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Basic Ram Question Speed vs Amount

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Sham

New Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Hi guys. I have a basic question. Is it better to run 3 gigs of ram running @ 266 (2 sticks of 400 equaling 2 gigs and 2 sticks of 266 = 1 gig) or 2 gigs of ram running @ 400? I am not sure which is better. I use my rig mostly for gaming and music. Thanks guys.
Sham
 
WELCOME TO THE FORUMS :welcome:

Well since you are a gamer 2GB with 1GBx2 at DDR400 should be much better since doing 3GB would be an overkill for any of todays games. Although having more virtual memory is better 2GB should be more then enough and you will be able to run it under 1T if you were to use only two sticks.
 
I'd go for 2GB of DDR 400. More than likely it will be faster.

The best way to get actual bandwidth numbers however is to try both setups & do a SiSandra mem bandwidth test on each or just take a look at Memtest's bandwidth test by booting into it with each setup.
 
Moto7451 said:
The best way to get actual bandwidth numbers however is to try both setups & do a SiSandra mem bandwidth test on each or just take a look at Memtest's bandwidth test by booting into it with each setup.

There is no question about that, he will get higher bandwith with 2GB if using 2 sticks :thup:
 
You guys were right. With the three gigs running 266 and the 2 gigs running 400 here were the results:

3 Gigs @ 266 = Int 3222, Float 3230
2 Gigs @ 400 = Int 4612, Float 4553

Thanks guys for the help, I will def be hanging out here more often!
Sham
 
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