Whats better PC 3200 Dual Channel memory or regular? Also is going from 512 to 1024 worth it?

[Rcoplien]

I am thinking of going with either 512 mb of PC3200 ram (2 sticks of 256) or 1024mb (2 sticks of 512). Is it worth getting that 512 mb boost? Also is there a particular advantage to dual channel ram? Any input would be appreciated thanks. Below are my current specs:

Athlon 2500XP Barton oclocked to 2000mhz
512 Mb PC 2700 DDR ram (1 stick)
Asus A78NX deluxe nforce 2 motherboard (supports dual channel)
Maxtor 30 gig HD
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

 

[Thor86]

It never hurts to have MORE ram.

Not really knowing from personal experience, but I do not think dual channel ram configs for AMD platforms benefit as much as P4 platforms. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Confused]

Using dual channel on Athlon XP systems does not yield much peformance gain, maybe 5%. However, if you are using the IGP (onboard graphics) on a NF2 board, then it will help out a lot.

Also, more memory is always better. I have 512mb, and I am going to get another 512mb to take me up to 1GB. Your computer will run much faster, and programs will re-launch much quicker, as they'll load from RAM, not HDD


Confused