Basic question about RAM

[herbage11]

I know this is really elementary but this is my first time to build a system and am curious and have found nothing about it yet. OK....I am getting 512MB of DDR RAM...most likely Crucial....I will have an Asus MoBo (P4B266 or P4S333) does it really matter if I get 1 stick of 512 or 2 of 256? Any dif. at all? Please let me know. Thanks

 

[jcmkk]

The only difference is the fact that the 512MB stick is only gonna take up one slot. There may also be a slight overclocking advantage since with two 256MB sticks you have twice the chance of getting a stick that doesn't overclock well.

 

[Daovonnaex]

Also, at these high speeds, DDR SDRAM has been proven to have some signal integrity issues. A single 512mb DIMM would be likely to give you fewer problems.

 

[herbage11]

OK thanks a lot you 2. I was leaning towards 1 stick of 512 just to eliminate the variable of having 2 sticks and freeing a slot up also. Thanks again..I knew ole Dao would be around and get right on this one.