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Help with RAM configuration

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I need help deciding how to purchse RAM

Right now I want to buy 1GB of DDR, I can't afford any more, so don't suggest that I get 2 GB. In a year or so I will get more.

My motherboard has 4 DIMM slots, and can take up to 4GB.

Do I buy 2 x 512MB Modules with the lower latencies and better speed, or 1 x 1GB module with higher latencies, but keep the extra DIMM slot free for later upgrades?

Performance is important, but I can only get 1GB, and I don't have a lot of money.

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if you're planning to go with 2gb at the future, i suggest to buy 1gb instead of 1 pair of 512mb.

i don't know with the fact, by imho, as for speed in 1gb, a pair of 512mb is faster than a 1gb ram, and 2 pair of 512mb is slower than a pair of 1gb.

RAM is surprisingly cheep nowadays, as long as you're willing to look around.

I'm in the UK and found the memory I wanted at 25% of the price that others were quoting.

Identify what memory you want and do a thorough search on the web - try
Ebay
www.pricerunner.com
etc

You'll probably find that the difference between 1gb and 2gb modules are not that much of an uplift - likewise 2x512mb and a 1gb should be the same!!

Chris
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Quote:
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My motherboard has 4 DIMM slots, and can take up to 4GB.
....

Perhaps you have a different MB than the Tyan Trinity 400 in your sig? If so, what MB brand and model number, and what CPU are you using? 2x 512MB can be MUCH faster than 1xGB in dual channel mode, but we can't figure out the tradeoffs w/o knowing the MB model and CPU. Thanks!

i would definately go with the 2 512's. this is because putting more that 1.5 gigs in a PIII @ 700 mhz is ABSURD. frankly, you will probably decrease perfomance by adding any more than that, not to mention the fact that all the shit you want to do is going to be limited by the cpu, not the ram. go with the 2 512's, dont worry about anything more.

twolfe: please read the thread more carefully. He's not upgrading the Pentium III system (which only has 3 memory slots, not 4). He hasn't yet told us what MB/CPU system he wants to upgrade.
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