Question about RAM

28064212

Which is the better RAM configuration (assuming all other things are equal)

• 1x1024 MB
• 2x512 MB

I mean purely performance-wise, ignore the fact that you'll have an extra slot free.

Kevo

I think 2x512MB is better cos you get dual channels but I might be wrong.

28064212

That's what I would have thought, but Dell charge more for the single stick options.

Karoma

28064212 wrote:

That's what I would have thought, but Dell charge more for the single stick options.

That's no reflection on quality/performance/anything

Nukem

28064212 wrote:

That's what I would have thought, but Dell charge more for the single stick options.

No thats caus there thieving .......... (i wont say)
Dell IMO are a fine manufacturer once you get what they offer but once you wanna change Eeeeekkkkkk!

There is not that much of a difference in 1*1024 and 2*512; well not that its that noticeable if you arent picky (....com'on someone say it)

Check www.shop4memory.com komplett.ie they are cheap and reliable. Dell by the time you change from 2*512 -> 1*1024 they charge you from 50-70e :eek: when you could probably get a Gig from 120-170e depending on model. So my advice get 256mb and buy whatever you want from an external company.

commited

They charge more for a single stick of 1gb ram on laptops mainly because there are only 2 slots, and thus it is upgradeable still. Also has to do with the fact that they would have more 512mb chips in stock then 1gb chips.

LegacyUser

i'd have thought that 1gb stick is better than 2 512gb sticks.

reason, you have a free slot and can upgrade to 2gb or ram.

am i wrong here?

28064212

You can upgrade to 2gb anyway (in general) no matter what you start with. My question was if there's any difference in performance from 2 sticks as opposed to one

sector

There's got to be some minor latency when using multiple modules but it would be so small that even the most thorough diag test would only see a minor difference I'm sure.

A more important consideration is hardware fails, therefore you have a better shot at higher uptime with 2 modules as you can remove one should the other fail.

youcancallmeal

paperclip wrote:

i'd have thought that 1gb stick is better than 2 512gb sticks.

reason, you have a free slot and can upgrade to 2gb or ram.

am i wrong here?

Wouldnt mind 2x512gb sticks of ram in my system :eek:

Sorry it was too easy....

LegacyUser

28064212 wrote:

You can upgrade to 2gb anyway (in general) no matter what you start with. My question was if there's any difference in performance from 2 sticks as opposed to one

ye, but if you've 2 x 512 chips, you'd have to buy 2 x 1gb chips to upgrade to 2gb of ram.

you'd only need to buy one, if you've a single 1gb chip

WellyJ

A matched pair of Dual channel DDR RAM 2x512MB will outperform a single stick of 1024.

Fact

besty

I only have 256
Really need to sort this out. My latitude is really starting to drag!

jaggiebunnet

i have a spare stick of 256 that i can let you have for 25 quid +p&p if you want. Just upgraded mine to a 1x1024mb stck + 1x256mb stick.