DDR2 800 4 x 1 or DDR2 1066 2 x 2

[toddstew]

I am currently running windows XP and am getting ready upgrade to Windows 7. My Gigabyte MB currently has G Skill DDR2 2 x 1GB memory. I want 4 GB ram.

Would it be better to simply add two more 1 GB memory modules at DDR2 or would it be better performance to replace the current memory with DDR2 1066 2GB x 2 for a 4GB configuration? Would there be much noticeable difference regarding watching Netflix online and some games?

My CPU is an AMD Brisbane X2 2.7 GHz.

Thanks for your help.

 

[toddstew]

Is the change to DDR2 1066 gonna be noticeably faster? I could save a few bucks by going with the DDR2 800.

 

[toddstew]

Two modules is easier on a system than 4, right?

 

[amirp]

do a google search there is a lot of info on this (ddr2 800 vs 1066) but really the difference will only be noticeable within benchmarks. How much money do you save by going with 800? if it's anything significant then go with 800, if its like 20 bucks then might as well go 1066

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

1) Maybe not in the near future, but later you might want to upgrade again. Buying four sticks of 1gb would mean you would have to get rid of them, so buying the two 2gb might save you money in the future.

2) There's nothing that says you can't have 6gb memory. As long as the 2x2gb ram has same specs as your current memory just go that route, if you have a 64bit os.

 

[toddstew]

1) Maybe not in the near future, but later you might want to upgrade again. Buying four sticks of 1gb would mean you would have to get rid of them, so buying the two 2gb might save you money in the future.

2) There's nothing that says you can't have 6gb memory. As long as the 2x2gb ram has same specs as your current memory just go that route, if you have a 64bit os.

Thank you for your suggestion.

I guess I thought that memory must be matched.

 

[amirp]

he's right you can do what he said, but the 1066 memory would have to be run at 800 speed (you match it with the slowest module you have installed) so you may as well buy 2x2gb 800 ram since your existing ram is 800 right?

 

[toddstew]

yes my existing ram is 800.

 

[scout_03]

what is the name and model of motherboard

 

[toddstew]

Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H

 

[scout_03]

see the cpu to the support note for the 1066 memory look at cpu list on link of card to find the bios you have is the same used with your board,you could also upgrade cpu with this board with bios upgrade

 

[toddstew]

actually, I have also considered a CPU upgrade.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

Glad I could give a useful suggestion. Do you already have a set of ram picked out that you are already looking at?

 

[toddstew]

the mb specs cite : 4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory .

Hence I should be sure to have memory rated at 1.8V, right?

 

[toddstew]

Glad I could give a useful suggestion. Do you already have a set of ram picked out that you are already looking at?

I have narrowed it down to

this Crucial http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148249

or this G SKill http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

 

[toddstew]

Glad I could give a useful suggestion. Do you already have a set of ram picked out that you are already looking at?

on a side note....I'm trying to figure out if the onboard video will support dual monitors.

 

[toddstew]

I think the mb on-board video will support 1 analogue+ 1 HDMI or 1 DVI.

I'm not sure what impact that would have one memory selection. If it makes a difference or not.

 

[amirp]

if you are keeping your previous kit in and combining it with the new 4gb kit then I would get either of these, since there is no point in spending the extra 20 bucks for 1066. this is because you have to set the ram speed to the lowest modules you have installed, so if you have two 800 sticks and two 1066 sticks they will all run at 800.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

 

[toddstew]

if you are keeping your previous kit in and combining it with the new 4gb kit then I would get either of these, since there is no point in spending the extra 20 bucks for 1066. this is because you have to set the ram speed to the lowest modules you have installed, so if you have two 800 sticks and two 1066 sticks they will all run at 800.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Thanks for the recommendations. I think I'll go with the 2 x 2GB DDR2 800...for 6 GB ram. I never would have considered that to be a real possibility.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

The only thang I'm not sure of is if you have to place them in certain slots or any slot.

For example 1gb sticks in slots 1 & 3 but 2gb sticks in slots 2 & 4. That's the only thang I'm not sure of, but maybe one of the other fellas has that answer.

 

[toddstew]

Gigabyte notes say "Note: Due to AMD AM2+ CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is only supported by 1 dimm per channel."

I don't understand what this means. Does 1 dimm mean 1 DDR2 module?

 

[scout_03]

you could just use the 2x2 memory sticks for a total of 4 gig be good enough for this syystem and win 7 64 also the on board video will be good for only one monitor it will have trouble to serve two monitor.

 

[toddstew]

you could just use the 2x2 memory sticks for a total of 4 gig be good enough for this syystem and win 7 64 also the on board video will be good for only one monitor it will have trouble to serve two monitor.

Thanks...you answered question about Win 7 64 that I hadn't asked about yet. It's on my list of potential upgrades. looks like I'm gonna go with 2x2 DDR2 1066 and a cpu upgrade. I've decided that more cores may be more valuable than more memory.

 

[scout_03]

working my self with 7 x 64 on 4 gig without any issue at all

 

[toddstew]

is there any real benefit to having more than 4GB RAM with Win XP 32 bit. If I had 6GB of RAM would the extra 2 GB be available to the onboard video gpu?