Anything Wrong with 2GB Sticks?

Anybody??? Any comments please, very appreciated.


Thanks Storm~

i would imagine that there is nothing wrong with this 2gb module. You will lose the capability to have dual channel configuration but that can b fixed if you get another 1. i think its a great option for future proofness because it is only 1 stick.

at half speed single channel mode, till a mate is added....

Nothing wrong with larger modules.



I'm yet to see any real world examples that show dual channel as being twice as fast...

I'd agree 1gb modules are large enough.
4x512modules too expensive
2gb ^^

I guess the only thing is, are you going to go over 4gb of memory?

Well actually the dual channel configuration theoretically supports twice the memory bandwidth from 4.2gbs - 8.4gbs or something like that. You will notice quite a large difference i would imagine with opening apps and playing games. The most common reason of people buying larger dimms is because they can run it at a T1 timing as apposed to T2 which is slightly slower (5-10%) and also i think with AMD boards if you have 4x512 sticks it reduces the speed from 400mhz to 333mhz. Larger dimms will mean that u can add more ram if necessary.

Correct me if im wrong lol

2gb sticks are better, and worse, better because of upgrade path and easier to diagnose problems, worse because of cost, less speed with only one stick, less overclockability and some other stuff. also runs a bit warmer.

there shouldnt be anything wrong with 2gb sticks as long as you buy from a good manufacturer like ocz, corsair, patriot etc.

Wasn't the complaint with Socket AM2's increased memory bandwidth that it didn't perform any better than the more bandwidth limited S939?

I'm sure there's a difference with the higher bandwidth, I'm just not sure it would be significant. But seriously, what kind of work are you doing that you'll need more than 4GB of memory? If you don't need more than that, save yourself the money and get 2x1gb.

he isnt asking what should he buy, the question is if their are any problems with a 2gb stick. which as far as im concerned nd other ppl here there isnt, no more issues then there already are with a normal 1gb stick.

I'm afraid you are wrong about the 4x512mb in amd boards running at 333 only. I have an A8n-sli with 4x512 of corsair value matched pair and it runs fine at 400

This is true, but the post sounds as if he will be buying at some point. There seems to be to be no advantage to getting the 2gb stick rather than 2x1gb sticks, UNLESS he is going to need more than 4 gigs of ram.

2x1gb is cheaper, and gives whatever (perhaps marginal) benefits come with running in dual channel.

I agree - 2GB sticks are a good place to start if you plan on going to greater than 4gb.

The number of folks who need to do this will be very rare for quite a while.
Currently anything over 2gb is very rarely needed.

Personally I bought 2x2gb for my new system and paid handsomely for doing so over 4x1gm.

Why? I do extensive Virtual Machine work on my system and my XP box may be running a Linux Server, Windows Server, NetWare Server, Multiple Windows/Linux Client hosts, etc.. etc... in various combinations for work purposes. 4gb is actually quite a limit for me and I plan on moving to 8gb and a 64-bit Host OS at some point.

For my non-work system, I have 2gb and have never come close to needing more than that. The upgrade from 1gb to 2gb definately helped, but more ram would not do anything more for me at the moment.

Nothing that I know off.

If you plan on ever going above 4GB, then it would be a good Idea to get the 2GB sticks. However, you can get 2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 for less then $130 now...

Well firstly I don't plan on having 4GB anytime soon, until maybe Vista.

My main reason is to just have a better upgrade path, and less slots taken up.

And also G.SKILL is good right.. Right now I have Corsair XMS2 series ram, but I've seen allot of people getting G.SKILL now a days..



Thanks very much. Storm~

2x1gb will give you better performance than a single 2Gb stick since it can run in dual channel mode.

Since you can still easily upgrade to 4gb, I don't see this as really limiting you that much.

By the time you may need 8gb, you are probably looking at a new system running DDR4. (Yeah, I know DDR4 does not exist yet, but that is sort of my point.)

Are there any graphs, examples links to where I can see the difference between Dual and not Dual Channel ram usage?

Still open for any other input on the subject.

And also G.SKILL is with the brands like Corsair, Kingston etc. Correct...??


Thanks Storm~