daul channel or more ram

[JamieMole]

ok so here is how it goes. I've already got a giel 2x512mb DDR400 dual channel kit. And ive also got a stick of DDR333 512mb.

I was just wondering if i should stick in the extra ram. I don't mind if loading times increase a tiny bit.

And i know all my ram will most likely be downed to 333 speeds

 

[Track]

Dont worry, there wont be a difference. The more RAM the beter.

 

[JamieMole]

thanks for that mate. Now i just gotta get my mate to give it back to me

 

[Scougs]

Dont worry, there wont be a difference. The more RAM the beter.

I'm not convinced. Especially since we don't know what platform he is running or what programs he uses. The memory speed can make a significant difference. My old P4 system performs better in games with CPU at 3.15GHz and memory at DDR450 than with the CPU at 3.5GHz and the memory at DDR400.

 

[JamieMole]

Windows XP Pro, Athlon64 3500+ @ 2.4, default volt. . 1 gig DDR400 in Dual Channel T1 timing.

Anything else ya need to know :S

 

[fred_likes_fish]

Just try it and see. Run some benchmarks, like PCMark, 3dMark or something, before and after and compare your scores. Not always more RAM is better, speed can make a bigger difference.

 

[JamieMole]

yeah i was gonna if my mate brought it around for me. Just wanted to know before hand incase it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[fred_likes_fish]

Ok, i just did a little reading. Turns out that you will decrease your current 128-bit Dual Channel bandwidth down to single channel bandwidth of 64-bit, as well as lowering the total RAM speed to the slowest memory. Looks like you will be better off without the extra 512MB.

 

[JamieMole]

ok ill try it anyways just incase the extra helps out in games alot. Sick of hitching in games

 

[Mondoman]

Real-world apps often show much smaller performance differences with such changes than do benchmarks.
Also, Windows performance can often be improved by adding extra RAM, even if slower than the installed RAM, since any RAM is much faster than virtual memory (hard disk).

 

[fred_likes_fish]

since any RAM is much faster than virtual memory (hard disk).

Thats a good point. I guess all you can do then is give it a shot and see.