memory newb...

[chipy]

OK, i did a search under General Hardware for memory but i didn't see what i was looking for under initial inspection.

So... if a motherboard supports Dual Channel DDR, is it better to go with 1 stick of memory (say 1Gb) or 2 sticks of memory (say 2 x 512Mb) assuming the 2 sticks had the same timings?

thanks
chipy

 

[mdchesne]

I'm a bit of a memory newb too, but it all depends on the timings. Usually (ie, last year), people recommended getting 2x 512 sticks because you could find 2-2-2 timings relatively easy and cheap. But now the dual channel 2x 1gb packages are selling for only $180-240 with equally impressive timings, so most people would recommend going the 2 1gb sitck route. Since you only want to put one `gb stick or 2x 512mb sticks, I'd either say "try to find a 2gb dual channel kit that you can afford and get that. might cost a bit more than 1 stick, but not too much" or "get some nice 2x 512mb RAM with good OCing potential. You'll get more speed out of them than a single stick"

 

[ixelion]

Is that an Athlon 64? if so, 2 sticks will provide a bit of performance imporvement, it this is a pentium 4 then it wont matter, the performance increase is very small.

 

[chipy]

niether... its an Athlon XP mobo. i was just curious to see if there was a major difference between 1 stick and 2 sticks.

thanks for the info
chipy

 

[FlyingPenguin]

You can't use dual channel mode with one stick - it requires 2 sticks. You do get a performance improvement with dual channel so 2 sticks is a no brainer.