Mobo And Ram Question

[Computer Man5]

hey guys i need an honest opinion...no bs.

i currently have 2 sticks of 512mb pc3200 ram....i plan to buy the components in blue in my sig soon and im wondering about what size ram i should buy..in total i would like 2gbs..

should i just buy 1 stick of ram ...? or should i by that 1gb in 2 sticks of 512mb?

the 2 sticks of 512 would probably eliminate any potential problems...but i would like a slot open for w/e

thanks..

 

[Xycron]

Sell the current ram, and get 2x1GB of ram, that way you can run it dual chanell!

 

[suprasteve]

you're rebuilding your current comp? IMO, 2gb is enough memory, but if you're gonna put the old stuff in too, make sure the timings are similar too so you're not throwing money away, and I'd say you could probably get away with 2 512's cause it would make for better performance typically (assuming two similarly priced options). If you're planning on not rebuilding the comp for like 3 or 4 years, you might be better off going for the one stick though, but only for upgrading purposes in the future

 

[Computer Man5]

ok....thx i think the 2x 512's should do fine..

 

[helmie]

If you did go 2GB, i think 4x 512 is better than 2x 1GB (not sure though)

 

[Computer Man5]

well the objective is to get dual channel...which i already have...2x512...so im going to use the ones i got now in my next system

 

[Cyos]

From what I've heard, more sticks means faster RAM, likely because the load can be spread out over more areas, with the same net ammount of storage. So, if your motherboard can support 4 sticks, and you want 2 GB, my recomendation would be 4 x 512MB.

 

[icemakr]

Benchmarks in the past have shown mixed results, I think you're better off with the 2x1Gb, at least you'd be set for future applications.

 

[ceewi1]

This has been discussed before: http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=30207&highlight=2gb+512mb+ram

Basically, 2x1G is better as they can be run at 2T CR, assuming the RAM is otherwise identical, of course.

As for whether it's worth keeping your current RAM, we really need to know a little more about it. If it's Value RAM, for example, putting it in with new, high quality RAM is not ideal, as it will slow the new RAM down.

 

[Charles_Lee]

512 is good for now, but if you ever want to upgrade your ram in the future to 4Gb, lol... its up to you.

but i guess 2Gb would be good for another year or two,. right...?

 

[Praetor]

i currently have 2 sticks of 512mb pc3200 ram....i plan to buy the components in blue in my sig soon and im wondering about what size ram i should buy..in total i would like 2gbs..
should i just buy 1 stick of ram ...? or should i by that 1gb in 2 sticks of 512mb?

Depends on whether you want/can have dual channel mode or not. If you dont care abotu dual 128bit memory access then just buy a 1GB stick, otherwise grab 2x512s.

If you did go 2GB, i think 4x 512 is better than 2x 1GB (not sure though)

For equivalent memory, its not

From what I've heard, more sticks means faster RAM, likely because the load can be spread out over more areas, with the same net ammount of storage.

Other way around The more sticks of ram the more places the computer has to search to find what its looking for.

but i guess 2Gb would be good for another year or two,. right...?

If you have to ask then odds are u wont be making use of that memory

 

[Computer Man5]

thanks praetor.....im going with the 1gb..that way l8er ill get another 1gb ...to be all equal to 3gb....

 

[Praetor]

ill get another 1gb ...to be all equal to 3gb....

Now unless you're actually loading >2.5GB of data on a regular basis then you're gonna have less performance with 3GB than 2GB