[HELP] Questions regarding RAM , GPU and CPU

[Myth[Alex]]

First of all, I'll purchase a new PC (this year or next one). So the following questions are regarding it.

Can I put 12GB of RAM? (one of 8GB and one of 4GB)

Or is it a problem if the 2 boards don't have the same amount of memory? I don't think I need 16GB of RAM. But 8 is low :-\ So I want 12. Is that possible?

I will get RAM mainly for gaming (at 1920*1080, at 60 FPS). At ~1600MHz.

Well? Thank you in adance

1600 MHz RAM or higher for gaming?

Hi there. I don't know what type of RAM should I buy for my future PC (this year).

I heard (and saw a video) that 2400MHz doesn't have any advantage in gaming in comparison to 1600MHz. So 1600MHz is enough for today's (and tommorow's) games (maxed-out on 1920*1080)?

Thank you in advance.

Which video card should I buy for today's games?

I want a strong one, but not too expensive, which can max-out easily all games from today (and tommorow), on 1920*1080 at 60 FPS (I don't need more resolution or FPS). I want to have it for at least 3 years without worrying.

I want nVidia, not AMD.

And how much video memory? 2GB or 3?

I think of 670 or 760ti or 770. Am I correct? Are those good for what I want?

Thank you in advance.

Processors with 4 cores are still good for today's games?

Or I need a 6 core CPU for gaming (or even 8 core, since new consoles have 8 cores), at 1920*1080, at 60 FPS, maxed-out?

I always go with Intel. (I'll also overclock it to 4GHz) Well? Do I need a 6-core CPU? Or 4 is enough?

Thank you in advance.

[rotNdude]

Keep it in one thread.

[KingBassie]

Ok. First u need to check ur motherboard if your motherboard has a dual ram slots that NEEDS to be filled or it can be spread. And what is the max that the motherboard supports. For gaming is latly 8GB good but if u want to go higher i would advice 16 gb becease it is always equal if u have 2 slots. Trust me 8 gb is enough for that resulation!

[Myth[Alex]]

Publicado originalmente por ChiefArmy:

Ok. First u need to check ur motherboard if your motherboard has a dual ram slots that NEEDS to be filled or it can be spread. And what is the max that the motherboard supports. For gaming is latly 8GB good but if u want to go higher i would advice 16 gb becease it is always equal if u have 2 slots. Trust me 8 gb is enough for that resulation!

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by "it needs to be filled or it can be spread" :-\ I don't have hardware knowledge. So please use normal words.

Also, I will purchase a NEW PC this year (or next one). The questions are regarding it.

So what do you advice me, ChiefArmy? (regarding RAM; and the other)

[PLANTROON]

• RAM slots on motherboards are usually split into "channels" or what they call it. If you want to have 12 GB of RAM, go for 4x3 GB for example. There are technologies on motherboards which increase the bandwidth of RAM (dual channel, quad channel). Depending on the motherboard (how many RAM slots it has and what channels it supports) you should get as many RAM sticks as you can with the same specs (from the same manufactuer preferrably)
  I would not recommend "(one of 8GB and one of 4GB)" If it has 2xDual channel, buy 2x4GB sticks and 2x2GB sticks or 4x3GB sticks. For quad channel (if such thing exists xD) go for 4x3GB.
  
  
• 1600 MHz should be enough for gaming. Going higher will increase the loading speed/make the whole system smooth but not as much as the CPU or the graphics card.
  
  
• Nvidia is a good choice but a more expensive as well. GTX 770 seems to be the most popular card on the market. 2 GB should be enough for gaming but to keep things work in the future go for 3 GB :D
  
  
• As you are not getting AMD card, you will not have that much of an advantage using AMD CPU. AMD CPUs are, in fact, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ compared to Intel ones. A quad core Intel i5 beats AMD's 6 core CPUs easily. For gaming I'd get an i5. I'm unsure about Intel i5's numbering scheme so idk which one you should get :D Just find something good on the internet.

[AUTISTIC BISCUIT]

Memory is so overated it's ridiculous. Pull up task manager durring any game session and see how much memory you are using.Right now I have Borderlands 2 open, itunes and youtube. I am using 4 gigs of memory, 8 gigs of memory is plenty.

[Myth[Alex]]

Publicado originalmente por PLANTROON:

• RAM slots on motherboards are usually split into "channels" or what they call it. If you want to have 12 GB of RAM, go for 4x3 GB for example. There are technologies on motherboards which increase the bandwidth of RAM (dual channel, quad channel). Depending on the motherboard (how many RAM slots it has and what channels it supports) you should get as many RAM sticks as you can with the same specs (from the same manufactuer preferrably)
  I would not recommend "(one of 8GB and one of 4GB)" If it has 2xDual channel, buy 2x4GB sticks and 2x2GB sticks or 4x3GB sticks. For quad channel (if such thing exists xD) go for 4x3GB.
  
