Memory RAM Upgrade

I would not use the remaining 256MB stick after upgrading
to 2*512MB sticks. As I mentioned before you only stand
the chance of slowing down your memory performance.

Even if all three sticks had the same specifications, an
extra 256MB is not going to be noticeable or work any
wonders increasing your PC performance.

And when your PC had both stick functioning giving
you a total of 512MB of ram did you have any problems
with a specific application running slow, if not and you
were happy with 512MB, then adding more that 1GB
of memory is a waist unless sometime in the future
you plan to upgrade to Vista, then 2GB or more
would be worth it and you still have two slots available
to use if need to add more memory.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com


"KillerDesigns" wrote in message
...

also, assuming i use 2*512mb sticks in 1 and 3 slots, and will the 256mb
existing ram make a difference?

and if i use 1gb in slot 1 and 256gb in slot 3 - will that make a
difference.

regarding speed and efficiency?


"JS" wrote:

The second post mislead me to believe he has 4 slots.
Sorry about that.

I still would go with the two 512MB sticks
as most motherboards and or BIOS will drop to
the stick that has the lowest performance specs.

JS

"Jerry" wrote in message
...

"JS" @ wrote in message ...
Option #2 - 2*512MB sticks running in dual channel mode.

Easy way to verify that your motherboard supports dual channel
(you indicated it has 4 available slots) is that two slots should be
one color (for example Blue, slots 1 & 3) and the other two
slots (slots 2 & 4) are for example Orange in color.

Double check your manual for supported memory configurations
and types of memory. Generally you will use the first and third
slots (the slots with matching/are the same color) when installing
memory sticks in Dual Channel mode.

If you use the first two slots (For example Blue and Orange)
you will still have 1GB of memory but the memory will not
be operating in Dual Channel mode.

JS

He indicated that the motherboard only has 2 slots, not 4. I would
recommend that he go with a single 1gb stick and keep his existing
256mb
stick. It will cost less money, the increase of 1gb will make ample
improvements over what he has and if he ever wants to increase memory
again he can just buy another single stick. I seriously doubt that the
average computer user could tell the difference in performance between
a
1gb of memory versus 1gb of memory running in dual channel mode.

thanks, all points noted. also i am not the kind that worries about 1 sec
difference etc.. so, all in all i think 2*512mb sticks will do better, and
if 4*256mb (=1gb) sticks (all same spec) might give the desired outcome or
1gb and 1*256mb (as jerry suggests) does not show any significant
improvement, this might be an option.

i'll see what Crucial suggests and offers.

thanks

"JS" wrote:

I would not use the remaining 256MB stick after upgrading
to 2*512MB sticks. As I mentioned before you only stand
the chance of slowing down your memory performance.

Even if all three sticks had the same specifications, an
extra 256MB is not going to be noticeable or work any
wonders increasing your PC performance.

And when your PC had both stick functioning giving
you a total of 512MB of ram did you have any problems
with a specific application running slow, if not and you
were happy with 512MB, then adding more that 1GB
of memory is a waist unless sometime in the future
you plan to upgrade to Vista, then 2GB or more
would be worth it and you still have two slots available
to use if need to add more memory.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com


"KillerDesigns" wrote in message
...

also, assuming i use 2*512mb sticks in 1 and 3 slots, and will the 256mb
existing ram make a difference?

and if i use 1gb in slot 1 and 256gb in slot 3 - will that make a
difference.

regarding speed and efficiency?


"JS" wrote:

The second post mislead me to believe he has 4 slots.
Sorry about that.

I still would go with the two 512MB sticks
as most motherboards and or BIOS will drop to
the stick that has the lowest performance specs.

JS

"Jerry" wrote in message
...

"JS" @ wrote in message ...
Option #2 - 2*512MB sticks running in dual channel mode.

Easy way to verify that your motherboard supports dual channel
(you indicated it has 4 available slots) is that two slots should be
one color (for example Blue, slots 1 & 3) and the other two
slots (slots 2 & 4) are for example Orange in color.

