Dual Channle Memory?

Question

okay,i want to buy more ram for my laptop[i have 256mb at mo] and went to www.crucial.com to get some

so i downloaded the program to get my recommended extra ram
and my system stats


so i have 1 free ram slot.good news*cheers*

it says i need DDR PC2700 type memory,thats cool ,they recommened some

1 problem:they have alist of questions i can ask and they give automatic answers:
1 of them is Does my computer support dual channel memory?
it said no


what does that mean?




if i get another 256 of ram, DDR PC2700, will it doublem my ram and make programs run faster?

Answer 1

I recommend putting a 512 in the other slot. Dual channel you would have to buy a matched set. I run 4 sticks of 512 DDR PC3200 that I purchased as matched sets from kingston and then I installed heat spreaders on the sticks. It increased my performance greatly, and the heat spreaders do a fantastic job of keeping my ram cool. "PEACE"

Answer 2

Technically, there is no such thing as dual channel memory. When you see a store sell dual channel memory, that means they have tested both sticks of memory on one motherboard. When it passes, it is known as a matched set or dual channel memory kit. The concept of dual channel is more of a motherboard concept. A dual channel supported motherboard will provide you enhanced performance compared to one that doesn't support it. But, since you motherboard doesn't support dual-channel, then this is moot to discuss any further.

Back to your problem at hand, yes, upgrading your RAM to a total of 512MB will boost performance tremendously. To get the best bang for your buck, I would go to your laptop manufacturer and go to support. Find out what is the largest supported stick of memory. Typically it is 512MB or 1GB stick. Whatever it may be, buy that stick of RAM and stick it in the other slot. It is a misnomer that both slots have to have identical sizes. You will see a larger performance as you approach 1GB. 512MB is really minimum for WinXP.