(2 x 1gb) vs (4 x 512mb)

MikeReiner

Golden Master
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I'm having an issue....

I'm only going to be able to get my system with 1 gig of memory.. and it will be a 2x512mb dual channel kit... the motherboard I am getting supports 4 gigs across all 4 dimm slots... but is it ok to use all 4 up like that?.. is it gonna stress it out?...

it's cheaper and more convienient for me to go 4 x 512 as opposed to 2 x 1gb.. not to mention that 4 x 512 would all have a cas of 2.5... the 2 x 1gb would be 3...
 
i would say stick with the minimum amount possible of sticks.. so you always have room for expansion. However, i dont believe theres any evidence showing that it may / will stress a system out.
 
Well, for the record, I don't think going past 2 gigs is really practical.. by the time that would be even necessary, it would probably be time to move on to DDR2 anyway.
 
I totally agree with your MikeReiner. Once you get beyond 2 gb as a necessity, then I'd move on to DDR2 and higher speed memory. Go with the 4x512mb.
 
I've heard that if you use all four slots on most motherboards it downclocks the memory to 333 MHz.
 
I'd say go with the 2 X 1GB if you're looking for that much memory. Like the others said keep the slots open for upgrading. And I assume you are running an intel board because you do know that AMD sockets don't support DDR2 just yet, right?
 
It's an AMD system, and I know they do not support DDR2. BUT when I make the move to DDR2, I will be on a whole new system, and AMD will then support DDR2.

And like I said, I will NOT be upgrading past 2 gigs of mem on this system, no point.

But man.. are you serious? 4x512 results in DDR333?......ehhh...

2x1gb is so expensive compared to 4x512...
 
That's what I've heard. Honestly, just go with the 2 gigabyte sticks, it's a little cheaper anyway.
 
Go with the 4x512. The frequency may seem slower, but to compensate for this, you have every slot talkign to each other and transfering crap at a much higher rate. Frequency isn't everything, moving things however is. If you have the same amount of storage, which in your case is 1 gigabyte, and you can only move it across 2 sticks, you'll be slower as oppossed to moving it across four sticks.

Trust me, go with the 4x512, you'll definetly like it. :)
 
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