3.0 Ghz, 4Gigs of Ram vs 2.4 Ghz, 8 gigs of ram?

SupremeThroneX

Like the title says. Which is better and why?
Ati Radeon 5850
80 gig Intel solid state.
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4ghz OC to 3.0 ghz
4 gigs of Samsung Ram.

Currently I am running NS2 about a good 70 FPS and around 50 FPS in combat. Not too bad for an old machine. Currently my motherboard only runs DDR2 and has only 2 slots. I don't need to tell you that buying 4 gigs of DDR2 is expensive. Better off getting a new computer all together. However, I do have the option of swapping out the motherboard for another one. It does not have overclocking ability, however it does have 4 DDR2 ram slots. So it will go up to 8 gigs of the same ram. It's free so no money is spent.

SeeVee

this game is heavy on ram but even heavier on cpu. The 4 gigs with the better processor I would think is the better choice.

Racer1

I would go 3 Ghz 4gb of ram. With empty memory slots, you can always buy more ram for cheap later.

SupremeThroneX

Racer1 wrote: »

I would go 3 Ghz 4gb of ram. With empty memory slots, you can always buy more ram for cheap later.

Like I said. i was thinking of switching my current Mother board with only 2 ram slots each filled with 2 gigs of ram thus making 4. a 4 gig stick of ddr2 currently goes for like 80 bucks. Hell naw. The new mother board will have 4 ram slots. each filled with 2 gigs of ram thus making 8.

But yeah everyone seems to favor the processor power. Might just stick with it then.

Ghosthree3

Most people can get away with 4gb of ram, make sure you close all stupid memory hogging apps before playing (looking at you firefox). However, all those crashes people are getting that's supposedly "32bit" well it's because of the 4gb cap in 32bit, which will happen to you at 4gb 32bit or not. (Well it could, it happens when you run out of free ram). So there's that risk. Honestly I'd try out the 2.4ghz cpu and see the fps difference, if it's bad then don't use it, if it's playable (to your liking) use it, more ram is useful and since nothing else will rape your cpu like ns2 you're in the clear.

Seriously look at a new gen motherboard (and the rest) asap though. Although I recommend against the 4th gen Intel series, go 3rd gen, or wait til the 5th comes out.

ScardyBob

Racer1 wrote: »

I would go 3 Ghz 4gb of ram. With empty memory slots, you can always buy more ram for cheap later.

This.

You are more likely to need more CPU power than more RAM for higher performance.

mirisle

Hm, I have gtx 560 ti, 16 Gb DDR3, Intel Core i5 3Ghz, SSD harddrive 200gb and with full settings (d3d9 mode, vsync and physx off) a have only 40-50 fps. Whats wrong with my pc? =\

SamusDroid

I would go lower RAM higher CPU. As you should never exceed 4 gb RAM with this game with no background programs open. RAM is cheap(ish) and easy to upgrade, CPU is more expensive to change.

twiliteblue

@mirisle, have a look at this guide: http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/117259/bad-performance-some-hints-and-tips

Try disabling these in the graphics settings, as they take up a lot of CPU power:
- Atmospherics
- Ambient Occulusion
- Shadows

I think it's best to leave texture streaming off since you have an SSD.

Also, D3D11 is suppose to be more efficient than DX9.

Kamamura

Please keep in mind that GHz to GHz comparison across various platforms makes little sense. 2,5 GHz P4 is much less efficient than 2,5 GHz Core i5 because the per-cycle efficiency is different, also other things like L1, L2 cache sizes, bus capacities matter.

Overall, you can have a decent rig that can be crippled by a single bottleneck, like too narrow bus to video RAM on the GFX card (some crippled cards sold for less), faulty or slow memory, things like that.