replacing it with the 333MHz memory....it's only going to run at 266MHz. Try
both the 266 and 333- the 333 will run at the system bus speed and you will
have 1024MB of memory running at 266MHz. Try running the 333MHz in DIMM 1
and the 266 in DIMM 2/3. If you have stability problems, put the 266 in DIMM
1/2 and the 333 in DIMM 3 and see if it fixes it.

Fitz

 

[JK]

An Athlon XP2000+ isn't so good for Doom 3. If you want great performance
in Doom 3, you should upgrade to an Athlon 64 and a very high performance video
card.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7

Doom 3 is resulting in many people making major upgrades.

 

[Matty Anderson]

I can clock the fsb and ram asynchronously with my mobo, at a ratio of 2.5x
fsb, instead of 2x. Believe me, I do in fact have the cpu running with 266
mhz fsb, and the ram is at 333. Given this fact, which would be preferable,
more ram or faster ram?

Thanks

 

[Fitz]

More. Little if no advantage from 266 MHz vs 333 MHz RAM when the system
clock speed is 266 MHz. 1GB RAM vs 512 is a better option. I've seen my
system accessing over 800MB while running Call of Duty without closing any
other running processes before playing the game.

Fitz