is 256k enough RAM for current games?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
256MB is OK right now ... but within a year will start to become obsolete really fast.

1gig is unnecessary at the moment considering the games you like to play, so I think you should go with 512MB.

My buying style is generally not to but the latest games off the shelf, but to buy older games at discount, from bargain bins, used, etc. Now to some extent that was simply because i didnt really get into gaming at all till a couple of years after we bought our relatively low end computer. But I've come to like it anyway - A. I dont buy it till its been thoroughly reviewed and discussed here and elsewhere, so im not likely to but a lemon. B. The games i buy are completely patched. C. Theyre a lot cheaper. Im only now hitting the point where my 5 year old computer is seriously constraining my game purchases. (and even at that are several games im interested in that would run on my ancient machine) The games that are pushing me to new hardware are NOT current games - they're games from 1 or 2 years ago - mainly EU2 and The sims, and to a lesser extent Total war. So in a year im probably not going to be 2004 games - im going to be buying RON and Simcity4, when theyre discounted. So i could buy 256MB now, and then wait, and maybe go ahead in a year and upgrade to either 512MB or 1 gig, depending.

(of course if i wait another couple months to buy a pc, i may well find 512MB machines selling for much less)

[Nikolai]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
(it always seems that RAM is "cheaper than ever" does it ever go up in price?)

It has gone up and down for the last months, but recently most up. It's way cheaper than it was before though.

[rah]

256 is adaquate, but I'd recommend 512, tomorrow's games are just around the corner.

[Dis]

my brother has like 1 gig.

you pretty much need it for all the new MMOLRPG's out there. He is playing Star Wars Galaxies right now. And soon will be playing Everquest 2. I will probably play everquest2 as well.

If you go to areas with many characters (and they all have custom clothing, looks, and such), your computer will get bogged down.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Dissident
my brother has like 1 gig.

you pretty much need it for all the new MMOLRPG's out there. He is playing Star Wars Galaxies right now. And soon will be playing Everquest 2. I will probably play everquest2 as well.

If you go to areas with many characters (and they all have custom clothing, looks, and such), your computer will get bogged down.

sounds like a good reason NOT to get 1 gig

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
so 512MB is needed for Simcity4, probably for RON, and probably for future games.

RON runs fine on my 256 pooter

[LotC]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
And look for a better deal than Dell (will have to convince the queen of the mark if im going to get something that isnt a namebrand)

Well, Dell isn't really a name brand. They actually only assemble parts into complete computers; in fact they manufacture absoulutely no parts of their own. The only thing Dell, Gateway, et al really sell is the service of gathering the parts and building the PC (usually in godawfully cramped and hard-to-take-apart cases).

As far as the quality of the parts, I think you would be unpleasantly surprised to see that a lot of them are lower grade. Pop open you case and check out the power rating on your power supply. Less than 300W? No name brand? Probably.

If you want good name brand RAM, i suggest Hyundai, Corsair, or Micron.

If you want a good next computer, I suggest getting all of the parts yourself and spending a few hours putting it all together. It's actually easier than it seems, and you will get to know your computer much better than if you buy a pre-packaged one from Dell. You will also save a hell of a lot of money (did I mention that the OEM manufacturers mark up their prices ridiculously?).

[Urban Ranger]

512MB RAM for games? Sheesh are they getting bloated or what?

[Victor Galis]

In response to the original question: Can you ever truly have enough RAM?

[LotC]

Victor:

I don't think so. You know what I'd like to do? Have enough RAM (1.5 GB should be enough) to be able to load an entire game onto a software RAMdisk so that everything in the game is stored and accessed from memory instead of the hard drive.

Of course, you would lose the game when you powered off, but you could probably make an image of the game and mount it in the RAMdisk whenever you wanted to play. Now THAT would be fast.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Victor Galis
In response to the original question: Can you ever truly have enough RAM?

Sure. After awhile, having more RAM just reduces the chance of page swapping.

[DrSpike]

I have had 512MB for a year or so now. I usually try and keep ahead of the 'standard' amount so I'll probably chuck in some more when I get around to it. RAM isn't that dear, and the performance increase is noticeable until you get up to silly amounts of RAM.

[Grumbold]

If you get a new machine with less than 512Mb RAM, make sure it has enough free slots to allow you to plug more in when you want to. I couldn't believe it when I discovered a PC I was planning to buy only had 2 slots.

[MattH]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
512MB RAM for games? Sheesh are they getting bloated or what?

That may be the case, but compare RON to AoE I and II, or the rainbow 6's, or even Civ II to Civ III in complexity of rules, graphics, and AI... I think it's warranted.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Grumbold
If you get a new machine with less than 512Mb RAM, make sure it has enough free slots to allow you to plug more in when you want to. I couldn't believe it when I discovered a PC I was planning to buy only had 2 slots.

yeah ive definitely figured that out. most of what im seeing on the market is upgradeable to either 1 gig or 2 gig, which should be enough for quite a while.