Small RAM upgrade?

[Auspice]

Hello, my machine is currently using:

2x 1GB Corsair DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

I was considering giving these RAM chips to my woman for her computer and wanted something a bit faster for my machine.

The motherboard I'm using is:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Any recommendations? Am I really going to be able to get any better performance since I can't use DDR3 in this motherboard? Would I be better off just ordering another pair of the Corsair RAM I currently have and OCing what is already in my machine?

[Tythera]

From the looks of the board you could get 1366 MHz RAM, but to achieve the rated speed you'd have to OC the CPU by upping the FSB, unless it happens to have a chipset where the CPU/memory FSB are separate. I'm not sure on that board but my best guess is they'd be tied together. If that is the case, you'll only get a speedup buying 1366 MHz RAM and overclocking. My suggestion would be to just buy similar RAM and not worry about it until you upgrade the whole thing some time in the future.

[Auspice]

Bummer. I guess I can't bitch though since I can run anything I want but I was hoping for a bit of a boost.

[Olo401]

Why wouldn't you be able to use DDR3 in that board? I would imagine if you have the most recent BIOS update it'd work just fine (though I'm thinking you might not be able to run dual-channel, which would be a hit to overall system speed)

[Cephius]

What are the full specs of your computer OP? It would give us a better idea of whether or not upgrading the RAM would give you a performance boost. Most of the time you're going to want to upgrade your weakest link. You could add 2 more gigs of RAM but if your processor and GPU stink, you're not gonna see much of a difference.

[Auspice]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
CORSAIR Dominator (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

I'm only running 32bit XP; I was under the impression you couldn't put more than 3(?) gig of RAM without going 64bit

I'm not unhappy with my performance I just figured if I could give my current RAM to my woman I could get something faster. :D

[Cephius]

Try going to 64 bit and putting 4 gigs in there. It makes a difference, at least to me

But yeah, your other specs are fine. Try bumping it up to 3 and see how you like it.

[Olo401]

You can put in up to 4 gigs and it'll work. You should end up with about 2.7ish gigs of available memory for programs with such a setup.

Also I just double-checked - you can run DDR3 memory in dual-channel mode without a problem. I'm pretty sure your board can take DDR3 since it's almost the same as my new one (I have the UD3P).

Edit: Newegg has a 48-hr memory sale, 15% off all orders (up to $10) with promo code "memorysale15".. just picked up a 4gig DDR2-1066 kit for myself!

[Auspice]

I snagged another 2 gig of the Corsair RAM I'm using now. Maybe I'll put 1 of the 2 sticks in my machine and leave the other for my woman's comp.

I'm pretty sure the answer is no but you can't mix and match RAM at all even if it's in different channels, right?

[Olo401]

You can, but you wouldn't be able to run dual-channel if you do. I learned that when I mixed a set of 5-5-5-15 memory with a set of 5-5-5-18, even though both are DDR2-800!

[Sonomaa]

xp will address up to 3.2 or 3.5g of ram, but will only display 3, its all there though

[Auspice]

Bleh, I upgraded my video card drivers from ATI's site and XI is running a lot worse. I used to get 20-25 fps in Whitegate and now I'm getting 15-20. Any suggestions?

I think I'll throw an extra 1gb stick in my machine just to see what I can get.