4GB - enough, but for how long?

[pike8]

i plan to buy a new MB-CPU-DDR these days, and i have a dilemma:

1.) to buy a cheaper motherboard (which would allow me to buy an C2D E8400) which has one downside - it supports only 4GB DDR2, or
2.) to buy a little better motherboard which supports 8GB DDR2, but then i'd have to buy C2D E8200 instead od E8400.

right now, i'd buy 2GB, and after a few months 2 more. but what about future, for how long you think will 4GB of DDR be enough?
what do you think i should choose?

 

[playedspades]

how much ram you need depends on what OS you're running and what programs you're running. for xp, 1GB is good, double that for vista. if you're trying to play games (heaviest of all ram-consuming-programs) then most current games are only recommending about 2GB on xp. again, double that for vista. (though some games are going as high as 4GB on xp, double that on vista)

with that said, i believe you should never limmit your options. if you intend this to be a computer which will last you for 10+ years with upgrades, then you'll need a mother board that will be able to accomodate that desire.

 

[cavemangrinder]

Go with the better motherboard. Right now 2GB is good, 4GB will be plenty for a good while. If you plan on going with 4GB or beyond, then obviously you are gonna need 64-bit OS, so keep that in mind.

 

[rohan23]

If you want a cheap motherboard, check this one out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131329

It will support your current processor. It can support upto 16GB worth of RAM. More than you will ever need, for many years to come, imho. Has a PCI Express x16 2.0 slot. Don't really need dual, unless you're running at extremely high resolutions. Plus, it's an ASUS.

 

[ssc456]

i think 4Gb will be enough for a long time seeing as windows 7 is still going to be primaraly shipped in 32 bit versions retaining the 3.75 / 3.5 Gb RAM limit so windows 7 due to ship in 2010 will last atleast 3 years so 4Gb is lookin good until 2013 ish.

im exactly the same as urself, i feel 4Gb is right for vista but seein as they are starting windows 7 on a whole new core system im hoping they will make it alot more memory effecient hence using less RAM.

 

[Ronspc]

64 bit OS supports more than 4gb. Other than that 32 bit anything over 3 or 4 gb is not neccessary. and in my own opinion I dont see why you would need more than four gigs unless your doing video editing. i dont see any other reasons.

 

[pike8]

well, i do some video editing, but that's pretty amateur stuff. what i mostly do is image editing, gaming and a lot of video converting. when i asked about ram, i was thinking mostly of gaming, do you think that 4GB will be enough in next 2-3 years?

and another question, which of these mainboards would be good for C2D E8200 or E8400:

MB ABIT IB9 965 Core2Duo Sck.LGA775 118,50 KM
MB ABIT F-I90HD RX1250 Core2Duo Sck.LGA775 165,01 KM
MB ABIT FP-IN9-SLI Fatal1ty NF650i SLI Sck.LGA775 172,00 KM
MB MSI 945GCM5-F Sck. 775, mATX 123,49 KM
MB ABIT IP35-E Intel? P35 Express/ICH9 Sck.775 157,51 KM
MB GIGABYTE P35-DS3L iP35 Sck.LGA775 147,00 KM
MB ABIT I-45C 945GC GbE Sck.775 90,00 KM
MB EVGA NF 610i/ GF 7050 Sck.775 150,50 KM
MB MSI G31M-F Sck. 775 mATX CORE2DUO 123,49 KM
MB GIGABYTE G31M-S2L G31+CH7, Sck.775 105,00 KM
MB ABIT IP35V Intel? P35 Express/ICH7 Sck.775 154,50 KM
MB ABIT I-N73H GF7100/NF630i HDMI Sck.775 113,99 KM
MB ABIT I-N73V GF7100/NF630i Sck.775 98,00 KM
MB ABIT I-45CV 945GC Sck.775 83,99 KM
MB ABIT IP35P Intel? P35 Express/ICH9 Sck.775 153,50 KM
MB ABIT I-45D 945GC Sck.775 81,50 KM
MB ABIT I-G31 G31/ICH7 Sck.LGA775 95,50 KM
MB GIGABYTE P35-S3G 1.0 Sck.LGA775 145,50 KM
MB ASUS P5K SE/EPU Sck.775 162,00 KM
MB GIGABYTE EP43-S3L Sck.775 167,01 KM
MB GIGABYTE EP35-DS3L Skc.775 164,50 KM

 

[Ronspc]

definitely man. i mean i could be completely wrong. but 4gb is good. I mean were not even using all the cores in a quad yet. So definitely

 

[J03]

By the time 8GB is mainstream, i'd say DDR3 will be mainstream too. I'd go with 4GB DDR2 and the 8400

 

[Ronspc]

By the time 8GB is mainstream, i'd say DDR3 will be mainstream too. I'd go with 4GB DDR2 and the 8400

agreed