<< Athlon4all - I'm sorry, I didn't entirely follow what you meant.
AmusedOne - I've got 4 slots, 2 filled. So it's got to be 2 128MB. My intent is to first drop in two 256MB, then later swap out the two original 128MB for another two 256MB. You're right, there is quite a price jump between 256MB and 512MB. Ideally, filling all four slots with 512MB would be nifty. But here's something I've wondered: I've got a P4, 1.8GHz with 400MHz bus speed. Isn't there a point where you can have too much memory to manage? As far as overclocking - thanks for the input. I'm certainly not to the point where I would have any confidence attempting to alter my hardware to that degree. Not just yet. Too much to learn. But it's good to know for future reference. As long as I'm at it, I think I have the basic understanding of overclocking, but could you give me the overview? Or point me towards a link? >>
I don't have any links handy, but a quick overview of overclocking goes like this:
Multipliers on processors are locked, therefore the only way to run them higher than that locked speed is to up the front side bus (FSB) speed. The FSB speed times the multiplier of your processor equals the speed the processor will run at. Your FSB is 100. (It is then quad pumped to 400, but for clock settings, it's 100). Your processor has a multiplier of 18. (a 2GHz would have a multiplier of 20) Therefore, 18x100 = 1800. If you were to increase your FSB to 115, your processor would then run at 2070 (18x115=2070). There are other variables, like increasing the voltage the processor runs on to make it stable (higher clock speeds require higher voltages) and fiddling with FSB ratios. But that's the quick overview of it.
Dell computers disable any overclocking ability on their computers. Overclocking is usually done through the BIOS, or with dipswtiches on the motherboard. Dell removes these features.
I can't think of anything a home computer would be doing to need more than 1GB of RAM right now. In fact, just adding 2 256MB sticks (768 total in your machine) will probably be all you'll need for quite some time. 2GB is overkill. I'd spend that money elsewhere. If you insist on 1GB of RAM or more, I suggest using error correction control (ECC) memory. But only if your Dell accepts it.
As SiSoft suggests: "Large memory systems (1GB or greater) should be ECC/Parity. Since the probability that a bit will be corrupt is the same or increases with module density, the bigger the module, the bigger the overall probability that you will get one or more corrupted bits. While these modules add an extra delay on partial writes (e.g. less than data width) as parity for the whole line must be re-calculated, the stability will be worth it."
Hope this helps