Memory Upgrade Advice

[nelsby]

I built a PC a few years ago with this in -

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA80A)

I wanted to upgrade to 4Gb but I'm having trouble finding the stuff. Can I use any other DDR2 6400 2Gb pack or would it be best to replace the lot?

I should probably also upgrade the wifes PC which has 2Gb of a different brand but same spec of memory.

In short can I buy 4Gb of some other brand and upgrade both PCs in one hit?

My PC is overclocked, hers is not if thats relevant.

 

[daelo]

I was faced with the same problem as you when i upgraded my crucial ballistix 2x1gb, wanted to go to 4gb and was told that its allways best to stick to 2 x 2gb as opposed to 4 x 1gb.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-086-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

OCZs gold edition 2x2gb is similar to what i had and is a good overclocker. decent price too. I sold my old ram to that internet auction site which helped bring down the price of the new ram a bit which was helpful. You could allways shop around and find the best prices for yours and your girls pc.

Also 4gb needs a 64bit operating system to address all that memory otherwise your looking at only using about 3 to 3 and a half gigs depending on the OS. But if your not hammering the system in any way , i.e. massive photoshop files or CAD files, then 3 is definately better than 2 especially for vista.

Hope this helps