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Will 2 different pairs of RAM work?

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Memory - Will 2 different pairs of RAM work?

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Billy3275   06-28-2009 at 04:55:40 AM

I have a Dell Dimension 8400, and I was wondering if the Dual channel will work if I bought a pair of 1GB sticks that are PC2-5300 DDR2. The current RAM I have are DDR PC2-5300 256mb, DDR PC2-3200 256mb , and DDR PC2-3200 1GB.

If I buy a pair of DDR2 PC2-5300 1GB, and buy 1 gig of DDR PC2-3200 later, will the dual channel work?

Shorter version of my question : Will 2x 3200 and 2x 5300 work together?

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505090   06-28-2009 at 06:36:02 AM
- 0 +

it will work but it will all run at the lower speed why not try something like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231120

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
 Reply to 505090
Billy3275   06-28-2009 at 08:24:32 AM
- 0 +

What if they were all 1GB and ran at 667MHZ? Oh, and what exactly does the Dual channel do? Any significant differences?

Reply to Billy3275
505090   06-28-2009 at 08:39:37 AM
- 0 +

dual channel allows the computer to access both banks at the same time thus doubling the effective bandwidth. Only works if the sticks within each bank are identical.
bank 1 = slot 1 + slot 3
bank 2 = slot 2 + slot 4

would work with 4 sticks but two sticks is more stable

------------------------------ E8400 : GA-EP35-DS3L : mushkin 4GB DDR2 800 : HD 2600PRO : 450W ATX12V : Windows 7
 Reply to 505090
zipzoomflyhigh   06-28-2009 at 01:56:09 PM
- 0 +

Buy yourself a 2x2gb kit of DDR2-800 and sell your memory on ebay or craigslist.
Pairing different brands or speeds can cause problems.

------------------------------ P965/Q6700@3.2 8MB HD4850 OC Edition
4GB Corsair XMS 800
Vista64/Win7
Fatality 550w/Antec 300
 Reply to zipzoomflyhigh
Billy3275   06-29-2009 at 03:06:34 AM
- 0 +

Sorry, I forgot to mention in my last post that there is a 1gb max per slot. Is the Crucial scan accurate? If so, I guess that's all I'll be needing, thanks.

Reply to Billy3275
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