3-yr old PC upgrade questions

[roblanderson]

I would like to upgrade my current computer to Vista Home Premium. I hope to build a new PC next year when I can afford it, but I want to start using media center now so I'm hoping just a memory upgrade will get my by. Here are my current specs:

AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton
Asus A7V8X-X VIA motherboard
512 MB RAM (2 x 256MB Kingston ValueRAM DDR 333)
80GB HDD (PATA)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB AGP graphics
Windows XP Home

I found this statement about the memory for my board:
3 x DDR DIMM Sockets
Max. 3GB unbuffered PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC
(PC3200 Max. to 2 banks only)

So I have one DIMM slot open and I'd like to fill it with either a 1GB or 512MB ddr 400 stick. Can I do this? Would I be better off going with ddr 333 since that is what I have in the other two slots?

Anything else I should think about before upgrading to Vista?

Thanks!

 

[JDMnAR1]

The bare minimum I would get is 1GB, and I would strongly consider getting rid of the 2x256MB and bumping it up to at least 2GB. As far as the ddr400 vs ddr333 question, any ddr400 stick you buy should operate at ddr333 with no problems.

 

[LightningRider]

Make sure your motherboard can take DDR 400, check the mobo manufacturer site. But if you buy DDR 400, if you use it with your DDR 333, the DDR 400 will just downclock itself to run at 333mhz.