More Ram = Decreased Performance?

Grimulus

New Member
I've heard the more ram that you stuff in a comp it can hurt the overall performance of it. I don't know how to explain how i've heard it happens, but yeah, can anyone prove/disprove this theory?

I plan on sticking 3 gigs of ram in my comp, hence me asking. :p

Grim
 

Tapir

Member
I have heard that also but dispute it. Your pc will be as fast as the slowest item on it. Of course if there is a slight incompatibility it will affect performance.
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
The "rumor" is true however one needs to take it with a grain of salt :p If you look at mobo specifications it will say something like "3GB PC2100 or 2GB PC2700". This just means that if you max out the memory on a system it will run at a slower speed than if you run it with all but one slot filled. Now if you need sheer quantity than this is not such a big deal but for most people, 2GB of PC2700 is a better thing than 3GB of PC2100. Also, by filling up all the slots, depending on the mobo, you may not be able to make use of Dual Channel memory and thus the performance will be lacking there

Of course, if you're considering more than 1GB of memory,. you're better off with a good set of Dual Channel set of matched memory rather than sheer quantity of no-name memory. Now if you need 3GB of memory for something like say a server then make sure you get registered-ECC memory cuz servers arent entirely concerned over a clock cycle of latency but are more interested in stability
 

Grimulus

New Member
So what you are telling me since i have 3 slots is that i should fill 2 of them up with 1 gig sticks and that would do better than 3 gig sticks? I would put another stick of corsair for sure.
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
So what you are telling me since I have 3 slots is that I should fill 2 of them up with 1 gig sticks and that would do better than 3 gig sticks? I would put another stick of corsair for sure.
Two sticks of Corsair is MUCH better as it takes advantage of Dual Channel controllers. Also, after 1GB (ok maybe 1.5GB), size doesnt matter as much as speed
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
Read it on the mobo specs... as soon as you max out on the DIMMs they will automatically downclock (as well as a loss of the Dual Channel mode)
 

Grimulus

New Member
yeah yeah, question again...

Is the ram ordered in pairs the same stuff as buying a single stick? for instance, i bought 1 gig of corsair xms and plan to put in another of the same later, isn't that the same thing as buying the 2gb kit they sell?

and if one of you wouldn't mind, look up that stuff about my motherboard about the dual channel thing, i dont' think it will work that way, but yeah what i think may be wrong. i'll do some research myself.
 

Grimulus

New Member
okay, here's what the motherboard memory specs say:
Mem. Type:
DDR400/333/266 (PC3200/2700/2100)
- upto 2 DIMMs only if use PC3200 (DDR400)
- upto 3 DIMMs if use PC2700/2100 (DDR333/266)
- Pls. visit Mfr. WWW for the latest qualified DDR400

so this tells me that 2gb of pc3200 is a good thing i'm assuming? because that would be sweet for my situation.
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
Is the ram ordered in pairs the same stuff as buying a single stick? for instance, I bought 1 gig of corsair xms and plan to put in another of the same later, isn't that the same thing as buying the 2gb kit they sell?
The 2GB kit is 2x1024MB the 1GB kit is 2x512. You can prolly buy 1x1024MB independently but I dunno

so this tells me that 2gb of pc3200 is a good thing i'm assuming? because that would be sweet for my situation.
This is the source of the "rumor" of lower performance... note that if you fill up the slots, your ram will be running slower :) But realistically 2GB is more than enough and anything in excess of that, unless you have a specific reason, wont be really used
 

Grimulus

New Member
Yeah, the 2gb and 1gb kit is available. what im asking is, if i bought 1gb right now, and bought the same 1gb stick later, it's the same thing as buying a 2gb kit? the ram isn't made different to coninside with other stick? is that more understandable?

Grim
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
what im asking is, if I bought 1gb right now, and bought the same 1gb stick later, it's the same thing as buying a 2gb kit
You will have 2GB but it wont be the same thing as the 2GB kit has two matched pairs of memory ... but for 90% of people thats a moot point :)
 

Grimulus

New Member
what is the advantage in the matching of ram when bought in a kit? i mean what is the difference in the actual ram? this maybe better stated...what is the difference in buying the matched kits verses buying 2 identical pieces of memory at different times? and what kind of difference is noticable? any at all?
 

Grimulus

New Member
Aye, sounds like a good plan Praetor. I'll probably do that since that shouldn't be a problem with the XMS. I would definitely notice it.
 

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
Even for hardcore users there isnt much of a difference in actual clock-for-clock perfroamcne... the "paired twin sticks" just means you can blind-faith in that the two sticks will operate in Dual Channel mode at the perscribed seed :)
 
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