Geminiwave

I have a DFI infinity SLI board and it runs alright but I have mis-matched ram and its been really killing my overclocking. I'm considering scrapping my current ram altogeather and getting some other ram. Trouble is I dont want to spend alot of money and I noticed that ram prices took a severe spike recently.

Anyway its cheaper for me to get 4x512 right now (plus the ram has better timings in general) than it is to get 2x1gb, so should I go for that? I'm pretty sure this board runs 4 sticks alright (though it does NOT run 3 sticks. strange board)

Or maybe I should just go for 2x512 again? I dunno...on the one hand I think that its stupid getting prepped for vista right now since im not gunna use it for awhile, but on the other hand I should get matched pairs of ram right now, neh? DDR is only going to get more expensive.

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mkk

Yeah go for 4x512 since it's the cheaper way to buff your current system, and usually works fine. I wouldn't want to have much less than 2GB on any system today, and would have gone for more if it wasn't for todays prices. It's the beginning of the end for DDR so it's not going to get much cheaper I'm sure.

Judas

T1 vs T2 is a nice improvement though.

I would highly suggest 2x 1gb over 4x512mb due to upgradeability and resale value, but mostly to maintain better stability (as some motherboards generally have sometimes bad issues with 4 sticks at tight memory settings.)

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Geminiwave

you can run 4 sticks at 1T...

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CDsDontBurn

i'd do what judas suggested. as for running four sticks at 1T, i heard it's possible only at really high voltages, and it's not true for all boards either.

my vote is for 2x1Gb sticks

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Rasta Monsta

2x1 GB, hands down

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Just Learnin'

2 X 1GB or pity the memory controller.

PangingJr

as for the "2x1gb? or 4x512mb?", it's obvious that the 2x1GB is the better decisions people will make.
so let's see, how increase in the overall performance have you noticed your existing system (include Windows XP and other software system) when it's using 2GB over just 1GB of physical memory?
if you have not noticed any improvement, then you simply won't need 2GB system.

2GB system used to be a bit too much, but for today computing i personally think it's not.
so it's all up to you, it does not mean that you will need to be ready for Vista or anything, you know?
i perfer to use 2GB even with Linux's, yes, i have noticed that my 2GB system work smoother over a 1GB system under those OSes.

mkk

The only reason I'd see for paying up to get 2x1GB would be with later getting 4x1GB in mind, and I don't think that's the objective here. It has become such a costly move now with DDR. The real world performance gain of running at 1T command rate isn't worth much money.

Zelig

Not usually, it's a memory controller issue, not a ram issue. The older Athlon 64 cpus can't even run 4 sticks at 400 MHz, they drop down to 333 MHz.

That being said, if you're overclocking and the dividers on your board are working properly, I'd go with the 4x512mb. There really isn't going to be a performance significant difference in real world situations between 2x1024mb and 4x512mb.

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dipstick

Chances are very slim that 4 sticks will run at 1T on amd system. Unless you're adding to your curent memory, 2x1GB will be faster and more stable.

Judas

i've yet to get a system... current or older, on different motherboards.... of various brands, to either post or make it to windows stable enough running T1 with 4 sticks, and it's just as rare to get 4 good sticks of ram to run at there high specs to actually run at those specs stable. 2 sticks is by far the better choice, and some system actually produce oddities when 4 sticks are used.

Be safe, keep the resale value up, buy 2 1gb.. cause sooner those 512mb sticks are going to become VERY unwanted quick.

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BlueMak

While I agree 100%, if you do not intend to buy more memory in the next couple of years, might as well get the cheaper one. Cause when you buy a new system, you might need to get some new type of RAM anyway, and selling that RAM might not bring you so much more money to worth the trouble IMO.
If the difference between them is just a few dollars, definetely get the fewer dimms.
I do not take into consideration any compatibility problems since I don't know enough of that.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Dyre Straits

Some of the reasoning suggested here is exactly why I just recently got an additional 2x512 MB to match my current Corsair XMS Dual Channel PC3200. I was able to add the additional 1 GB of RAM at a very attractive price....to me, anyway.

Being that this particular system is reaching its peak for upgrades, I won't be spending so much more money in it as I'll be going to PCIe very, very soon. (I already have a X1950 PRO PCIe here on the shelf waiting for it! )

Since I know I'll need better and faster RAM for the new system, I really didn't have the incentive to put 2x 1GB sticks in my current system.

I can also state that I really haven't noticed any significant improvement in performance since adding the additional RAM, either. The downside is that, although I can set the native CAS settings for the RAM, I can no longer tweak it for RACE or TURBO settings without causing mayhem. 2x1 GB definitely would resolve that issue, I'm sure.

So, the decision really rests on just what you intend to do with the current system over the next year or so. Bandaging it to last until you do a major upgrade can be nice if you don't spend a bundle on it doing so.

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CDsDontBurn

seeing as we continue to have a near identical system, what happens when you manually tweak your system? I can no longer get the 4Ghz OC i was once able to because of all the devices i have inside my machine, they all draw too much power together. AFAIK, you can set it to 1T or 2T manually in the BIOS.

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H3X4D3C1M4L

2x1GB will work better in terms of long term performance in that you get 1T out of them, A64's are whiney when all 4 DIMM banks are populated