More ram or less but faster?

[bobbyforhire]

SO i have been wondering about this for the longest time. And here are some examples of what i'm talking about.

What would be better?

4GB ram ( 2x667, 2x533) = 4gb 533
*
2GB ram (2x667) = 2gb 667

I have recently upgrade my ram and took out the 533 chip's and replaced it with the 667 chips. But I'm wondering if i mixed the two would 4gb of 533 be better than 2gb of 667.

 

[acewarlock]

I could be wrong and I have been wrong before, but I would think 4GB is always better then 2GB. also I don't think you personaly would be able to see any speed difference, maybe a testing program might see a difference.




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[RICHINMINN]

Mixing different speeds of memory is usually asking for big problems. Sometimes the system won't even boot; sometimes it'll boot, but will be unstable once it's up. However, if you set the system memory settings to match the slower memory being used (i.e. run all memory at 533), it may run stablely (but there are no guarantees).

If I were you, I would stick with the 2 GB of 667 memory until I could buy another 2 GB identical to it (same specs, from the same manufacturer, if possible).

Rich (in Minn.)

 

[tf1]

2 x 667 will be faster unless you regularly place huge demands on your memory. Some motherboards can be finicky about mixing memory, so I agree with Rich and stick to the 2 x 667 until you need and can afford another identical pair.

Sell the 2 x 533 on eBay and that will partly pay for thenew memory!


Regards: tf1

 

[cdogg]

There have been a lot of questions like this lately, so you may want to search the forum.

In short, I would agree with Rich that 2GB of the faster memory is likely the better choice. Rarely will your system be taxed heavily enough to go beyond that need, making the faster RAM a better "everyday" choice. Typically the speed of your frontside bus (FSB) also plays a role in the decision.

Also realize that the 32-bit version of Windows will not be able to use all 4GB at the same time. There is a known limitation discussed in this thread:
thread602-1457391


~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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[PRPhx]

As cdogg mentioned, depending on your OS, you aren't going to be able to see all 4GB of RAM anyways. I would go for the fastest 2 GB of RAM (Maybe 3 GB, but again, depending on the OS, you have to use a switch to get the OS to recognize 3 GB.

Here is a link to a Microsoft site that explains memory usage:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.mspx

 

[cdogg]

As a good rule of thumb, it is usually best not to use a switch unless you have a program that recommends it. Adobe CS2/CS3 is one exception.

As noted in PRPhx's link, applications will not be able to use the extra 1GB of space unless they use a special "header". The simple reason is that most apps don't need the extra space. Also this limits the kernel to only 1GB which has a downside and should be avoided when possible.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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