4 Memory slots....use all or 1?

[PsychoUnit]

I have 4 memory slots, would there be a performance difference if I purchased four seperate 512 MB ram sticks, or just one 2 GB stick?

Somebody told me that it is better having four seperate sticks...but why would that be better?

 

[theMan]

is this a S939 a64 system? if you use all 4, it will slow the memory down. you should get 2 1gb sticks, and run dual channel.

 

[crispy2010]

What motherboard are you using?

2 x 1 gig would be best in a dual channel setup.

 

[crispy2010]

Wow I type way to slow, lol!

 

[PsychoUnit]

This is a dell inc dimension 4700 system. Cpu: pentium iv 2.8 ghz. What is a dual channel setup?

I already have two 256 mb samsung sticks in there, but their specs suck. So I'm thinking of getting rid of them.

 

[theMan]

hmmm, not sure if that system has dual channel. download cpu-z and go to the memory section, does it say dual channel?

 

[PsychoUnit]

Yes it says Dual. What does dual mean exactly in technical terms?

 

[Bobthelost]

Dual=better. For specifics read here http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Memory/Dual-Channel/

 

[stevty2889]

Well since it's an Intel PC, you could either get 2x1gb sticks, or get 4x512mb sticks. Dual channel is a must for Intel, P4's are extremely bandwidth hungry. And you can ask more than one question in a single thread..this is at least your third one. You can forget about your overclocking question since you have a Dell, you won't be able to OC.

 

[PsychoUnit]

Bob thanks for the info, I read that, still confused on 1 part.

Would it be okay if I had two identical 256 mb sticks in 2 slots. Adn then another two identical 512 sticks in slots 3 and 4?

 

[Bobthelost]

Sounds like it, but i don't have a clue about pentiums, always been an AMD fan. However going for more than 1Gig of RAM seems to be rather pointless for the most part. Just going for the 2x512 would be a better idea. (This is assuming you're using old/slow 256 RAM (IE. pc2700) that would slow down the rest, so instead of some moderatly quick RAM you'd have a bit more slower stuff, of which you'd never use all of it.) I've got 1 gig here and to the best of my knowledge i've never used all of it up at once.

(For the link the first page was techno speak about where DDR support can be found and which parts deal with it, rather irrelevant to be honest.)

 

[PsychoUnit]

If I get the 2x 512 with better specs, should I still be using the 2x 256? Or throw those out?

 

[cpacini]

Your system is only going to operate at the speed of the slowest ram present, so if you have 2x256 of pc2100 and 2x512 of pc3200, then the two 512 sticks are going to run at pc2100 speed.

 

[allanon1965]

hey there fellow KN1 Extreme user! I have 2 of these great boards hehehehe, best damn board I have used in ages!....check my sig!

 

[SilentZero]

Just pick up 2 1gb sticks and be happy. Besides, the cost of one single 2gb stick might be more than you want to spend.

 

[PsychoUnit]

One other question, what is the difference between DIMM 1 and DIMM 2? And which should I be picking up?