DDR PC-3200 400 MHz Compatibility Question

FARGO

FARGO

FARGO

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Hey all,

Quick question - I've got a really old system which currently has two sticks of 512 MB DDR PC-3200 400 MHz RAM in it. (I should point out that the sticks aren't the same manufacturer, however they seem to work).

I'm looking at getting another GB of Ram to put in and have come across a 1GB stick - would this be problematic?

Two slots would each have a 512 stick in and the third would have the 1GB stick in.


:)
Thanks for any input
 
Avathar77 said:
It should be fine, but ram will not run in dual channel mode.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Avathar77 - do you mind explaining a bit more about this?

Am I correct in thinking that it's preferable if the slots are used in the same way, such as the two adjacent slots should each have the same amount of RAM in them? Meaning that the third slot in with the 1GB stick would hamper the performance of the other two?

Thanks :)
 
I believe memory is faster in dual channel mode, where you have an even number of sticks. So with the extra stick you will have doubled your capacity but possibly decreased the speed? Depending on the price, 1GB is a low amount of RAM nowadays so 2GB would be preferable.
 
Thanks for your reply beejjacobs - yeah I've been running 1GB for about 4/5 years now. The RAM I need is very expensive for what it is... because it's so ancient I guess :p
 
Hmm yeah, be very sure you want it as it is expensive, and newer RAM i so cheap. If you plan an upgrade soon ish, then maybe hold out. If not get it as cheap as you can!
 
Yeah! I've been putting off buying a new machine for about three years now.

I shouldn't really spend anything else on this system - just wanted to extend it's life on the cheap ;)

Ta for the replies!
 
FARGO said:
Thanks for the reply Avathar77 - do you mind explaining a bit more about this?

Am I correct in thinking that it's preferable if the slots are used in the same way, such as the two adjacent slots should each have the same amount of RAM in them? Meaning that the third slot in with the 1GB stick would hamper the performance of the other two?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply.
What motherboard do you have?
Most of the motherboards will have to have the ram populated in the 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th slots to have dual channel.
But some I have seen the other way - so better to check the mobo manual.
Dual channel does have a minor advantage in performance.
 
Avathar77 said:
Sorry for the late reply.
What motherboard do you have?
Most of the motherboards will have to have the ram populated in the 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th slots to have dual channel.
But some I have seen the other way - so better to check the mobo manual.
Dual channel does have a minor advantage in performance.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that it was a shop bought office type machine. It's got a generic everything and I'm not sure if there was even a motherboard manual :(
 
Motherboard

Manufacturer: MSI
Model: AMETHYST-M (1.0)
Chipset: ATI XPress 200 (RS480) Rev.10
Southbridge: ATI SB400 Rev. 00
LPCIO: SMSC LPC47M192

BIOS
Brand Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Version 3.34
Date: 08/31/2005

Graphic Interface
Version: PCI-Express
Link Width: x16 Max Supported x16


If that helps :)
 
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