14 DAY TRIAL // Word is out that many memory producers are working overtime to offer 2x2GB kits before Vista comes out at the end of January. While a 4GB system is a good thing for memory-eating applications, I doubt that the home user will need more than 2GBs of Ram to run Vista properly. I guess that memory producers will base their campaign on the same ?Vista Ready? slogan that we?ve previously seen many times. This idea is totally pointless but if it makes you feel better, I guess that the chip integrators won?t mind.
It?s actually the exact same situation as when 8800 GTX came out. PSU manufacturers hurried to offer bigger (and more expensive) PSUs because they said that an ordinary unit that has an output wattage of less than 600W cannot cope with quad core systems that run SLI setups consisting of 2 8800 cards. Practice has shown that a good 500W PSU (that can output 34-36A on the +12V lines) can cope with the load without burning out in 2 hours. And the reasoning can also be applied to 4GB setups.
There are however some things worth mentioning. First, keep in mind the fact that in order to address the full 4GB that you?ve just bought you?ll need to run the x64 version of Vista. Secondly, larger than 2GB setups are needed when playing memory-eating games but as I?ve said, you?ll need x64 for that and I doubt it will run Oblivion or Fear. Micron and Kingston already sell 2GB modules but these are currently super expensive. Corsair and OCZ are working on their own setups and will offer 2x2GB DDR2-667 (they will probably also offer DDR2-800 kits but not at the moment) at the time when Vista comes out. The expected price for the 4GBs Vista kits is about $500-600.