Mixing Different Speed RAM

[nickc07]

My current system only has 1 GB of DDR 400 ram in it. I recently found one of my older systems has DDR 333 ram in it. Could I take the 1GB of 333 and put it in my current PC with 400?

 

[mad-dog]

Sure, then your current system memory will run at 333MHz instead of 400........oops

 

[nickc07]

So what is better 2GB 333 or 1GB 400???

 

[mad-dog]

2 birds in the bag is always better than 1 in the bush.
400 is only slightly faster than 333, but 2x the RAM will zoom along nicely

Folding@Home

 

[rockyjohn]

So what is better 2GB 333 or 1GB 400???

It all depends on what you are doing. For simple, simple single activities (such as email browsing) without other apps open, then 1 GB @400mhz will generally be faster. But as soon as you cross very far over the 1 GB thresshold, with games, memory hungry applications, or multiple applications open, then 2 GB will be better. So which do you do the most? Note that if you go with 1 GB, you might want to make sure that your system is not loading a lot of bloatware at the start that takes up memory. Note that at todays prices you can pick up another GB of DDR 400 memory for about $45 and have the best of both worlds.

 

[nickc07]

Thanks Rockyjohn

I am playing games mostly CS:S and BF2.

Also I do not want to buy more memory right now bc I am trying to save up about $300 for Gigabyte P35, E4300, 2GB DDR2 800 ram.

I am going to see if someone I know has some old ram they arent using.

 

[utaka95]

A lot of 333 ram was just 400 speed with a 333 label (and maybe tighter timings) so you may be able to run it at 400. I say try it.

 

[onestar]

Try tweaking the memory settings. In most cases this yields the most positive results when using two different speeds of ram.

Otherwise, just live with 333 speeds as the difference is hardly noticeable. 2 gigs is much nicer than 1.

 

[rockyjohn]

Hey - just give it a try and see which works best for you. You can always take it out again if it isn't better.

 

[randomizer]

I actually found the difference between the two noticeable in games. But I think it might have been the difference between 1T vs 2T.