Couple of memory upgrade questions.

[Kezzman]

Hello All,

My current PC has an
ASUS A8V Deluxe MB with
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
2X Samsung K4H560838E-TCCC DDR 512MB PC3200 400MHZ 32X8 - OEM Bulk Version
I have the MB set up to utilize dual-channel fuctionality. I hope. LOL

I mainly use this PC for gaming and was thinking of increasing my ram to 2gig.

Questions are:
Should or could I just slap in another set of 2 512MB PC3200 sticks in, without causing problems? (Worried about matching what I have)
Would it be better to scrap that ram and buy a gig of better memory?
Will upgrading from 1gig to 2gig show a noticeable improvement?
Would an upgrade of just 512mb show any improvement?

Problem is I only have about $125 to spend.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

as long as you got another pair of "dual channel" memory, i.e. memory that is guaranteed to run in dual channel, it wont affect your current set up.


I can say that adding another 1gb of memory will make a significant difference if you play games that are rather new, such as BF2, WoW, or other memory hogs.

It is worth it. Dual channel however, is shown to be not so advantageous as its advertised to be.... also, it never hurts to get better memory if you plan on sticking with the 939 chipset for quite some time.

However, since DDR1 is out of date, you may not want to spend lots of cash on high performance DDR sticks and wait till you upgrade to a new system that requires DDR2 to get really great ram such as OZC.

I personally use Samsung ram in all my machines except this latest one, cause they are reliable, inexpensive, and performs fine for the every day gamer who doesnt need the extra 5-8 fps.

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

Keep in mind that if you add memory that is not IDENTICAL to the existing memory, it is possible to have stability issues or possibly not be able to boot at all. There is no guarantee however, and the only way to know is to install and test.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

Well I must disagree. If your overclocking or trying to stay in dual channel mode, maybe, but I have NEVER met a pair of memory that didnt work together... not since 4mb SIMMs.


However, As I understand, some ddr2 800 will create problems when mixed and matched, but thats an issue with the MOBO.

 

[XMSYellowbeard]

Well I must disagree. If your overclocking or trying to stay in dual channel mode, maybe, but I have NEVER met a pair of memory that didnt work together... not since 4mb SIMMs.

It's much more common than most people realize. Typically it is either and IC conflict (2 ICs that simply won't run together) or, the SPDs of the 2 different types of memory conflict.

And, this is true of all platforms and is more likely to happen on dual channel MOBOs.

As I said, it is unpredictable and I'm certainly not making any guarantees.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I know. I build and swap memory on a daily basis at work. I see more memory conflits related with the mobo though, such as IC incompatibilities with Dell laptops and such.

 

[Kezzman]

Thanks for the info.

I'm gonna try and get 2 more sticks of 512 DDR with the same or as near as I can tell values of my current sticks.

If they do cause a problem is it a matter of just turning off the dual channel option in bios and going with a straight 2gigs without dual channel?
Or do you think I'd have to remove one pair?

Thanks again.

 

[piratepast40]

I also have an A8V Deluxe mobo. I don't recall a dual channel option in bios but that doesn't mean it's not there. With 2 memory sticks, they need to be in alternating slots to be in dual channel. They should be in the blue slots now, put the new ones in the black slots. When all 4 slots are populated, be aware that the board will drop the memory from 400MHz to 333MHz (assuming you started with 400 MHz memory).

You should download and run CPU-Z to find both the spec memory timings and the actual timings for your current memory sticks and try to match the new ones as close as possible. In CPU-Z, the SPD tab will give you the specs (best case timings as published by the manufacturer). It also gives you the memory serial numbers so you can look up the specs on the memory manufacturers page. Just try to match as close as possible. The mobo will adjust to the safest timings.

There is quite a bit of good info on the ASUS forum. Your manual is really a good source of information too.

Hope that helps

 

[Kezzman]

Yea, you're right it's not a setting in bios.
I downloaded CPU-Z and have that info now to try and match specs.

Thanks for the help.