Which RAM is better?

[thepreserver]

I need some help fellow EmuTalkers, if you don't mind. You see, I want to upgrade my RAM from 512 MB to 1.5 GB and don't know which to get...

Should I get x1 1 GB ram stick, or x2 512 MB ram sticks?

I need to know which one will be more faster and efficient. I don't care about the cost or the fact that it takes up RAM slots, I just want whichever's faster.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146580
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145568

[SuperSonic2K]

unless you're working with either CAD or integrated graphics, I really see no significant advantage with 2 sticks (dual channel, if your motherboard supports it)...... but it looks like you are in fact using integrated graphics, so as long as your motherboard supports dual-channel memory configuration, then go with the 2-stick option.

[Toasty]

It probably won't make much difference. If you had a pair of modules that were close to identical (or two pairs of identical modules) you could double your memory bandwidth if your motherboard supports dual-channel configurations (most do), but neither of your options would achieve that end. (If you were willing to settle for 1GB total by buying one module identical to your current one, or spend a little more and buy either 2x1GB and then discard your current 512MB module or 3x512MB modules identical to your current one it could work.)

[thepreserver]

Thank you for your responses! I can't wait to place an order!!! :D

[BlueFalcon7]

Wait a minute, how do I do a dual channel configuration? I have one stick in slot 1 and one in slot 3. Slots 1 and 3 are yellow, and slots 2 and 4 are black.

Edit: oh, and can I run dual channel mode with DDR2 800?

[Clements]

It is possible to have dual channel with any type of DDR memory providing the motherboard supports it (which yours does).

According to the manual of your motherboard, DIMM slot 1 and 2 constitute 1 channel, and slot 3 and 4 constitute the other. These slots labelled A1, A2, B1 and B2 respectively in the manual.

To achieve a dual-channel configuration with your particular motherboard, it appears you need a DIMM in each channel (A and B) and in the same bank, i.e. slots A1 and B1, OR slots A2 and B2.

Manual here:

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N-E%20SLI

[Toasty]

To answer your last question first, yes, it will work with DDR2 800. Wikipedia explains the configuration of dual-channel memory here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel) better than I could. Many memory manufacturers sell memory in pairs for just this purpose.

EDIT: Aw, Clements is sneaky. :P

[BlueFalcon7]

OK, good, I am running dual channel mode, with fast RAM.

Thanks for answering :)

But one more thing, Why does everyone use DDR2 667? I mean, its satanic :P I mean, Dell, Apple, and even thepreserver were all using that speed.Why not DDR2 800? I mean, sure it costs more, but they can be overclocked more.

[Toasty]

666 would be Satanic, but I think you kinda answered your own question as to why they don't use it in the first part of your last sentence. It's usually pretty much impossible to overclock a manufactured computer anyway - the motherboards generally don't allow it.

[Clements]

Because DDR2-667 is (or should I say was) cheaper and came out before DDR-800 did, so was more widely available. OEMs like Dell will go for the cheaper option. Various Intel chipsets only officially support up to DDR2-667. Without any CPU overclocking, the performance difference in real-world applications (games in particular, rather than synthetic tests) between them is virtually nil, especially with a Core 2 CPU:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2800&p=7

From an overclockers perspective, most brand-name DDR2-667 will overclock pretty well. Not ideal if you have a CPU with a really low multi such as a E6300, though.