Getting more RAM - advice needed

[Emultra]

So I'm considering getting some more RAM for my machine, which has an Asus A8N Deluxe motherboard, AthlonXP 3200+ Winchester core and 2 x 512MB Corsair DDR at PC3200 / 400Mhz. The mobo has 4 slots, 2 free.

So I'm thinking about simply getting another 2 x 512MB. The Winchester core apparently doesn't like that and has to lower the RAM speed to 333Mhz. I've been told that the upgrade is easily worth that loss.

Question is, should I go 2 x 512MB or 2x 1GB? Is mixing RAM sticks of different sizes (such as the resulting 2 x 512 + 2 x 1024) a bad thing? Will I need 3GB anytime soon for general gaming? I game in only 1024x768 due to my monitor. I currently run WindowsXP Pro SP1 (for compatibility with a certain old game).

Oh and since I'm from Sweden, I don't wanna see any juicy Newegg deals.

I've found 1x512, 2x512 and 2x1024 by Corsair at a native store. The 2x1024 only costs about 40% more than the 2x512. No 1x1024 sticks available.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Go with the 2x1GB RAM. More is always better, and you are getting 100% more RAM for 40% more price. It doesn't matter if you mix the RAM... At worst it will run at the speed and timings of the slower RAM.

Depending on how expensive this RAM is (since it's DDR) you might want to consider carefully.

EDIT: Actually, 2 more GB would be overkill for your single core system unless you find a cheap opteron or athlon x2.

 

[Emultra]

The problem with going 2 x 512 is that my slots will fill up, so I'll have to get rid of some of them next time I'll upgrade. Of course, by then I might be getting a new mobo, CPU etc. which could warrant a new type of RAM altogether.

What's your opinion on the 400 to 333Mhz thing? Something to consider? My hunch tells me 2GB is > 1GB by enough to be worth it.

Prices, converted to dollars (prices are higher in Sweden) at 6.5 SEK per US dollar, shipping included: 1 x 512 = $72.5, 2x 512 = $133.3, 2 x 1024 = $181.1

All Corsair DDR-RAM PC3200 / 400Mhz.

 

[imported_Scoop]

I don't think you'll notice any difference in the system with the added memory alone. Get with the times and update the whole system. You could probably get 2GB DDR2 and a mobo with the price of that 2GB of DDR.

 

[Emultra]

Not in Sweden. Prices can easily reach 50% higher than in the US. We also don't have functional "price decay" where older stuff gets cheaper over time. It takes years for them to cut what you'll see in months.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Scoop
I don't think you'll notice any difference in the system with the added memory alone. Get with the times and update the whole system. You could probably get 2GB DDR2 and a mobo with the price of that 2GB of DDR.

Depending on what he does, he could notice a difference. Some applications are more memory-hungry than others.

 

[nefariouscaine]

If he games I'm sure he'd notice a difference in many post 2005 games. The fact that your memory speed drops when you have all 4 slots filled is more likely due to your motherboard. Some chipsets & boards, especially some of the nvidia 939 era, don't play well with all 4 slots full. I remember before doing some more research spending hours trying to get T1 on 4 x 512 sticks - can't / won't work on the Nforce4 Ultra chipset I was on - period...

And something similar is possibly the case on that chipset / board - I haven't used the Nforce4 SLI chipset (think you got that one...) so i can't say from experience

go with the 2 x 1 gig set up - better chance of running at DDR-400 & maybe getting T1 which shows significant boosts for AMD 939 rigs

 

[Emultra]

I'm not familiar with the term T1 in the context of RAM, what's that? And regarding the 2 x 1GB, I'd basically need to remove the 2 x 512 I already have, if filling the 4 slots is a really bad idea? Well, that'd still double my RAM and I guess I wouldn't have much use for 3GB anyway.

I believe the Asus A8N SLi Deluxe is an Nforce4 board, yes. And I recognize the 939 number as well. I'm a bit of a weekend warrior when it comes to hardware, I only do some research when it concerns my own comp.

And yes, I game. Post 2005 games as you say, are the primary reason I need some more performance.

Oh and by the way, I don't know if the 400Mhz to 333Mhz limitation is based on number of slots used or amount of RAM. Hopefully it's the former. If filling all slots can cause other problems as described above, that should still be avoided.

 

[nefariouscaine]

Originally posted by: Emultra
I'm not familiar with the term T1 in the context of RAM, what's that? And regarding the 2 x 1GB, I'd basically need to remove the 2 x 512 I already have, if filling the 4 slots is a really bad idea? Well, that'd still double my RAM and I guess I wouldn't have much use for 3GB anyway.

I believe the Asus A8N SLi Deluxe is an Nforce4 board, yes. And I recognize the 939 number as well. I'm a bit of a weekend warrior when it comes to hardware, I only do some research when it concerns my own comp.

And yes, I game. Post 2005 games as you say, are the primary reason I need some more performance.

Oh and by the way, I don't know if the 400Mhz to 333Mhz limitation is based on number of slots used or amount of RAM. Hopefully it's the former. If filling all slots can cause other problems as described above, that should still be avoided.

T1 I'm referencing is a latency setting for the timings on the memory - also known as Command Rate (tCD &/or CpC)

IMO the 333mhz limitation isn't going to be due to the amount of memory per say but 4 DIMMS (all slots) filled.

you & your rig will benefit from 2 gigs of DDR-400 (should be able to set it to T1 IIRC) more than 3 gigs of DDR-333 (that must run at T2 regardless)

Unless you're gaming in a HEAVY resource hungry game 2 gigs should be fine

I remember going from 2 gigs (4x512) of performance low latency memory (forced t2) to 2 gigs (2x1 gig @ T1) and the performance was noticed

and especially since it doesn't appear you have any interested in overclocking you want to get the highest performance at stock that you can in which 2 x 1 gig would be it

 

[Emultra]

How do I find out whether my RAM is running at T1 or 2? BIOS settings?

 

[nefariouscaine]

bios settings, CPU-Z, or memset