Dual Channel DDR question

[Slick5150]

I am putting together a system using the Shuttle MN31N nForce2 motherboard. The person who will be using it will rarely be doing any 3D gaming or anything that will tax the onboard video, so my question is will there be any gain to using 2x256mb PC2700 RAM in Dual Channel mode over using 1x512mb PC2700 RAM? I know tests showed that running in Dual Channel mode showed good performance increase when using the onboard video, but since this isn't too big of an issue, does it give performance increases in non 3dgaming environments?

Thanks

 

[Jeff7]

There is a small (like maybe 10% increase) in memory bandwidth in regular apps. It probably wouldn't be noticable; plus, I tend to prefer more RAM per stick - better upgrade options in the future.

 

[Vette73]

if 512mg is all he needs for the life of the system then get 2 X 256mg slabs. If he will go to 1 gig in less than a year, but not now, then get the 512mg slab.

And yes haveing the dual Ch memory on with a IGP board will help a lot for video.

I have 2 256mg slabs in my nForce2 board and that is all I will ever put in.