1 gig stick or two matched pairs?

tommot82 · 18 Apr 2007 at 12:04

I have a 775 rig on an asus P5LD2-VM which currently has a gig of Geil PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2.

I want to put another gig in (photoshop is running like a dog) and i have 2 questions:

1) should i use the same ram as the other matched pair? i.e. is it beneficial to get some more geil value like the stuff that is already in there or is other (kingston value) RAM taht i can source cheaper due to an offer OK???

2) the board ahs four slots. Two are currently used. Is there much of a performance issue if i buy a single gig stick over two more 512 sticks?
My thinking was taht if i fill the third slot with a gig stick it leaves me a free slot for another gig in the future if i want it!

The rig is my girlfriends, it is used for design stuff (so mainy adobe creative suite) and is not and will not be clocked.

Thanks
Tom

steve258 · 18 Apr 2007 at 16:30

1) If you decide to get another 2*512 kit then the same brand is preferred for better compatibility and stability.

2) If you get another 1Gb stick then the mobo won't be able to run dual channel and the performance will therefore reduce. So either have 2 1Gb kit or 1 2Gb kit to have the optimal performance.

St0rmer66 · 18 Apr 2007 at 18:03

steve258 said:
1) If you decide to get another 2*512 kit then the same brand is preferred for better compatibility and stability.

2) If you get another 1Gb stick then the mobo won't be able to run dual channel and the performance will therefore reduce. So either have 2 1Gb kit or 1 2Gb kit to have the optimal performance.

Why wouldn't he be able to run dual channel? As long as he has the 2x 512 sticks in Channel 1/A and the 1gb stick on it's own in Channel 2/B.

RaiderX · 18 Apr 2007 at 19:00

St0rmer66 said:
Why wouldn't he be able to run dual channel? As long as he has the 2x 512 sticks in Channel 1/A and the 1gb stick on it's own in Channel 2/B.

i dont think it can run dual channel with 2 of the sticks and single channel with the 3rd at the same time

tommot82 · 19 Apr 2007 at 09:25

i have read previously that dual channel is not possible with an odd number of DIMMS.

If i buy a 2GB matched pair of geil sticks it'll cost me £82 wheras i can get hold of 2x1Gb (not a matched kit) of either kingston or corsair for £50.

My question: is the extra £30 going to be worth it??? or will the two single gig sticks simply work??

steve258 · 19 Apr 2007 at 10:02

How about the OCUK Value 2Gb PC6400 kit for £75?

They are more expensive for a reason - they are tested to work in dual channel mode whereas 2 seperate sticks will still work but maybe unable to run dual channel.

tommot82 · 19 Apr 2007 at 10:47

yeah i guess what i was really asking was hiw likely is it not to run dual channel if i buy two singgle sticks rather than a dual channel kit?

I am not sure if i am asking a "ow long is a piece of string" question or not here!!!