Two Questions: Using RAM from one PC on another

PC Hobbyist

PC Hobbyist

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Can I install a left over RAM stick (PC2700) from my HP Pavillion a527x on my sister's Dell Dimension 2350 (which I believe uses PC2100)?

What kind of compatibility issues should I keep in mind?

And one more question.
Is there a difference in performance if I use one stick of 1GB RAM vs. two sticks of 512 RAM each?
I only use the PC for internet, MS Office and some photo editing.

Thanks for the help.
 
1) That will depend on what the board supports there. If the baord runs at 266mhz and the memory is compatible it would simply run at 266mhz instead of 333mhz with a successful backclock.

2) The idea would be to see 1gb total on a system with the board in the dual channel mode. A good matched pair of 512s would see that done. You could later go for a pair of 1gb dimms to boost things up a little.
 
PC eye said:
The idea would be to see 1gb total on a system with the board in the dual channel mode. A good matched pair of 512s would see that done. You could later go for a pair of 1gb dimms to boost things up a little.
Click to expand...

The thing is that I bought the 1gb dimm from Kingston at BestBuy on sale (54 dollars) and the 512 dimm costs almost 70 dollars. The computer originally had 512 mb all in one slot. Then I added 1gb on the other slot. So although that makes 1.5 gb, I later realized this pc takes max 1 gb RAM total.

I was thinking about leaving just the 1gb dimm in and one slot empty, then putting my old 512 mb dimm in my sister's computer. But would it be worth it to return the 1gb dimm and add another 512 mb instead so that both slots are used? Would it make a noticeable difference? Remember, no games are played on this pc.

Thanks. :)
 
PC Hobbyist said:
The thing is that I bought the 1gb dimm from Kingston at BestBuy on sale (54 dollars) and the 512 dimm costs almost 70 dollars. The computer originally had 512 mb all in one slot. Then I added 1gb on the other slot. So although that makes 1.5 gb, I later realized this pc takes max 1 gb RAM total.

I was thinking about leaving just the 1gb dimm in and one slot empty, then putting my old 512 mb dimm in my sister's computer. But would it be worth it to return the 1gb dimm and add another 512 mb instead so that both slots are used? Would it make a noticeable difference? Remember, no games are played on this pc.

Thanks. :)
Click to expand...

No! That was an great deal, you wont get an boost out of 2 sticks unless its Dual channel, you'll probably see an small performance decrease with 2x 512Mb than an single stick of 1GB!
 
Interesting! Thanks to everyone for the input. I guess I am better off leaving the one 1gb dimm in and having the other slot empty.

Now, this leads me to another question.
I plan on putting my old 512mb dimm from my computer into my sister's computer. Mine is PC2700 and my sister's uses PC2100. How do I know if my dimm is downwards compatible? I assume it is, but I don't know for sure and I'm tempted to just give it a try. What is the worst thing that could happen if it is not compatible?

I don't know if this helps to answer that question, but I'll write it anyway.
This computer is an hp pavillion a527x
My sister's is a dell dimension 2350

Both computers have been using the factory RAM that came with them.


oscaryu1 said:
No! That was an great deal, you wont get an boost out of 2 sticks unless its Dual channel, you'll probably see an small performance decrease with 2x 512Mb than an single stick of 1GB!
Click to expand...

How do I know if something is dual-channel? Is that what DDR2 is?
 
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PC Hobbyist said:
Now, this leads me to another question.
I plan on putting my old 512mb dimm from my computer into my sister's computer. Mine is PC2700 and my sister's uses PC2100. How do I know if my dimm is downwards compatible? I assume it is, but I don't know for sure and I'm tempted to just give it a try. What is the worst thing that could happen if it is not compatible?
Click to expand...
DDR is downward compatible. Your ram will most likely work in your sister's computer, it will just downclok itself to PC2100 speed.


PC Hobbyist said:
How do I know if something is dual-channel? Is that what DDR2 is?
Click to expand...

Depends on your motherboard. Also, if it has 3 dimms then it's not dual channel capable. You need 2 sticks of identical ram to run in dual channel mode.
 
Some 3gb boards will still run in the dual channel mode while others would see the single mode forced on the older boards running strictly 32bit cpus. If the board there maxes at 1gb the dimm slots were made for no more then 512mb in each. With a 1gb dimm only 512 would be recognised if it works at all. And that is what is precisely seen at http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2350/specs.htm#1101572

Another thing to look at is whether the board will run dual sided or simply single sided value memory. Some of the older prebuilt systems wouldn't run with dual sided dimms used. The memory standard is PC2100 where you should be able to find a pair of 512s for a good price at this time.
 
Thanks to all again for the info. I learned a couple of things.
And to PC Eye: Thanks for the link to the dell site with the specs to my sister's computer. I had been looking for it and for some reason could not find it.

Well, now I have all my info to get the memory on both computers sorted out. :)
 
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