Double check your manual for supported memory configurations
and types of memory. Generally you will use the first and third
slots (the slots with matching/are the same color) when installing
memory sticks in Dual Channel mode.

If you use the first two slots (For example Blue and Orange)
you will still have 1GB of memory but the memory will not
be operating in Dual Channel mode.

JS

He indicated that the motherboard only has 2 slots, not 4. I would
recommend that he go with a single 1gb stick and keep his existing
256mb
stick. It will cost less money, the increase of 1gb will make ample
improvements over what he has and if he ever wants to increase memory
again he can just buy another single stick. I seriously doubt that the
average computer user could tell the difference in performance between
a
1gb of memory versus 1gb of memory running in dual channel mode.

You're welcome.

JS

"KillerDesigns" wrote in message
...
thanks, all points noted. also i am not the kind that worries about 1 sec
difference etc.. so, all in all i think 2*512mb sticks will do better,
and
if 4*256mb (=1gb) sticks (all same spec) might give the desired outcome or
1gb and 1*256mb (as jerry suggests) does not show any significant
improvement, this might be an option.

i'll see what Crucial suggests and offers.

thanks

"JS" wrote:

I would not use the remaining 256MB stick after upgrading
to 2*512MB sticks. As I mentioned before you only stand
the chance of slowing down your memory performance.

Even if all three sticks had the same specifications, an
extra 256MB is not going to be noticeable or work any
wonders increasing your PC performance.

And when your PC had both stick functioning giving
you a total of 512MB of ram did you have any problems
with a specific application running slow, if not and you
were happy with 512MB, then adding more that 1GB
of memory is a waist unless sometime in the future
you plan to upgrade to Vista, then 2GB or more
would be worth it and you still have two slots available
to use if need to add more memory.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com


"KillerDesigns" wrote in
message
...

also, assuming i use 2*512mb sticks in 1 and 3 slots, and will the
256mb
existing ram make a difference?

and if i use 1gb in slot 1 and 256gb in slot 3 - will that make a
difference.

regarding speed and efficiency?


"JS" wrote:

The second post mislead me to believe he has 4 slots.
Sorry about that.

I still would go with the two 512MB sticks
as most motherboards and or BIOS will drop to
the stick that has the lowest performance specs.

JS

"Jerry" wrote in message
...

"JS" @ wrote in message
...
Option #2 - 2*512MB sticks running in dual channel mode.

Easy way to verify that your motherboard supports dual channel
(you indicated it has 4 available slots) is that two slots should
be
one color (for example Blue, slots 1 & 3) and the other two
slots (slots 2 & 4) are for example Orange in color.

Double check your manual for supported memory configurations
and types of memory. Generally you will use the first and third
slots (the slots with matching/are the same color) when installing
memory sticks in Dual Channel mode.

If you use the first two slots (For example Blue and Orange)
you will still have 1GB of memory but the memory will not
be operating in Dual Channel mode.

JS

He indicated that the motherboard only has 2 slots, not 4. I would
recommend that he go with a single 1gb stick and keep his existing
256mb
stick. It will cost less money, the increase of 1gb will make ample
improvements over what he has and if he ever wants to increase
memory
again he can just buy another single stick. I seriously doubt that
the
average computer user could tell the difference in performance
between
a
1gb of memory versus 1gb of memory running in dual channel mode.

KillerDesigns wrote:
thanks, all points noted. also i am not the kind that worries about 1 sec
difference etc.. so, all in all i think 2*512mb sticks will do better, and
if 4*256mb (=1gb) sticks (all same spec) might give the desired outcome or
1gb and 1*256mb (as jerry suggests) does not show any significant
improvement, this might be an option.

i'll see what Crucial suggests and offers.

thanks


It is easier to give advice, if we know the motherboard. Here
are a few observations.

1) On Athlon64 systems, a four stick configuration usually ends
up with slightly slower memory settings, than a two stick
configuration. Two sticks can run DDR400 Command Rate 1T.
Four sticks run at DDR333 Command Rate 1T or DDR400 Command Rate 2T.
That represents a slight performance loss.

