2 different brands ok together?

[combat_deity]

I have heard that it is not a good idea to pair 2 different makes of ram together, i.e. 256mb pc3200 stick from dell, and a 256mb pc3200 stick from Kingston or crucial. Have i heard incorrectly or should i buy a pair of 256smbs from the same manufacturer.

 

[qwertycopter]

Don't pair them together in dual channel mode. In theory it should be fine for single channel mode.

 

[qwertycopter]

I still don't recommend it:

1) One stick is from Dell.
2) Both sticks are generally low-quality.
3) There's a good chance it would be unstable.
4) This sounds like an older rig, I don't think single channel memory will be his bottleneck.

 

[combat_deity]

This is my sisters PC, and she wouldn't take kindly to buying another 256mb stick only for it not to work, i think ill get a 512mb stick and remove the other (better for upgrading for vista that 2 x 256mb). thanks all

 

[qwertycopter]

Well you should still try it in single channel mode before laying down the $$. Trying it in dual channel won't hurt anything, but like I said, I wouldn't hold you breath.

 

[combat_deity]

mmm, k, thanks for the advice

 

[flasher702]

They will work fine in single channel. You *might* have some trouble with dual-channel, but you shouldn't. You *might* have to go in and manually specify slower latencies and speeds, but they should default to the fastest common supported speed.

For an old Dell I wouldn't be worried about dual-channel. If your sister is doing something where she really needs the extra memory bandwidth (some games, video editing, stuff like that) she needs a new computer.

Also, I wouldn't waste money buying a 256mb stick of ram. Get 512mb and run in single channel with the 256mb stick (unless you have other plans for it), else get 2x512mb or 2x1gb (if the computer will support 1gb sticks) and run in dual channel. Running Vista on 512mb will not make your sister happy.

Buying 1x512mb now and possibly another 1x512mb later isn't a bad idea either.