2 Gigs of RAM - how

I'm considering upgrading to 2 gigs of ram (Gothic 3 and all these things seem that they can make good use of it).

However I have 1024 in two 512 sticks in dual channel. I have 4 slots. So basically I have two options - buying another two 512 sticks are stick my sticks into waste bin and buy two new 1024 modules. I don't like the idea of throwing my 'not really old' RAM pieces into waste bin.

What do you think? I suppose that the 2x1024 is the prefered solution from the performance standpoint.

Depending on your motherboard you could keep the existing matching pair and add the pair of 1024 sticks, giving you 3gig of ram. This is what I did with my rig. In most motherboards you may have to put ram in pairs, but you can have mixed sizes, as long as the pairs match. And it may not actually show up as 3gig. In mine it shows as 2.8gig.

If you're willing to buy the two sticks of 1024 that may be the best way to go. Keep in mind that your ram will clock down to the speed of the slowest pair.

Just check out your motherboard specs, it's almost definitely possible, unless you have a rather old motherboard.

3gig of RAM has made all my games run wonderfully.

narpet

Originally Posted by Danicek
What do you think? I suppose that the 2x1024 is the prefered solution from the performance standpoint.

No, not really. It doesn't make a difference at all whether you have 2x 1024 or 4x 512 sticks. The performance is not affected by the number of modules.
It is a little more risky to keep your 2x 512MB instead of getting 2x 1024MB though. The risk lies in compatibility (will the new 2x 512MB run with your "old" sticks?) and there could also be a problem with your board. Some boards/chipsets have trouble with 4 sticks and the support of dual channel so you should probably use Google to find out if all 4 slots can be used without any problems.
I think if I were you, I'd get 2x 1024MB and eBay the "old" 2x 512MB sticks.

I was in this exact same situation last year. I had 2ea 512's and that wasnt cutting it, and I just went and ordered a 1G stick without doing any research first. I finally ended up ultimately going with the 2ea 1gig sticks. It was obviously costlier, but i must have felt that after the research I did, that it was the way to go, for I'm sorta a cheapass!


This was after doing the Dell official tech forums, talking to friends, installing the ram and looking at the result in setup (it wasnt running dual channel in that arrangement iirc), and scouring the net for info. I ended up just ordering another 1g stick. I think I recall that 2 large modules will run faster that 4 smaller modules as well.

Im happy w/ the result tho, runs great.

wanna buy some 512's o' RAM, buddy? ='.'=

It'll run slightly faster with 2*1GB, but not that much of a difference. The problem is, as has been said, compatibility. I'd suggest buying two more, but there's no reason not to buy two new ones and keep the current ones - after all, RAM won't really become "obsolete", and you could always sell it to a friend with a less-than-great comp/keep it for one of your old comps, if you happen to have more than one.

2x1024 is preferred from a performance standpoint. It is quite hard to get 4 modules to run at tight latency times especially with ddr2.

Actually I did some more research and it seems that quite large number of problems with 4 modules in dual channel set up exist out there. It seems that quite considerable number of people have problems - their new set up seems in some situations slower than the older one (with less RAM). Seems like it is usually compatibility issue. However as there seems to be real chance to run into it, I'll likely hold on and upgrade to 2x1024 later on.