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Memory 3

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reason1000

IS-IT--Management
Feb 1, 2002
38
US
Hello,

In a PC with two memory slots, does anyone see any problems with installing two DIMMs, one with 1GB of memory and the other with 2GBs of memory? Both modules are DDR2-800.

Thanks for any advice,
Rod
 
If you install 2 of differing speeds, the overall speed will be that of the lowest. Installing two similar speeds but different sizes should work as long as your board can support more than 1GB per slot and the RAM is good. I would recommend a couple passes of Memtest just to be sure

"Silence is golden, duct tape is silver...
 
The OP doesn't say whether the motherboard supports dual channel mode, so that MAY or MAY NOT be an issue at all. The statement about speed of the slower is correct, but not a huge issue.

Please verify that your board can support 2GB in a slot. Check several different sources. Also verify maximum memory allowed. If possible, get two matching sticks, but don't fret over it.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is the speed of the processor's primary bus. Since this is DDR2 we're talking about, then the processor could be an Intel Core 2 Duo with an 800MHz, 1066MHz, or 1333MHz frontside bus. It could also be an AMD Athlon processor with the Hypertransport bus that ranges from 800MHz to 3.2GHz.

So depending on the processor, dual-channel may or may not make that much of a difference anyway even if the motherboard supports it. Heck, the older Core 2 Duo with an 800MHz FSB would already be the same speed as a single stick of DDR2-800.

Carl

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test
a man's character, give him power.
" - Abraham Lincoln
[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
Thanks, guys. I was thinking that it would be fine, I just wanted to get some second opinions.
 
In some core 2 duo's the cpu and memory speed are independent. In mine they are, FSB of CPU is 1066, and memory is 1333 in one system and 800 /533 in the other.
 
rclarke250,
Yes, good point. They run independently of each other as separate entities. That's true. However, it's still a good idea to keep both speeds in mind when deciding if you really need dual-channel or not.


Carl

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test
a man's character, give him power.
" - Abraham Lincoln
[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
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