Mixing RAM: one stick with two sticks

[kbray]

Hello!

I have an ABIT IS7-E with a p4 2.4 800fsb.

I currently have two sticks of 256 ddr400 kingston.

I got ahold of one stick of 512 ddr400 crutial.

Can I add the one stick of 512 alongside my two 256 sticks? Will I lose performance?

What would you fine folks recommend?

Thanks!

 

[MustISO]

If your two sticks are running dual channel then you would lose that.

 

[ts3433]

The loss of dual channel can mean a significant loss of performance with a P4. Memory bandwidth is a big factor in performance with those chips. It may be better to sell the two sticks of Kingston and get another Crucial.

 

[kbray]

What if I added two more 256 sticks instead of the 512?

Would I still have dual channel?

 

[ts3433]

You would, but running 4 memory modules isn't ideal. You'll go down to DDR333 by default (as dictated by JEDEC specifications), and sometimes the added modules can give you instability.

 

[kbray]

ive heard that p4 boards will still run four sticks dual channel at 400, is this correct?

 

[ts3433]

Some will; it's just out of spec to run that way (I believe DDR400 is meant for only one DIMM per channel).

 

[kbray]

what would you recommend in my situation:

I have two 256 sticks, should I buy one 512 or two 256?

I dont have enough money to replace the ram I already have

Thanks for all the help!

 

[TStep]

I've run mixed 2x256 + 2x256 before on an AI7, IC7, and IC7G. They ran fine even when overclocked. Highest stable overclock is reduced somewhat, but only by a few mhz. Memory used was 2x256 PC3500 Mushkin Level I and 2x256 OCZ PC3200 EL.

 

[kbray]

so would you recommend I buy two 256 sticks to add?

 

[ts3433]

That'd probably be fine, then.

 

[kbray]

Thanks a lot for the help, if you like Ill post before and after benchmarks from sandra