2) Pentium systems also see loading effects from using four sticks,
but that probably doesn't affect operation at stock speeds. The
use of four sticks mainly affects the ability to reach high
overclock speeds on the memory bus. For example, reaching DDR480
is probably easy with two sticks, but perhaps only DDR440 or
DDR460 with four sticks.

3) There is a difference between single channel and dual channel
operation. The difference could be observed while compressing
a file archive with Winrar, and using a stopwatch. Many other
applications are relatively insensitive to memory bandwidth,
which is why when you see comments from people here, the
comments will be based on their particular selection of programs
used.

There are some single channel versus dual channel comparisons in
these Winrar benchmark results. Photoshop is another application
that might benefit from good memory bandwidth. For a lot of other
stuff, it wouldn't matter. If the motherboard has integrated graphics,
and you're using the VGA connector in the I/O area on the back of
the computer, then I recommend a dual channel configuration for
that usage (desktop updates faster).

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/a...71040/5071.png

Another thing - if you're interested in 1GB DDR type memory, don't
buy it from Ebay. Go to a reputable source (see the listings on
Newegg for example, to see branded RAM products). The Ebay sellers
are selling high density 1GB DDR modules using x4 width chips, and
the advert will show a "restricted" set of compatible chipsets.
You want to buy memory which can be used in *any* computer. Buying
high density RAM is a mistake. Even on systems where it happens to
work, it may not work properly if you load up all slots with that
type of memory.

I would leave the 256MB stick out of the computer, and only have
the two new sticks present. It is easy to benchmark the various
configurations, and make that decision for yourself.

There are a few cases, where occupying three slots of the four
available will not work. Some of the earlier dual channel boards,
strictly enforce dual channel operation, so two or four stick
configurations are the ones to use in that case. If you left
the 256MB stick in the board, the computer might not complete
POST, or the BIOS may choose to ignore the 256MB stick. Athlon64
processors before Revision E, would be an example not supporting
three sticks.

HTH,
Paul

the pc is a dell dimension 8400 series (p4 3ghz). i suppose it has its own
motherboard, it has four memory slots and recommends using 2 sticks (in solts
1/3 or 2/4) same spec. i had a problem when a blue screen appreared and on
contacting dell support they said the hdd had packed up (and made me buy a
new hdd); but the problems continued and by trial and error i found (no help
from dell) one of the 256mb ram stick had packed in. so, the question to
replace with ???mb ram stick/s.

memory recommended is: SDRAM DDR2 400/533mhz unbuffered. 128/256/512/1gb
non-ECC, install 2 same spec. in pairs.

examining the m/b its very basic with meagre extras and has much of its own
proprietary stuff; no heavy gaming graphics etc.

i use the pc mainly for voip calls on the internet and ms office xp for
letters, excel spreadsheets etc.

thanks for your help.



"Paul" wrote:

KillerDesigns wrote:
thanks, all points noted. also i am not the kind that worries about 1 sec
difference etc.. so, all in all i think 2*512mb sticks will do better, and
if 4*256mb (=1gb) sticks (all same spec) might give the desired outcome or
1gb and 1*256mb (as jerry suggests) does not show any significant
improvement, this might be an option.

i'll see what Crucial suggests and offers.

thanks


It is easier to give advice, if we know the motherboard. Here
are a few observations.

1) On Athlon64 systems, a four stick configuration usually ends
up with slightly slower memory settings, than a two stick
configuration. Two sticks can run DDR400 Command Rate 1T.
Four sticks run at DDR333 Command Rate 1T or DDR400 Command Rate 2T.
That represents a slight performance loss.

2) Pentium systems also see loading effects from using four sticks,
but that probably doesn't affect operation at stock speeds. The
use of four sticks mainly affects the ability to reach high
overclock speeds on the memory bus. For example, reaching DDR480
is probably easy with two sticks, but perhaps only DDR440 or
DDR460 with four sticks.

