I wouldn't say that. Unless you use something like SDRAM (non-DDR), it could very well cost more. My Cheetah, controller, and cables would come out to about $300 total ($200 for the drive itself). 2GB of DDR SDRAM of even the PC2100, cheapo, generic crap would cost $400, if not more (I think pricewatch lists some 512MB sticks for $95, which are obviously generic). Maybe if you looked at it as a 1.5GB upgrade it would cost the same, assuming your system currently has 512MB and three DIMM sockets free and can your current motherboard can handle that much RAM and your current 512MB stick is the correct type (many four stick setups require ECC RAM). That's if you settled for craptacular RAM... which is one of the two most common causes for hardware-related system failures (up there with crappy PSU's). Also you'd have to figure in the fact that I can put my OS and every single one of my programs on my drive, so the benefits reach out far beyond using one single game for only the span of a single uptime, where as 2GB of RAM doesn't do much for performance beyond 512MB unless used in some very large media projects (in which case a SCSI drive might actually be preferred anyway).Originally posted by JohnMclain
If you REALLY want ao to fly...
Get a motherboard that supports 2gb of RAM. Set 1gb to a ram drive and install AO to it. I suppose it could be done with 1.5gb ram as well...
Make a copy and keep it on your normal hard drive. If you ever crash or reboot, you'll have to redo the whole deal. Just ghost it, and transfer it over.
You can find tips on how to do this on various hardware helper sites.
You'll blow away any SCSI based system for less cost.
John
I have played around with RAMdrives though, and I suggest any hardcore gamer who is able to should try it out. It's beyond fast... far, far faster than simply turning off Virtual Memory. It might not be feasible for AO and very, very new (like UT2k3) games though, as their space requirements are growing faster than the amount of RAM even hardcore gamers use.