[andy7t]

Hi,

I have a stick of 512Mb PC3200 in my machine at the moment.

If i were to put an extra stick of 256Mb PC3200 in the machine, would it increase performace, or decrease performance.
I've normally been told you should always have sticks of the same size in your machine?

Can you let me know what will happen if i stick the 512 and 256 together.

[Miguita]

More system specs, please!

But regardless of your platform, 1x256MB and 1x512MB won't activate dual channel.

[andy7t]

I have:
Socket 754 Gigabyte K8VT800
Athlon 64 3000+

[saltytheseagull]

You would probably see somewhat of a gain because 754 is single channel provided the sticks have the same timings and such. If the sticks are by the same manufacturer just different speeds you will probably see a slight gain. The best would be to go with another 512 stick.

[Miguita]

That's right. As the controller is single channel anyway, this should be narrowed down to a 'the more the better'-scenario. But there is no guarantee, as more memory is more stressful to the controller. Some socket 754-CPUs don't have adjustable command rate. A64s are known to be picky on the RAM as well. I'm not positive this would be the case with your CPU, but it's a known issue at least with the Winchesters.

I'd rather buy another 512-stick, and preferably a similar one. Then you could perhaps keep them for future dual-channel purposes. If you already own that 256MB stick, you should give it a try. In that case the 512MB module should be mounted in the first slot.

[pershoot]

Originally Posted by Miguita

More system specs, please!

But regardless of your platform, 1x256MB and 1x512MB won't activate dual channel.

1x256 and 1x512 will most certainly activate dual channel (if placed in the appropriate slots for DC operation). however, on his platform, he only has single channel available to him.

[Miguita]

So this applies to socket 939 and 940?

[Roofles]

More ram = Good.

I had the same deal, I had a stick of 512mb in my computer and I found another 256 stick laying around and threw it in, and my pcmark score went up. Noticable when using the computer..... eh. But it works out.