Ram questions

[CAD_roxors]

Im totally ovehauling my system (not even calling it an upgrade anymore, since no part of the cpu will remain). I will have the following:
Athalon (barton) 2500+ OCEd to about 3200+
512ish 3200 Crucial ram
80gb 7200 rpm hd
Radeon 9600XT
not sure about mobo yet, it will have 3 dimm slots tho, probably the Albatron "KX18D Pro"

the question i have is 2x256 ram better than 512? i know they equate to the same thing but a stick of 512 is cheaper and i was wondering if it would be better to get that. i thought they were the same, but i just thought id ask. oh and i think i will add 256 to my 512. i dunno if i need 1 gb yet but if its only another 30 i might as well. so 1gb for
me mwahaha.

 

[Coyote]

You might wnnna check out the mobile Bartons, they seem to OC easier/better than the desktop version.

That mobo is an nForce, so if you go with two 256MB sticks you'll be able to run dual channel. But it's only worth a small increase in perfromance, say no more than 5%.

If you choose 2 X 256MB, you can always add in a third stick of 512MB to bring the total to one gig.

Or you can start with one stick of 512MB and later get another to enable DC in one gig.

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win98SE

 

[Crashman]

I'd get the 1x512MB module. That will allow you to have 2x512 later if you want to upgrade or change platforms. The performance difference of dual channel for XP processors is negligable.

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<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[endyen]

I dont consider 5% negligable.
The nice thing about nforce dual channel is that you dont need matched pairs. If you cant get 1 gig now, get 2 X 256, for dual channel. Then when you want a gig, twin up the 256s and dual channel them with the 512. I love that.

 

[Crashman]

I'd get 1x512MB knowing that he'll eventually want 1GB and he might be able to use the RAM in his next system, which will likely require matching pairs.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Six to one, half a dozen to the other, and two-thirds of nine in between. One the one hand you could benefit from dual-channel now with 2x256. On the other hand, you have a better upgrade path with 1x512. Arguments have been made for both cases. The decision however is really up to you.

<pre><b><font color=red>"Build a man a fire and he's warm for the rest of the evening.
Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life." - Steve Taylor</font color=red></b></pre><p>