Memory and XP2800+ CPU 1

[Zimfun]

I have recently upgraded my motherboard to a Gigabyte GA7N 400 Pro and my CPU to an Athlon XP2800+ . I was using PC2100 Ram in my old system and at the time didn't have the money to upgrade the memory to PC2700 or PC3200 so continued using the old Ram in my new setup .
I ordered 2 x 256 Mb (PC3200) memory sticks from an online store to replace the 2 x 256 Mb (PC2100) .
The problem I've got is that I made a mistake on the order and ordered PC2100 memory instead of the PC3200 , now I'm stuck with 1Gb of the slower memory .
My question is should I stick with the PC2100 memory or send the 512Mb back and replace it with 512 MB of the PC3200 type . What will the difference in performance be between 1Gb of PC2100 and 512Mb of PC3200 ?

 

[ski]

It depends on which O/S you're using, and what type of applications you're running.

If you're using Win XP and are running memory hogging applications(video editing, graphic design, intense games, etc.), then the entire 512 MB of PC 3200 may get completely used up and the virtual memory will activate.
This will make the system perform slower than if 1 GB of PC 2100 was installed, and a few hundred MB of memory was unused under the same conditions.

On the other hand, if you're using Win 98 and are just browsing the Internet, e-mailing, etc., then the system should perform faster with the 512 MB of PC 3200, as the virtual memory should never activate.

 

[Zimfun]

Hi , thanks for the reply .
I am running XP Pro and use the machine mainly for gaming and occasionally for graphics editing using Photoshop 6 .
From what you say in your post I think I'll stick with the 1Gb of PC2100 memory . The computer should still be plenty fast even with the slower memory .

 

[paparazi]

I would have just rung up the store and admitted to ordering the wrong type.
Most good suppliers would just change it, the worst senario
would be a 10-15% restocking fee.
You're just never gonna be happy with the 2100, I can feel it eating away at you :>)
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[BotCow]

I would exchange it. Upgrading to a lower end memory isn't really an upgrade. Basically you just spend money on something that will get outdated quicker that what you had before. For your purposes, it shouldn't be so bad. But if you're going to overclock you might want better memory. If not, I guess it's not a big deal.