3) There is a difference between single channel and dual channel
operation. The difference could be observed while compressing
a file archive with Winrar, and using a stopwatch. Many other
applications are relatively insensitive to memory bandwidth,
which is why when you see comments from people here, the
comments will be based on their particular selection of programs
used.

There are some single channel versus dual channel comparisons in
these Winrar benchmark results. Photoshop is another application
that might benefit from good memory bandwidth. For a lot of other
stuff, it wouldn't matter. If the motherboard has integrated graphics,
and you're using the VGA connector in the I/O area on the back of
the computer, then I recommend a dual channel configuration for
that usage (desktop updates faster).

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/a...71040/5071.png

Another thing - if you're interested in 1GB DDR type memory, don't
buy it from Ebay. Go to a reputable source (see the listings on
Newegg for example, to see branded RAM products). The Ebay sellers
are selling high density 1GB DDR modules using x4 width chips, and
the advert will show a "restricted" set of compatible chipsets.
You want to buy memory which can be used in *any* computer. Buying
high density RAM is a mistake. Even on systems where it happens to
work, it may not work properly if you load up all slots with that
type of memory.

I would leave the 256MB stick out of the computer, and only have
the two new sticks present. It is easy to benchmark the various
configurations, and make that decision for yourself.

There are a few cases, where occupying three slots of the four
available will not work. Some of the earlier dual channel boards,
strictly enforce dual channel operation, so two or four stick
configurations are the ones to use in that case. If you left
the 256MB stick in the board, the computer might not complete
POST, or the BIOS may choose to ignore the 256MB stick. Athlon64
processors before Revision E, would be an example not supporting
three sticks.

HTH,
Paul

KillerDesigns wrote:
the pc is a dell dimension 8400 series (p4 3ghz). i suppose it has its own
motherboard, it has four memory slots and recommends using 2 sticks (in solts
1/3 or 2/4) same spec. i had a problem when a blue screen appreared and on
contacting dell support they said the hdd had packed up (and made me buy a
new hdd); but the problems continued and by trial and error i found (no help
from dell) one of the 256mb ram stick had packed in. so, the question to
replace with ???mb ram stick/s.

memory recommended is: SDRAM DDR2 400/533mhz unbuffered. 128/256/512/1gb
non-ECC, install 2 same spec. in pairs.

examining the m/b its very basic with meagre extras and has much of its own
proprietary stuff; no heavy gaming graphics etc.

i use the pc mainly for voip calls on the internet and ms office xp for
letters, excel spreadsheets etc.

thanks for your help.


At the prices seen here, you can easily afford 2x1GB.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...08400%20Series

Dell lists DDR2-400 and DDR2-533 as the speeds supported. If you
bought some DDR2-800 RAM, it could be operated at DDR2-533 speeds
without a problem. The chipset Dell lists is the 925X. And since
Dell says "non-ECC", it means that ECC isn't wired up on the
motherboard. Crucial doesn't list any of the ECC RAM in the above
list. (ECC is a form of checksum, a way of detecting memory errors,
so you get more feedback from the memory subsystem when there is
trouble. It is considered essential on server computers.)

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...0/SM/specs.htm

The 925X might be one of the last chipsets that Intel offered a
memory guide for. Based on Table 3 here, some DDR2-533 CAS4 should work
in either 925X or 925XE. If you wanted to go more aggressive than
that, use CPUZ to see what the Northbridge type is for sure. Note
that when Intel makes these tables, frequently, on retail motherboards,
the motherboard manufacturers provide ways of bypassing the requirement.
So CAS3 might work in any case.

http://download.intel.com/design/chi...s/30234403.pdf

(For getting basic hardware details.)
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

So this kit, at $38, should do fine as an upgrade. You can
stow that 256MB stick in the drawer :-) If I thought your motherboard
had lots of overclocking potential, then I might suggest something
else, but I expect the Dell is designed for "plug and play", and
for that, this is good enough. This won't break the bank.

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartsp...33919CA5CA7304

If you want something like that but a bit cheaper, this one is on Newegg.

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) CAS4
Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $30

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134031

HTH,
Paul