Should I add one more 1 GB stick to my 2 GB config?

[rashod0]

I have the following:

*Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
*ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (cpu fan)/Artic Silver Themal Paste
*ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
*Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) -timing: 4-4-4-12 -voltage: 2.0v -cas latency: 4
*COOLMAX CW-650T EPS12V 650W Aluminum ATX v2.01
*BFG 8800GFX 756 MB OC video card
*Cooler Master Centurion 5

I'm thinking about adding an extra 1gb stick (of the same exact ram I currently have installed) to make my system have up to 3gb total memory. I've heard that running your ram in a ddr config only gives you a slight boost in performance and figure I'd give myself a bit more ram to help run my games. Anyone have any trouble running this mobo with more that 2 sticks of ram? I'm running windows xp, xp can recognize up to 3gb of memory correct?

 

[aevm]

I would add 2 more sticks. You will only see 3.2 GB but the rest will still be used by the O/S, it's not wasted. It would also allow dual channel to keep working.

 

[rsmart]

You may not have the option to fit only one additional module. The 975X is one of the few chipsets that allows 3 modules and runs in pseudo dual channel mode. I don't have a P965 to test and the Asus manual doesn't say you can, but it also doesn't say you can't.

 

[notherdude]

I just added two I gig sticks to my c2d 6600 and asus p5b-deluxe (no wi-fi) with an 8800 gts (640 ver) taking it to 4 gig total. I netted 2.93 gig. All that video RAM on our cards seems to use up quite a bit of the 4 gig of addressing you have on a 32 bit os. You could also add two 512 sticks to get to 3 gig+/- but if you go with the 1 gig sticks you'll be set to get your full 4 gig should you upgrade to a 64 bit os.

I had some odd problems at first with blue screens on my Vista install but it either sorted itself out or else I fixed it with minor adjustments in BIOS, not sure which.

To get your BIOS to recognize 4 gig you must enable "memory remapping'' in BIOS setup ("under chipset'') however, if you do this you will likely only see 2 gig in windows - don't ask me why but thats's what I get in VIsta and XP. So I leave remapping disabled, which is the default anyway, and BIOS sees 3 gig's of your 4.

In Vista 64 bit, which I am now trying, you enable remapping and you end up with a full 4 gig of useable RAM in windows.

 

[rkorczyk]

if your gonna run DDR2 PC6400 3Gb, ur better off going with 4GB Dual Channel for the simple reason that not only will it give you a performance advantage, but, come 2 months from now, u'll likely want to go with 4GB anyways after buyers remorse sets in for only getting the extra stick. Plus, in the event u decide to go with a 64-bit OS, u will already be ahead of the game. I currently run 4GB of OCZ Platinum PC5400 DRR2 in my system, but im only using XP Pro SP2, and i rarely game....im an audio and dvd freak...

 

[rashod0]

Great! Thanks for the info guys.

 

[dengamle]

To get your BIOS to recognize 4 gig you must enable "memory remapping'' in BIOS setup ("under chipset'') however, if you do this you will likely only see 2 gig in windows - don't ask me why

When you remap the memory, you lift some of it (in thise case 2 GB) up and above the 4 GB address boundary. 32-bit XP and Vista cannot go that high. BIOS will see it, but not Windows

 

[notherdude]

When you remap the memory, you lift some of it (in thise case 2 GB) up and above the 4 GB address boundary. 32-bit XP and Vista cannot go that high. BIOS will see it, but not Windows

That makes perfect sense. I should have thought of it.