Need Clarification on Ram use

K

ksf11

New Member
Howdy guys. Just found the forum. Great site with tons of info.

I've been studying the RAM101 guide the last couple of days and need some clarification on some issues.

Background: I've got a new desktop on the way. HP a1110y /w P4 516 (2.93ghz). Comes stock with 256 MG DDR2 PC3200 400mhz. I get a discount through work so the deal was hard to pass. Obviously I want to upgrade the RAM. I'm musician and I do a lot of home recording so that will be the primary use. Recording uses up a fair amount of RAM. I'm shooting for 1g RAM.

Questions:

From the RAM101 guide, am I correct in that if you have a 400 mhz RAM chip and you purchase a 550 mhz chip, the highest speed you will have will still only be 400mhz, correct?

For Dual Channels, if I buy two 512mb chips to run in dual channel, can I still use the sigle 256 mb chip that came with the comp? Will the dual channel chip be 124 bit and the single 64? Or will they all act as individuals and run at 64 bit?

I understand the diff between dual and single channel is minimal. Should I go with one 1 g chip or two 512 mbs?

Finally, Is there noticeable difference between a 400mhz chip and a 550 mhz? Will my comp perform better with 1024mhz RAM running at 550 mhz or faster or 1280mhz RAM running at 400mhz?

Thanks for all your help,

Kevin
 
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im sorry about the rest of ur questions but i think that for the last one the computer will run better on the 533mhz ram because a gig is pretty substantial and it will be enough for most stuff. you know it might be worth just getting another 512 that should be enough. i use a lot of music stiff such as fl5 sibelius but there not very hard core
 
well if u looking to upgrade in the future go with a 1 gig chip but if u arent worried about save urself some money and go with 2x512mb. but i am assuming that u have 4 slots so 2x512mb will be upgradable to 2 gigs in the future which is all u really need for recording music. so go with the 2x512mb.
 
Are you sure your proccser and motherbored even suports dal channel? only the newer sockets support it, and if it came with 2565MB's of ram, i would assume it would be an older socket in there.
 
Price wise, I have found little difference between 2x512 and 1x1024.

I'm almost positive the mob supports dual chips since it was an option on the order. I will definitely verify this when I receive the comp.
 
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