Is 4X 512 that bad.

crfracer290 · Aug 1, 2006

Well I was able to find another kit of 1gb (2x512) Corsair XMS DDR800; exactly what I have now, for 75 dollars, it was a great deal, brand new, and the seller had a great rep so I jumped on the auction and got it for 90 bucks shipped. I have heard some people say that 2 gb of 4x512 isnt very good. But is it really that bad? I know I will see a performance boost from the 1gb I have now, but what makes having 4 sticks of 1gb worse than having 2 sticks on 1gb?

TollhouseFrank · Aug 1, 2006

likely because in synthetic benchmarks, it loses you 1-2% speed.

In RL... you'll likely notice a BUMP in speed, especially games if you are a gamer.

Deadman93723 · Aug 1, 2006

crfracer290 said:
Well I was able to find another kit of 1gb (2x512) Corsair XMS DDR800; exactly what I have now, for 75 dollars, it was a great deal, brand new, and the seller had a great rep so I jumped on the auction and got it for 90 bucks shipped. I have heard some people say that 2 gb of 4x512 isnt very good. But is it really that bad? I know I will see a performance boost from the 1gb I have now, but what makes having 4 sticks of 1gb worse than having 2 sticks on 1gb?

It makes the northbridge have to work harder, it's not a big deal if you are not a hardcore overclocker, that is where you will run into problems.

TollhouseFrank · Aug 1, 2006

Deadman93723 said:
It makes the northbridge have to work harder, it's not a big deal if you are not a hardcore overclocker, that is where you will run into problems.

He is using an A64 X-2. THERE IS NO NORTHBRIDGE! Memory controller is built into the chip!

Deadman93723 · Aug 1, 2006

TollhouseFrank said:
He is using an A64 X-2. THERE IS NO NORTHBRIDGE! Memory controller is built into the chip!

Oh yeah, well that makes it even worse then.

TollhouseFrank · Aug 1, 2006

Deadman93723 said:
Oh yeah, well that makes it even worse then.

actually, makes it better! Having the memory controller on-die makes it that much faster.

batboy · Aug 2, 2006

I currently use 4X512 and it don't hold me back much.

Bullnettles · Aug 2, 2006

Besides added heat to your system and command rate (at least on mine, from 1T to 2T), it won't be a henderance. Report back on the before and after :santa:

crfracer290 · Aug 3, 2006

I am going to run memtest now and then once I install the extra gig to see how it handles. My system is running extremely cool so I am not worried about heat, my only problem right now is getting my timings down, its alot more work that I though.

jivetrky · Aug 3, 2006

Deadman93723 said:
Oh yeah, well that makes it even worse then.

to the forums ?

to the OP: You'll drop your command rate to 2T, but having 512MB modules, you should have much better timings than 1GB sticks.

overall I think you'll be just fine and happy.

crfracer290 · Aug 3, 2006

2t aint that bad so its no biggie for me, I like timings so I am sure I will be happy. Wow, look at me saying "aint", I am a redneck.

Xtreme Barton · Aug 3, 2006

its not that bad.. it is a desired preference in my opinion ... if you are die hard than less sticks is better.. due to the fact of control and compatibility..

not likely that 4 sticks will all be the same in overclock .. thats the main reason i see.. and you will get what the weakest stick can do ...

results vary and best bet is to prove everyone wrong..

if youd like i can get more detailed but to me its cut and dry..

ShadowPho · Aug 3, 2006

In a year or 2 you will want 4 Gigs. Having 2x1gig will free up 2 other slots....
So you will gain upgradibility.

Reefa_Madness · Aug 3, 2006

ShadowPho said:
In a year or 2 you will want 4 Gigs. Having 2x1gig will free up 2 other slots....
So you will gain upgradibility.

The discussion of 4 gigs is somewhat off topic, but wouldn't you encounter the same problems (limit to your overclock/ need to use 2T/ stress on memory controller/ etc) going to 4 x 1GB from 2 x 1GB as you encounter in moving to 4 x 512MB sticks from 2 x 512MB?

If that is the case, and I think it is, then I don't see how using 2 x 1GB sticks would increase your future upgrade options. At that point in time you would be searching for 2 x 2GB sticks, not looking for 4 x 1GB...not to mention that the likelyhood of finding a matching set of 2 x 1GB sticks to go with whatever you bought now would be low given the frequency that memory manufacturers replace ICs in their product lines as the availability of ICs changes.

jivetrky · Aug 3, 2006

I think the whole idea here is that the OP is just upgrading; adding on to his original RAM. Sure it might be better to go 2x1gb ...but he's already got 2x512 ....so he's just wondering if he's going to HURT his performance by upgrading.

And the answer is pretty well no. In most cases he'll only see improvement because of the extra RAM.

Xtreme Barton · Aug 3, 2006

amen

turkey

Deadman93723 · Aug 3, 2006

If your going to have 4 sticks I would have to say they should all be the same, right? I had 2x512 and 2x256 they had the same timings, speed, and were the exact same brand, but the 2x256 limited my overclock to a 240fsb.
So, I took them out and now I running a 255fsb with just the 2x512's.

crfracer290 · Aug 3, 2006

Yea they are all the exact same, Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800.

I got them installed and it seems to be running quite a bit better, before when I would run Prime95 with alot of RAM usage + a game (halo for both tests) I was using 99 percent of my ram. Now, with prime95 and playing halo I am only topping out at 68 percent, and ALT+TAB is much faster.

oxid · Aug 6, 2006

Well, doesn't high speed DDR2 always run at 2T? So running 4 sticks in AM2 doesn't give a latency increase...
But make sure 4-way interleaving is enabled, that gives a performance boost.
Very small, that is, just like 1T - 2T, but it's there.

deathman20 · Aug 6, 2006

I've ran 4 sticks of 512 in an older system and it never hindered my preformance. I welcomed the extra gig and suprisingly it overclocked just as well let alone worked with the existing memory in there.

Plus side you paid a minimum amount of money for more ram.
Down side is if you ever want to upgrade to 3 or 4gigs or more in the future you'll be replacing either a pair or the whole thing.

Is 4X 512 that bad.

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