1GB of ram worth it?

[Delorian]

I currently have 2 corsair value select 256mb 3200 modules in my rig running dual channel operations. I was wondering if adding a 512mb stick into the 3rd (and last available) slot would stop me from running dual channel and would it really matter that much to lose dual channel if I would be upgrading from 512 to a gb anyhow. Anyone have an opinion on whether keeping the brand/type of ram the same is better?


My specs are as follows

AMD 2500+ barton running cool at 2.2Ghz
2x256 PC3200 Corsair Value Select in dual channel
WD100GB 7200RPM
MSI KN72-Delta L MB
450W PS

Thanks to all in advance!

 

[SickBeast]

Yes, it's worth it, and no, you won't lose dual-channel AFAIK.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Dual channel means very little with AMD based processors, I've got a Barton 2800+, running 2 sticks of 512 (Corsair Value Select with the 2.5 latency) And i've noticed GREAT improvement over the 512 I originally had, programs like Unreal open smoothly, I can have up to 10 things opened at a time, its actually pretty nice, scrap the dual channel and go for it, once you go 1 gig, you never go back 🙂

 

[JBT]

Yuo should still be able to keep dual channel. But even if you lost it 1GB will see much more performance enhancements

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

It's worth it. I'll refrain from ranting about why, I'll just say XP's memory managment is questionable IMO. If you just stick the 512MB stick in the empty slot your dual channel at best won't be working at its peak (728MB for 1 channel, 256MB for the other) and at worst it might be disabled altogether. Rearranging the sticks so you have 512 for each channel is the ideal way to go.

 

[Fern]

I'm thinking along similar lines. Here's a link to a post discussing DC and adding a third stick. Link to Thread

 

[Delorian]

Thanks to all for the replies, it definitely sounds like a good option. I think I'll try to find a 512 of the same stuff and hope dual channel stays (not much gain, but every little bit helps 🙂 but if I can't then I guess the gig will still be a wonderful improvement. Are there any known incompatibilities with different types of ram (other than speed, timings). Basically if I add kingston for example with corsair, is there a greater chance they will not work together?

Yes I agree with Gonad, basically all versions of Windows could use a serious memory management overhaul. I believe it's getting better (thinking about ME) but still far off from what it could be.

 

[Fern]

I stuck in a 512MB stick to go with my DC 2 X 256 LL ram. Worked OK, except the timmings were way loose cuz the 512 was a "value" stick of Corsair.

Mostly what I read is stick with the same manufacturer and type of ram to get best results with the extra 512 stick.

 

[Blain]

Does anybody remember where the link/benchmarks indicated that 1.5GB performed worse than 1GB?

 

[magratton]

Originally posted by: Fern
I stuck in a 512MB stick to go with my DC 2 X 256 LL ram. Worked OK, except the timmings were way loose cuz the 512 was a "value" stick of Corsair.

Mostly what I read is stick with the same manufacturer and type of ram to get best results with the extra 512 stick.

Not sure this is entirely true on the "Stick with the same mfg" but there have been some incompatibilities identified. Also, unless you are doing a lot of very tight computing (Scientific/Distributed) or benchmarking, the diff between CAS2 and CAS3 is not noticeable (like when Gaming). So I would not worry about that. The best thing to do is avoid going to the HD swap space as much as possible, which is what you just did by adding 512MB. That was the best move.