  
• 1600 MHz should be enough for gaming. Going higher will increase the loading speed/make the whole system smooth but not as much as the CPU or the graphics card.
  
  
• Nvidia is a good choice but a more expensive as well. GTX 770 seems to be the most popular card on the market. 2 GB should be enough for gaming but to keep things work in the future go for 3 GB :D
  
  
• As you are not getting AMD card, you will not have that much of an advantage using AMD CPU. AMD CPUs are, in fact, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ compared to Intel ones. A quad core Intel i5 beats AMD's 6 core CPUs easily. For gaming I'd get an i5. I'm unsure about Intel i5's numbering scheme so idk which one you should get :D Just find something good on the internet.

Thank you very much for the elaborated answer.

> I see. So there shouldn't be any problem getting 12 GB of RAM

> I see

> As I thought 770 with 3 GB

> Well, I wrote I ONLY go with Intel CPUs and nVidia GPUs. You didn't read correctly. And I know, an i5 is good for gaming :-) But I was wondering if I should get a 6-core CPU (yes, intel has 6-core CPUs) for tommorow's games. I still need an answer. If I get a 4-core and OC it to 4GHz, will it be enough for 3 or more years?


More answers are welcome, guys.

[_I_]

if you watn a 6core intel cpu, you will need a 2011 build
most have 8 dimm slots, and will not hurt putitng in 2x4g+2x2gkits
but for gaming, a 2x4g kit will be good for a long time yet

for gaming, faster ram makes very little difference
most 2000+ kits have horrible timings making them as slow as 1600 kits
to comprae kits, speed / cl = value (higher = better)
once its over 200 it makes little very difference (unless used for amd apu builds)
1600 cl9 is the slowest you should go for a new build
just make sure its 1.5v or lower for intel 1150/1155 cpus

for cpu comparison, intel 2.5ghz = amd 4ghz
for overall performance, each intel cores can match 2 amd cores
intel quads easily beat amd 8 core cpus, esp with games since most do not use more than 4 cores

amd is done making desktop cpus, last am3+ was 8350 back in cotober 2012
the 9000s are a waste of cash and power, they are just top binned 8000s unlocked and rated higher 220w
and no boards officially support them

for a gpu, aim for a gtx760 or 670
or gtx770 or 780 if your budget allows

[PLANTROON]

Publicado originalmente por jackson921191:

Memory is so overated it's ridiculous. Pull up task manager durring any game session and see how much memory you are using.Right now I have Borderlands 2 open, itunes and youtube. I am using 4 gigs of memory, 8 gigs of memory is plenty.

Impossible m8 :) Windows has good memory management and it caches some memory to disk. I have 6.4 commited and only 3.1 used of my 4 GB memory. Today I would definitely not go below 8 GB. I have following apps running: Steam, Skype, Chrome (15 tabs), Origin and file syncing services. For my workloads, I'd like to get 32 GB of RAM for my next build :D (it won't happen soon :D)

Publicado originalmente por ☆MythAlex ツ:

> Well, I wrote I ONLY go with Intel CPUs and nVidia GPUs. You didn't read correctly.

Sorry, I see you are experienced and making good choices. Intel Xeon + nVidia Titan Z is my dream machine btw :D

Publicado originalmente por ☆MythAlex ツ:

And I know, an i5 is good for gaming :-) But I was wondering if I should get a 6-core CPU (yes, intel has 6-core CPUs) for tommorow's games. I still need an answer. If I get a 4-core and OC it to 4GHz, will it be enough for 3 or more years?

Nobody can predict the future :D AI (the CPU intensive part of games) isn't improving much and most of the pressure is on the graphics cards. Back to RAM: 12 GB seems to be a good choice, again, done by you. It's a weird number but it's between 8 and 16 :D Go for it (4x3 preferrably).

[SilentHorizon]

Memory: Yes you can have different memory capasities on different sticks and they will work in dual channel mode. Just make sure they are the same mhz and also from the same brand. And they only work on core i3,i5,i7 (correct me if i'm wrong).

You don't need anything higher than 1600mhz, only apus take true advantage of high speed memory.

CPU: Quad core is PLENTY for games, it won't be for about another year probably until new games even start to truely take advantage of octo cores.

GPU: I'm a geforce fan, but ultimately it's up to personal preference and also the games you play.

Hope this helps!