DDR Ram, or...

[GiddyupGilbert]

It's been a while since I've fooled around with RAM, so I'm a bit out of touch. I have 512MB 32X8 with numbers 35144581 W21407 on the sticker below it. It looks like DDR RAM to me, but I don't know for sure. I'm going for a TV tuner/editing board and feel like I need more, but don't want to stick the wrong thing in my machine. Can you mix and match 512 with a 1 gig stick. I seem to remember the way it was the machine would only pull the lowest denominator in the setup. Also, if you can put sticks with more RAM in the mix is there a positioning order? Last, but not least is there somewhere I can go to get educated again in this area? Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Giddyup

[chrisplatt]

im not too sure on this subject either but im pretty certain u can run a 1gb stick alongside a 512mb without problems. depending on whether ur computer has dual channel memory u will get better performance from two identical sticks, but different sizes will still work.

really its not the amount of memory but the type of RAM which matters. different computers take different pin numbers and so getting that right is the most important part.

try this website to identify your current RAM and then match it.
http://home.pacbell.net/dbk4297/memory_what_kind.html

if your still not sure then go ask your local pc specialist cos they'll know.

hope that helps

[GiddyupGilbert]

Excellent, excellent. Thank you for the input. This should give me a heads-up.
Giddyup

[nizzy1115]

I just thought i would throw in my 2 cents as usual... A great program that tells you information about your computer is called cpuz. You can download it (free) from here http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-134.zip It will tell you all you need to know about your ram.

[GiddyupGilbert]

I did, and I won't be without this one.
Thanks, Giddyup

[Chaky]

Bare in mind that 1 Gig sticks are slower than 2 of 512 MB of a same vendor/model, so if you're looking for a permanent memory expansion, I advice to go for 2x512 instead of 1 gig.

[GiddyupGilbert]

Thanks for that. I would presume that 2X512 of different mftrs would also be slower.

[Chaky]

I was reffering to same model of 1 G and 2 x 512 G. The quantity of memory on one stick is the bottleneck (however ironic it sounds). For instance, my mobo supports 400MHz 512 MB sticks or 333Mhz 1G sticks. It is a memory controller capability limitation.

Also, if you have 2 different sticks, say 333MHz 512 MB and 400MHz 512 MB the working speed would be of lower one. But performance all together would be much greater with, say, 1.5 G of 333MHz Cli 3 than 1G 400 Mhz Cli 2.5 if you're running Quake 4, Farcry or Battlefield 2142.

And don't be suprised if the memory you get would refuse to work with the memory you have. Or if your system gives you occasional BSOD. That can be expected when working with memory modules of different speeds/vendor/(even)model. It is not always so, but you can never know, and there is no way of knowing until you try it.