1GB RAM Upgrade: Worth The Money?

I'm upgrading a PC that has a socket 939 motherboard from about five years ago. Therefore, I'm restricted in what I can and can't upgrade.

Here is a run down of what I'm upgrading:

Old > New:

Athlon 64 3500+ > Athlon 64 X2 4400+
GeForce 8600 GTS > Radeon HD 5770 1GB Memory
WD 7200RPM 400GB HDD > WD 7200RPM 1.5TB HDD

Currently I have 2GB of DDR RAM installed over x4 512MB sticks. I was going to pull two and replace them with 1GB sticks (taking me to 3GB over all).

However, this RAM upgrade is going to cost me $75 (using a name brand company, which I prefer). Is it worth it and would I even really see a boost in performance from just a gig extra?

 

Hi

My current machine is a socket 939, I have an Athlon 64 X2 3800+.

I have 3GB of DDR RAM and it runs Windows 7 64 bit pretty darn good for it being so old. I'd say if you're going to keep the system, and especially if you'd like 64 bit operating system functionality and processor maximization, 3GB of RAM will do you good, 4GB would be better.

 

I concur with mcsmc

Depending on what you are running and your habits, 50% increase is a decent chunk, 100% is even better. I run a few programs that need a good amount of RAM (2gb RAM is their minimum) and also tend to have several of everything open at once. There is a decent difference for me between 2gb and 3gb.

 

I'd also like to add that recommended RAM for Windows 7 32 bit is 2GB. This is based on VERY BASIC COMPUTER USE, i.e. moderate to light web browsing. If you're using programs, especially things like photo editing programs or use your computer for media (music, video), extra RAM will increase performance significantly, and is worth the money.

I'd say the cutoff is 6 months... if you're planning on using the machine longer than 6 months, do the upgrade. If not, hold out until you can get a better machine. My two cents.

 

The target after the upgrade is a system running Windows 7 64bit used for heavy video editing.

I've researched and I see that for an extra $30 I can pull all the Corsair sticks out of the machine and upgrade to a full 4GB (which is the max for this current system). However, I'll have to go with one of two generic companies I've never heard of before:

PQI POWER or AllComponents.

Any suggestions?

 

Well, I have a few 8GB PQI thumb drives. I bought them specifically to use when removing malware, as they have a physical write protect switch on them (so they won't get infected).

I'm not sure if PQI and PQI POWER are one and the same.

Anyway, if you're video editing, you'll definitely want 4GB RAM. I'd pick whichever one has a better warranty (and be SURE to test it with memtest86 as soon as you get it, each stick individually).