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4GB of memory

D

daftpunkit

Senior member
is it still not that good to run all the memory slots on the motherboard?
I remember being told to try to avoid using all the slots, use either 1 or 2. If you wanted 2 GB, buy two 1GB sticks, etc.

So is this still true with motherboards today?
 
It isn't going to hurt but the real issue is what is your operating system. Only Vista 64 can utilize all 4 gigs of RAM. XP and Vista 32 will not utilize or recognize 4 gigs of RAM.
 
Originally posted by: pcslookout
Originally posted by: Blain
Buy 2 x 2GB sticks... Problem solved. 😀
Click to expand...

You might as well go to 8 gigs then. With 2 x 4GB sticks.
Click to expand...

4GB sticks only exist in FB-DIMM variety which are for servers only, also they cost about 1500 bucks a piece.



as for the OP

If you are going to put memory in a computer put in 2 sticks or 4. Only pass 3 Gigabytes if you plan on installing Vista 64 (and if you do 4 Gigs is awesome!)

Typically 4 sticks over 2 isnt much of a drop in performance at all. Ive been running 4 sticks for a while and havent seen any slowdown, in fact its faster now because of how good Vista is with ram, and im on Socket 939 with slower ram.
 
Originally posted by: Blain
Hot Deal... "4GB PC2-5300 ECC" only $668 shipped! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Memory Size 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
Number of Modules 2 x 2GB
Memory Speed 667MHz DDR2-667/PC2-5300

That is a terrible deal for 2x2GB sticks. Newegg has 4 Gig kits of DDR2-800 for 300 bucks.

Course those are ECC sticks, which are only useful for Socket F.
 
Originally posted by: krotchy
Originally posted by: Blain
Hot Deal... "4GB PC2-5300 ECC" only $668 shipped! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Memory Size 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
Number of Modules 2 x 2GB
Memory Speed 667MHz DDR2-667/PC2-5300

That is a terrible deal for 2x2GB sticks. Newegg has 4 Gig kits of DDR2-800 for 300 bucks.

Course those are ECC sticks, which are only useful for Socket F.
Click to expand...
Desktop motherboards can usually take ECC as long as it isn't registered ECC. Not all of them will take 4GB modules, of course.

Going back to the original question, for minimum chance of problems, I would use four matching modules and get "vanilla" stuff from a recognized company (Crucial for example) that runs at normal in-spec voltages. If the motherboard maker publishes a Qualified Vendor List (Asus for example) then consult it to see what modules are qualified by them for 2-pair setups.

Granted, if you want to OC like a fiend, this is probably going to limit you. And small children will point and laugh that you're using vanilla RAM with slacker timings which reduce your 3DMark score by 3%, which of course is SO important in the big scheme of things :evil:
 
Probably the safe answer is YMMV.

I should say that I have 2x512MB Nanya sticks and 2x1GB Corsair sticks in my Dell and I've never encountered any issues. My old Celeron PC with an ABIT motherboard had 3 slots and was only truly stable using 2. Maybe that kind of stuff is in the past.
 
I've been running 4x1GB Corsair XMS2 in my Shuttle box. I've been running with the 4GB for a couple of weeks now. Everything is fine.
 
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5223667

2GB Module Patriot DDR2 667mhz for $110 - $20 MIR, shipped free. 😉

But to answer the OP's question, the performance hit when running 4 memory modules only effected some AMD systems, and does NOT effect Intel systems. Running 2x1GB or 4x512MB, doesn't matter at all.

If you think you'll run a 64bit OS, going with 4x1GB right now even on a 32bit OS that will only recognize ~ 3.2GB is still not a bad idea. Memory is cheap right now. Dirt freakin' cheap.
 
Originally posted by: krotchy
Course those are ECC sticks, which are only useful for Socket F.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Some boards with an Intel 975X chipset support ECC memory. Dell Precision 390 for example.
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
Originally posted by: krotchy
Course those are ECC sticks, which are only useful for Socket F.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Some boards with an Intel 975X chipset support ECC memory. Dell Precision 390 for example.
Click to expand...

I said useful, not supported by 😛

Socket F is really the only place you are going to require using ECC RAM for your application, using ECC in a 975X board has incredibly limited uses and is likely to slow you down more than anything.
 
Actually, using the Asus P5W DH as a 975X board for example, you can disable the ECC in the BIOS if you have ECC RAM installed. So if there's hot buys on ECC modules, they might be worth considering. If I had a DDR2 motherboard, I'd be strongly tempted 😀
 
If you are using a 32 bit OS, you will not be able to use all 4Gb, especially true with the MS implementation of hardware address allocation. edit, without PAE that is.

IE, with Windows XP Pro, you will probably see around 3Gb usable RAM when you put 4Gb in.

64 bit, no problem.


 
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