32 bit or 64 bit

Hi,

I am a new member so please excuse me for any noob questions!

I have been wanting a new pc for a while (i'm using a dell inspiron 1300 with xp at the moment), but have been holding out for windows 7, and finally took the plunge a couple of days ago. I've read quite a lot about 32bit and 64bit but i'm still undecided! I'm leaning very much towards 64, and just want a bit of advice.

here are the specs of my new machine:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4 motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
2GB RAM
1TB harddrive
1GB Raedon 4650

my only concern is the 2GB of RAM but i guess that i can easily add more.
When adding more Ram do i need to match it all up? e.g. it currently has 2x 1GB sticks, so is it best to get 2 more 1GB at the same speed, or does it not really matter that much?

I will probably play the odd game, but i'm by no means a hardcore gamer - a bit of a hard-core multitasker though!

Thanks

gnarlytom said:

Hi,

I am a new member so please excuse me for any noob questions!

I have been wanting a new pc for a while (i'm using a dell inspiron 1300 with xp at the moment), but have been holding out for windows 7, and finally took the plunge a couple of days ago. I've read quite a lot about 32bit and 64bit but i'm still undecided! I'm leaning very much towards 64, and just want a bit of advice.

here are the specs of my new machine:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4 motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
2GB RAM
1TB harddrive
1GB Raedon 4650

my only concern is the 2GB of RAM but i guess that i can easily add more.
When adding more Ram do i need to match it all up? e.g. it currently has 2x 1GB sticks, so is it best to get 2 more 1GB at the same speed, or does it not really matter that much?

I will probably play the odd game, but i'm by no means a hardcore gamer - a bit of a hard-core multitasker though!

Thanks

Your ram is going to be an issue. It is easy to replace and not that expensive. It will make a world of difference in the number of things you can do at once. Other than this minor issue I see nothing that you shouldnt be able to do in win 7.

You have plenty of storage, a good video card, a decent cpu and motherboard.

When you buy new ram it really needs to be matched.

Hope this helps

Ken

Hi,

thanks for the info. I'm not sure i understand matching RAM. Does it mean that you can have it in pairs (e.g. two different pairs, but matched within pairs), or does it mean that you have to have matching pairs also.

e.g. i have 4 Ram slots, so can I have two different pairs, or do i need two identical pairs?

How much RAM would you recommend?

Tews said:

For the best performance, always purchase your ram in pairs ... or kits .... otherwise you could be setting yourself up for problems... while unmached sticks may work, if they are'nt matched, the faster ram will lower itself to the lower ram to ensure parity ... moral of the story .... always buy your ram in pairs...

so for example would this be ok:
1GB (X manufacturer)
1GB (X manufacturer)
...plus....
2GB (Y manufacturer)
2GB (Y manufacturer)

gnarlytom said:

Hi,

thanks for the info. I'm not sure i understand matching RAM. Does it mean that you can have it in pairs (e.g. two different pairs, but matched within pairs), or does it mean that you have to have matching pairs also.

e.g. i have 4 Ram slots, so can I have two different pairs, or do i need two identical pairs?

How much RAM would you recommend?

If it were mine I would buy as much ram as I could afford and will fit on the motherboard within reason (8gigs on 64bit)

when you buy ram the sticks in the box are matched to run with each other. Even if you buy two boxes of the same ram at the same time sticks from one may not work ideally with sticks from the other

You want to buy the same speed (ie pc 5600) the same latency (cli 3,3,3,etc), etc. getting the identical specs reduce the chances of them not playing well together. Not everyone thinks this is important. I have had to many random crashes, hangs, etc to not pay attention. there are tons of good sources out there for reading up on before you need to buy any.

Your system will run with 2 gigs it will just run better with more.

Hope this helps

Ken

Thanks for your help,

I'll have a play around with it first when it arrives and then decide what to do

Another option, is to sell your 2 GB kit and buy a 4 GB kit, if 4 GB would be enough for you. At this point, there's very little reason to go with an x86 OS.

gnarlytom said:

Thanks for your help,

I'll have a play around with it first when it arrives and then decide what to do

We will be here if you need us

Ken

DeaconFrost said:

Another option, is to sell your 2 GB kit and buy a 4 GB kit, if 4 GB would be enough for you. At this point, there's very little reason to go with an x86 OS.

you wouldn't recommend just sticking in a 4GB kit alongside the 2GB kit, even if i try to match speeds?