Kingston's Hyper-X3200 in 2048MB-kit certainly complimented the performance in the system tested. I experimented with a number of Pagefile sizes, and found disabling the Pagefile to be the best option for this particular system. I have read there may be programs which expect to see a Pagefile, and if it's not present will not work properly. The cache is a layer between the kernel memory management code and the disk I/O code. When the kernel swaps pages out of a task, they do not get written immediately to disk, but rather are added to the cache. The kernel then writes the cache pages out to disk as necessary in order to create free memory. (Swaping and the Page Cache) Since disabling the Pagefile over a week ago, I haven't experienced any system anomalies. Disabling the pagefile effectively eliminates hard drive access as a memory related function. Disabling your Pagefile doesn't necessarily improve performance, there is, however, less time transitioning between programs, and simultaneous process are unaffected. In so far as the “need' for a kit of this size, considering the concurrent evolution of operating systems, and CPU's physical memory requirements will most likely grow. From the Windows 98 operating system, to Windows XP, the amount of physical memory allocated to the OS only has doubled.

There's a propensity among chipmakers and software developers in which server technology has permeated the designs of Desktop Computers. Many would claim the minimum memory requirement for a Windows XP based system to be adequate at 512MB, while in truth the operating system itself can consume 256MB. With the advent of Hyper Threading, and other technologies which seek to emulate a dual processor environment, physical RAM is taxed even further. For the modern PC, memory is still the fundamental principle on which its CPU is based. Dissecting today's processors such as the Athlon FX, reveals the implementation of Server technology at its core. Somewhat indicative of this design philosophy are the rapidly growing cache sizes on today's chips.

For the epitome of cache enhanced processing power one need look no further then the Intel Xeon MP. While the Xeon MP may use just a 512KB L2, it uses up to a 4MB L3, and this is not the usual throttled down L3 we've seen in the past. If we take into account most of today's high-performance processor's such as AMD's Athlon FX-53 now dominating the performance charts, it's apparent these designs are extrapolations of Server technology.


Unfortunately there's a propensity among many PC-users, in which their forever rationalizing inadequate amounts of physical RAM based on cost. The average person in the market for a PC, will usually base their decision on hardware compliments found on the larger PC-builders, machines. Many fail to realize, even when these companies build their flagship model, their cutting cost wherever possible. Basing your custom PC on the purely economic model of OEM PC-builders, would be analogous to the Sports Car Enthusiast, inserting an economy engine on a Porsche chassis. Not only is memory critical to system performance, but it's one of the least expensive ways to improve performance.

Perhaps there's no stronger evidence for what constitutes the ideal amount of physical RAM then to study the specifications of recent chipset's, and the motherboards their built upon. Examining the following Chipset Parameters for early Pentium-4, and Athlon-XP processors, show most of these DDR motherboards feature chipset's with MCH's (Memory Controller Hub) capable of accommodating up to 4GBs of RAM. If most of us were to use just 50% of the maximum allowable RAM for our current motherboards, the majority of us would be running 2048MB kits. About 100% more memory, then the amount found in the majority of today's higher performance PC's.

In the kit tested today, Kingston has provided us with another quality product far exceeding its default specifications. I do believe we've inadvertently stumbled across an overclocking sleeper, and in an area where I least expected to find it, a 2048MB kit.

Considering the cost (kits of this size are now under $700) we no longer have to sacrifice performance for price. Kingston's KHX3200K2/2G kit, would compliment just about any system's performance. Albeit gaming, overclocking, business applications, and/or server related tasks, this memory is rock solid, and highly overclockable. The kit can be found for as low as $659 at Newegg, (USA) and it comes with Kingston's Lifetime warranty.

I'd like to thank Heather at Kingston. Keith Suppe aka Liquid3D


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