RAM Question

[gentlemancaller]

Just a quick question...

Here are my system specs:
2.4 GHz Pent 4
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420 128MB
256MB RAM

Now first the typical question...will HL2 run with just this?

And, I would like to upgrade and add another 512 MB stick of RAM....anyone got any suggestions for brands?

Thanks alot...

 

[moehawk]

the answer is yes, your specs will run hl2 to nearly its full glory, but a defintine on the RAM, sorry not a big expert on brands, but the more expencive the better

 

[gentlemancaller]

you'd suggest upgrading first?

 

[moehawk]

yea get the RAM, it'll benifit the game, loading times will be shorter and lagging will be keep to min, in some big areas for example most of the time it'll be smooth as, the half life team did a great job of scaling the game so it'd run on all kind of systems.

 

[gentlemancaller]

thanks

 

[Asus]

Here are some more technical questions for ya.
Do you know if your system supports dual channel memory?
If you don't know, can you find out what the model of the motherboard is.

If your system only supports single channel memory then I would go ahead with adding a 512MB stick. If it supports Dual Channel memory then I would match the amount of memory with your current stick (256MB and 256MB) so it runs in dual channel mode.

As for brands, Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Mushkin, and OCZ are all good brands.

 

[DSDchemE]

I've got a similar question:

My laptop currently has 448 RAM (its got an integrated graphics card with 64 shared RAM). It has 2 x 256 sticks. Would Half-Life 2 run better if I replaced one of those with a 512? Also, is it possible to update integrated graphics cards? I'm guessing no, but might as well ask. Finally, what settings should I be able to use with res = 800x600, no AA?

Laptop Specs:
P4 2.4GHz
Integrated Graphics: Radeon IGP 345M 64MB
- DX9 Compatible (at least it passes the DXDiag test, is that how you can tell?)
- Very little shader capabilities (if any)
- Some people say its the same as a 9100 some say its a 7000 series?
448 RAM

 

[DSDchemE]

Edit: Thanks (for getting rid of the post above)

 

[Asus]

I've got a similar question:

My laptop currently has 448 RAM (its got an integrated graphics card with 64 shared RAM). It has 2 x 256 sticks. Would Half-Life 2 run better if I replaced one of those with a 512? Also, is it possible to update integrated graphics cards? I'm guessing no, but might as well ask. Finally, what settings should I be able to use with res = 800x600, no AA?

Laptop Specs:
P4 2.4GHz
Integrated Graphics: Radeon IGP 345M 64MB
- DX9 Compatible (at least it passes the DXDiag test, is that how you can tell?)
- Very little shader capabilities (if any)
- Some people say its the same as a 9100 some say its a 7000 series?
448 RAM

Adding more memory would help, of course. Your laptop would be running in single channel memory so it doesn't matter if they match sizes or not.

A basic Radeon IGP 345M isn't the best but it should run HL2 decent. If it's the same as a 7000 then it will run HL2 on high settings, considering that the 7000 only displays DX7 graphics. If it's the same as the 9100 then you would probably end up lowering settings to run it better. You might be able to increase the amount of memory the gfx card uses from memory to 128MB (only do that if you upgrade to 768MB total).

By the way, reducing the Shader detail option in HL2 to low helps a lot with performance yet there isn't a big hit on image quality. Although this option probably would be greyed out if your card ran HL2 in DX7 mode.

 

[DSDchemE]

Thanks a lot for the info!

One more quick question: is there any way for me to test what DirectX support I get? All the tests in DXDiag (DX7, 8, and 9) come back passed (I can see the cube), but does that mean I can display DX9 graphics, or is that something different?

 

[Asus]

Thanks a lot for the info!

One more quick question: is there any way for me to test what DirectX support I get? All the tests in DXDiag (DX7, 8, and 9) come back passed (I can see the cube), but does that mean I can display DX9 graphics, or is that something different?

If it's like the 9100 IGP then it will be DX8. It can display pixel shaders. It's DX9 compatible but does not display DX9.

 

[DSDchemE]

Looks like it's the 7000. No pixel shader support. Benchmarks won't run without it. Darn. I'll still be able to run Half-Life 2 though, right? It'll look like crap, but it'll run?

 

[maGz]

Will performance vary depending on the brand?

prolly a stupid question but i need to know

I'm thinking of getting this http://www.crucial.com/store/MParts...7304&WSMD=Dimension+8300+Series&WSPN=CT413495

 

[Asus]

Looks like it's the 7000. No pixel shader support. Benchmarks won't run without it. Darn. I'll still be able to run Half-Life 2 though, right? It'll look like crap, but it'll run?

It should run pretty good for framerate but it won't display shaders. You should be fine.

Will performance vary depending on the brand?

prolly a stupid question but i need to know

I'm thinking of getting this http://www.crucial.com/store/MParts...7304&WSMD=Dimension+8300+Series&WSPN=CT413495

Crucial is a very good brand. I'd recommend them.

 

[maGz]

Crucial is a very good brand. I'd recommend them.

what is meant by a good brand?, is it just reliability? For example would a crucial stick of ram have better performance then say a PC World own make?

ta