4GB (2 x 2) dual channel vs 8GB (2 x 2 + 4 x 1) single channel

[Wetty]

Hi I currently have 2GB x 2 Corsair DDR2-667 RAM and my cousin has an extra 4GB x 1 stick that he doesn't need and he says its DDR2-800. Would it help me out at all to use all three sticks?

 

[Remixex]

i take it each 2 GB sticks are 1333 MHz, in any case don't mix up the frequencies, that's never recommended

 

[i7Baby]

It might help - but slim chance. It most likely will jam up your PC. Or even not make any difference.

The only guarantee is a dual channel ram kit. Your motherboard webpage should have a list of approved ram.

 

[geofelt]

If you can get it to run, certainly.
I assume you have a 64 bit os capable of using more than 4gb.
Assuming you have 4 slots, put your current 2 sticks in one channel, and the 4gb stick in the other channel.
Both sticks will need to run at the same voltage, speed and timings.
It would not hurt to try, but working is not guaranteed. I put your odds at 80% success.
You might need to up the ram voltage a bit to compensate for the extra stick.

 

[Wetty]

We've tried with some extra dual channel 1GB sticks but it seems my 4th DIMM slot isn't working so I can only have 3 sticks essentially.

 

[i7Baby]

Then buy a 2 x 4gb kit. eg http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007611%20600006042%20600006069

 

[Remixex]

is it really worth it to spend that much on DDR2 RAM i7Baby?

 

[Wetty]

Ya lol I'm not gonna spend $200 on new RAM since I'll probably be buying a new computer in a year or so. Just wondering if that extra 4GB stick would do me any good.

And yes I'm using Windows 8.1 64 bit

 

[i7Baby]

Try what you got. My guess is that it won't work. Keep you money for a better PC.

 

[Tradesman1]

Which slot is 'not working' 1, 2, 3, 4 from CPU? If your mobo is Intel chances are good it supports flex mode so put the 4 GB stick in th slot by the 'broken' slot - so look at the slots as 1-2 and 3-4 as pairs, put the 4GB in the one paired with the 'dead' slot, the the 2GB sticks in the other two slots - if they play it should be dual channel

 

[geofelt]

Memtest86+ is the gold standard for testing ram.
Test each stick individually to verify that they are all good.
One full pass with NO errors should do it.

Then, take a known good stick and test in each slot to verify that the slots are good.
Check your motherboard manual since some motherboards are picky when using less than the max number of sticks.

Any way you look at it, more ram trumps faster ram.