more ram

[Patrick_Lau]

What is the performance different between 128 mb ram and 256 when playing game?

[RobRich]

Sort of a broad question, but I'll try my best. It depends on what m/b, chipset, and operating system you use. First for the hardware issues. If you run a pII/III or a celeron you should be good to go as long as you have enough mem slots to install the ram. If you use a Super7 based m/b chipset, i.e. VIA MVP series, and only have 512kb of level 2 cache (entry level standard) then your system will only buffer up to 128 meg of mem. Even though your system will accept more memory than it can buffer, the performance hit of unbuffered memory outweighs any gains of actually having more of it. The exceptions are if you have more than 512kb of level 2 cache, or if you run a k6-3 which has its own unique level two cache than can buffer upto whatever you m/b will support. As for the software issue, your operating system will play a key role in memory performance. If you use Win9x, then the benifits of 256 meg of memory will probably never be seen, unless you play extrmeley large games. With games such a Quake, the extra memory will allow windows to use a larger disk cache and avoid swapping memory contents out to your vitual memory file. This increases the fluid motion of the gace and leviates hard drive thrashing. As for a frame per second increase, it will be minimal unless you have a true AGP card that support AGP texturing. This means that the video card can swap out textures to your main system memory (check your bios to set an AGP apperature size for best performance). If you run WinNT/2000 then I definitely recommend as much memory as you can afford. These OS's map memory is a slightly different way which enable them to actually reap the benifit of more mem. The same goes for others like Linux, BeOS, Unix, and O/S-2. If you just a regular user, than 128 meg of memory is plenty to play most games currently on the market today. If you like the latest a great games, then 256 meg will SOON be the standard for a gaming system.