Memory Configuration ?

jonski

which is better

2GB consisting of 2 x 1 GB ddrII 800 running in dual channel

OR

3GB consisting of 1 GB ddrII 533 , 2 x 1 GB ddrII 800.........which drops the whole lot down to 533 .

TerrorFirmer

I have always found that more ram negates the loss of dual channel, even in relatively small amounts (ie 1Gb dual vs 1.5Gb single). If you want to keep dual channel, why not consider 2x1gb and 2x512mb anyway?

3gb single will be faster then 2gb dual channel. The benefits of dual channel would mostly be evident in benchmarking and even then is mostly insignificant.

If you're getting the 2x1gb and 1x1gb, you can even test it yourself by running the 2gb by itself in dual channel first and then base it against the 3gb.

edit: keep in mind if you're overclocking ditch the 533 and stay with the 2x1gb though

jonski

Hmmm , test it ? why couldn't I have thought of that all on my own ? Like a cpu can throttle the speed of the graphics card , it seems my brain size seems to be throttling me .

Reason for the question as it was was because the pc came with the 1GB 533 , I bought the 2x1GB 800 and installed it , then put the 533 up for sale but no one wanted it so now I am considering putting it back in .

Thanks again Havok

daveharnett

I'd say that it depends on your cpu. Most new ones have enough cahce that the memory bandwidth/latency does not have a whole lot of impact.

Add memory hungry apps/vista, and capacity wins over speed.

jonski

daveharnett wrote: »

I'd say that it depends on your cpu. Most new ones have enough cahce that the memory bandwidth/latency does not have a whole lot of impact.

Add memory hungry apps/vista, and capacity wins over speed.

AMD athlon 64 x2 dual core processor 3800+