Req opinions on modest mem and vid upgrades.

My computer is just beginning to get maxed on memory usage and with the addition of the second monitor on-board video is starting to show the strain. With this comp I do mostly active intraday trading which means a fair number of charting windows along with chat rooms are open at once, with that you can throw in mail and an office app or two. On down-time I occasionally view an HD movie, one thing I don't do is any sort of gaming.

Given my requirements I was thinking I could get away with simply adding 2Gb more memory and a basic HD/HDCP capable card. If this is plausible I need to ask, if I just add two more 2x1Gb sticks is it safe to go with 5x5x5x15 as my current are 4x4x4x12? Would making sure mem is set to auto or locking to the lower timings be sufficient? I also read somewhere that AMD would be much happier with 2x2Gb vs. 4x1Gb, true to the point of heeding? Is it likely I could be satisfied with a vid card as basic as this Zotac >> Newegg.com - ZOTAC ZT-84GED2M-HSL GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 32-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

Any suggestions much appreciated.

4x1 gb should be enough and good, just pay attention to buy the same modules so you don't have to run on false settings.

is it safe to go with 5x5x5x15 as my current are 4x4x4x12?
Yes, but try to buy identical modules to the old ones

Do the monitors have vga (blue) or dvi (white) cable inputs?

speedgamer01 said:

is it safe to go with 5x5x5x15 as my current are 4x4x4x12?
Yes, but try to buy identical modules to the old ones

Do the monitors have vga (blue) or dvi (white) cable inputs?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I'm planning to stick with 667 modules.

Hanns-G is D-Sub/DVI/HDMI, Asus is D-Sub/DVI. The only reason I'm running the Asus in VGA mode is the on-board graphics will only allow for one digital output, another reason for upgrading to a dedicated card. As for the card, definitely pushing for fanless.

Cheers!

I would go with this guy, but i have no idea if it is too powerful (less likely to be too week) for your purposes.

EVGA | Articles | EVGA GT 520
Can the evga geforce gt 520 graphics card output dual screens at different resolutions? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers

You're killing me speedgamer01. LOL! I thought this was going to be easy but now that I look deeper the more questions arise.

I did take a look at the EVGA GT 520 and I have no doubt it would fulfill my computing requirements. Since I still have my sights set on fanless I took a peek at their other options, now the questions:

1. Considering the base specs of my system should the core speed of the video card be of concern? I mention that as I see the GT 520 is 810 MHz while all the passive cooling models are 520 MHz. My belief is that the GPU is a separate entity so possibly more can only be better?

2. I also now see many of the video cards provide a minimum PSU spec. At only 350 watts should I take their minimum guidelines as set in stone or might my 65W Regor and minimal hardware provide a bit of leeway?

3. Could I assume for my purposes even 512Mb mem is enough?

I'm feeling this this thread morphed and should now be in the video forum but...can't stop now.

1. Yes, higher core speed will give you more power, it is your chance to buy it with or without a fan. 810mhz is probably the 'factory clock' which nvidia recommends, you might see overclocked models which have like 850 or 900 or 950mhz core speed, I would strongly recommend not to buy any of those.

2. I'd say that you need a new psu but please find it out with a trusty calculator: eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

3. No, windows 7 needs 2gb of ram to run smooth in basic situations, but most gurus recommend 3gb (or more).

Thanks again SG01 for your informative replies.

Think I'll shoot for the 810MHz although when targeting passive cooling cards choices do thin out in the sub $60 category. I'm sure more speed equals additional heat thus the need for fans. I'd also like to bypass 64bit for a 128 bit version but that limits choice even more.

Appreciate the calc link. A workup with an additional 2 sticks of mem and a Radeon 6450 or Nvidia Gforce GT 430 shows a power requirement of just under 350w recommended and a tad bit over 300w minimum. Considering my PSU is a bit older I even adjusted the cap aging to 45%. Can also free up another 40w by dropping two of the internal storage drives so I should be good even if I choose the GT 520.

As for the 512Mb memory reference in my last post I was speaking of video card memory not system RAM. Just curious as to the suggested requirement (512/1024) considering dual monitor, multiple windows/apps, HD video, etc.

Cheers!

Yes 512mb should be enough for the card

Cheers

Fabulous SG01, you're tops! Cheers.

Just a quick follow-up question about memory -- As stated I'm not a gamer but do run a lot of active charting software, Office apps and video (HD and embeded viewers) along with video screen capture apps. My question is, given my system specs is there likely be any noticeable difference between the use of 667/800/1066 memory modules? I'm leaning toward just getting a fresh 2x2Gb (or 4x2Gb) 800 or 1066 but wondering if the $25-$50 premium for the 1066 over the 800 would be worth while. Heck, is it even worth upgrading from the 667 performance wise or should I simply put the proceed towards getting to 6 gigs of 667?

Cheers!

Your system has a 32 bit windows, so if you don't plan to upgrade it makes no sense to buy 6gb since 32bit systems can only use up 4gb at most.

So 2x2 gb would be a good choice. I would choose the 800 mhz modules, there is not much of a difference. Just make sure that the ram you buy is DDR2 (which your motherboard works with)

Thanks again SG01 for your reply.

As many of my apps and all hardware are 64 bit-ready my intent is to upgrade to 64 at the same time I drop in more memory, already have Win7 64.

It simply kills me though that I could buy 8Gb of PC3-12800 for less than $30 while 8Gb of PC2-6400 is an obnoxious $130! Heck, could upgrade the MB & memory (possibly even CPU) for that premium! My head is hurting in my "attempt" to miser this short term upgrade so think I'll just get the 2x2Gb 800 which is only a $15 premium over adding 2Gb 667 to my current 2Gb.

Cheers!

Just a quick and final update. For a total of $35/USD I picked up Corsair 2x1Gb 667 and a Zotac GT 520 1Gb. Definitely at the lower end of my list but they proved to be more than enough for my needs. Those upgrades along with the move to 64-bit makes a world of difference.

For what it's worth, WEI scores (before and after):



Thanks again for the info you've provided!