Adding memory

[robertito]

My system is getting a bit old and in an effort to stave off a full upgrade, I'd like to add some RAM. Memory is the only bottleneck I've run into recently. Currently it only has 2gb, half of which is used up by the OS. Running my DAW on top of this makes things incredible slow, and with CPU levels at only ~35% and mem at 99% I think its safe to say it's the culprit.

The problem is it's DDR2 which is more expensive than DDR3 and I don't want to dump a ton of money into this machine. That said I'd like to continue to use the 2x1gb sticks currently in use. AFAIK the new memory should set itself to run at a comparable speed to the old ram. And obviously voltage should match up, but what about timings, will I have to manually set them to be the same?

Lastly will everything be fine running 6gb (2x1gb sticks and 2x2gb)? I only ever see DDR2 4 or 8gb. Do I have to get another 2x1gb set?

This may be a stupid or archaic question but RAM has always confused me a bit and I'd rather be safe than stuck with memory I can't use.

 

[Engima]

You need to check what the max amount of RAM your motherboard can handle is before spending the money on RAM.

 

[robertito]

I already checked. It takes up to 8gb of ddr2 1066 across 4 memory slots.

It's a GA P35 DS3L if that matters: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

 

[robertito]

Alright, unless anyone else has a suggestion/comment I'm going to buy a set of 2x2gb memory. It has the same speed, timings, and voltage as the existing pair, and worst case scenario I use it by itself and ditch the current RAM.