KT266a > 512MB or 2x256MB?

[Ron_Jeremy]

I am building my first AMD system & will be choosing a board outfitted with VIA's (I'm already in a panic) KT266a chipset.
I was wondering if there's an advantage/disadvantage to using more or fewer RAM slots. What I mean is, would this board perform better using a single 512MB DIMM, or 2x256MB DIMM's? Or is this a dumb friggin' question? My apologies if it is
I will be using Win2K/XP, 1600+ chip, & will <b>not</b> be doing any overclocking.

Cheers,

Ron_Jeremy

If you loan a friend $20 & never see them again, it was worth it.

 

[tilepusher]

Hey Ron_Jeremy,
Wow! Love your work! Oh yeah, my advice, unless you are doing Video Editing on your system go with the 2x 256mb modules. Most Via KT266A mobo's have 3 slots, but some like the Shuttle AK31 version 3, have 4 slots, either way you can get one or two more DDR sticks if you need them. On performance, most benchmarks have not shown a performance advantage if both 512mb or 2x 256mb are running at the same CAS/CL. You should get DDR that was meant to run at CAS/CL 2.5 or 2.0, like Crucial(cas: 2.5, but will run at cas 2.0 fine) or Corsair PC2400(cas 2.0 at 300/150 mhz!). If you know that the work you do on your system is going to need a mega amount of Ram, I would post a question about DDR brands and 512mb sticks-which is the best/reliable brand. Hope this helps.
Peace Out..........tile

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