Matching RAM sizes

[DesertChicken]

I've been curious about this lately. If I had a 512 mb stick of RAM and I was looking to upgrade, would it be better for performance if I bought a matching 512mb stick? Or could I get a 1 GB stick, run both the old 512mb and new 1 GB at the same time without any issues?

 

[stevty2889]

Well you didn't exactly give enough details..like what motherboard you are using, and if it's dual channel or not...

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Most modern mobos support dual channel memory mode which requires two matched sticks to work properly. You'd be foolish not to make use of this if your mobo supports it. It'll be a substantial performance difference.

Check the manual for your mobo.

 

[DesertChicken]

I've got a Chaintech VNF3 socket 754. So you're saying both the sticks have to be the same size to take advantage of duel channel? Would there be a disadvantage if the sizes didn't match?

 

[IntegraGSR]

s754 doesn't support dual channel. so you dont have to worry about that

 

[DesertChicken]

is there anyway i can make it slower by adding ram?

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: DesertChicken
is there anyway i can make it slower by adding ram?

Yes if you want to make it slower underclock your cpu.

 

[hippotautamus]

Dual Channel is no big deal anyway, so even if you could use it the difference would be very marginal

 

[Vikesrock]

Yes, in some cases your computer can be slowed by adding ram. If you add ram of the right amount speed and timings however you will be fine. In your case any stick or ram that is of equal speed and timings should keep your comp at the same speed or faster. You could get a 1gb stick, but most current apps will not use any more than 1gb of ram total so if money is at all releveant a 512mb stick should be good enough for you.