RAM questions

[yh125d]

My current RAM setup is 2 512mb sticks of ddr400, one stick in the first channel, and one in the second, because one is Ultra, and the other is rosewill. My brother gave me another 512mb stick which he replaced with a 1 gig stick in his pc. I don't know what brand it is, but it probably isn't matched to either of my sticks. My mobo is a biostar nf4st-a9. heres my questions

Is there any way I can run all three sticks?

Don't two sticks have to be the same brand to run in dual channel?

Can I use my 4 dimm slots as 4 different independent channels?

If I am able to trade one stick so I have two matched 512 sticks and a third different brand stick, can I run the matched sticks in dual channel with the other stick in single channel?

If I can trade two of my sticks for a single 1 gig stick, can I run the 1 gig and the 512 in my two different channels like i am now?

Is it at all faster to have a single 1 gig stick instead of 2 512 sticks, assuming timings are the same?


sorry for all the noob questions, but you gotta learn somewhere

 

[secretanchitman]

1: you can run all three sticks no problem for a total of 1.5GB.

2: they have to have the same timings/memory modules...512MB 3-3-3-3 with another 512MB 3-3-3-3.

3: if you mean by can you put them in separate slots and they'll function like in single channel, then yes.

4: yes.

5: yes.

6: i would say 2x512MB is faster if you have dual channel. if your 512MB sticks arent in dual channel, then a 1GB stick is better.

no0b questions are fine! we were all noobs once...

 

[Jiggz]

Originally posted by: yh125td
My current RAM setup is 2 512mb sticks of ddr400, one stick in the first channel, and one in the second, because one is Ultra, and the other is rosewill. My brother gave me another 512mb stick which he replaced with a 1 gig stick in his pc. I don't know what brand it is, but it probably isn't matched to either of my sticks. My mobo is a biostar nf4st-a9. heres my questions

Is there any way I can run all three sticks? YES

Don't two sticks have to be the same brand to run in dual channel? NOT NECESSARILY

Can I use my 4 dimm slots as 4 different independent channels?WHAT DO YOU MEAN? ALL 4 SLOTS ARE INDEPENDENT UNLESS YOU RAN THEM IN DUAL CHANNEL THEN IT BECOMES 2 CHANNEL

If I am able to trade one stick so I have two matched 512 sticks and a third different brand stick, can I run the matched sticks in dual channel with the other stick in single channel?NO, ITS EITHER YOU ARE IN DUAL OR SINGLE CHANNEL BUT NEVER BOTH

If I can trade two of my sticks for a single 1 gig stick, can I run the 1 gig and the 512 in my two different channels like i am now?YES, BUT CANNOT RAN IN DUAL CHANNEL

Is it at all faster to have a single 1 gig stick instead of 2 512 sticks, assuming timings are the same?NO, IT JUST ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE MORE RAM


sorry for all the noob questions, but you gotta learn somewhere

 

[Matthias99]

Is there any way I can run all three sticks?

If your MB/CPU supports it, sure. But at least part of it won't be dual-channel.

Don't two sticks have to be the same brand to run in dual channel?

No, of course not. How the hell would your motherboard even know?

Can I use my 4 dimm slots as 4 different independent channels?

You gonna solder a customized 4-channel DRAM controller onto your motherboard and somehow get the chipset/CPU/BIOS to work with it?

If I am able to trade one stick so I have two matched 512 sticks and a third different brand stick, can I run the matched sticks in dual channel with the other stick in single channel?

Depends on the memory controller. I'm not sure off the top of my head what NForce4 supports.

If I can trade two of my sticks for a single 1 gig stick, can I run the 1 gig and the 512 in my two different channels like i am now?

You almost always have to have matched pairs of DIMMs to use dual-channel.

Is it at all faster to have a single 1 gig stick instead of 2 512 sticks, assuming timings are the same?

Your question is unclear. 2x512MB (in dual channel) will be faster than 1x1024MB (single channel). 4x512MB (dual channel) will be the same speed as 2x1024MB (dual channel) if everything else is equal -- but some MBs cannot run at full speed with four DIMMs installed.

Also, depending on what you're trying to do, dual-channel RAM may not change your performance much.

sorry for all the noob questions, but you gotta learn somewhere

You could also, you know, search. This gets asked a lot.

 

[yh125d]

Thanks guys