Does memory have anything to do with freezing?

Question

I know that having a low amount of memory can freeze a computer but I heard somewhere that having mixed chips of RAM, like a 512 MB chip and a 256 MB chip can also make it lock up. Is this true?

Answer 1

If the speed of the chips are different, it can. Usually there is an error that shows there might be an issue with the memory. Other lock ups can be cpu, video card and software. Basically hope for an error message to show up. It will narrow it down. Running software that test memory, video card, cpu, ect can help narrow it down as well.

Answer 2

It really depends. If the two RAM chips are different brands, like Brand A and Brand B, that could be your problem. It also depends what you're doing. If you're running 3 or 4 programs at once, and with that much RAM, its going to freeze easier (For instance, you run MS Word, Empire Earth, and Firefox at the same time, it is more prone to freezing because of your RAM)

I recommend to buy two RAM chips of the same brand, like Corsair, 512 MB. 1 Gig of RAM is pretty good for home computer users, and you can comfortably run MS Vista on it

Answer 3

The motherboard may have the RAM set up for channels. Just get the right configuration.

John
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Answer 4

nope its no problem if u mix d MB of ram..it depends on the program that ur using that eats lots of memory..or try scanning virus can make freeze also

Answer 5

No. But if you have faulty RAM, or RAM that your motherboard doesn't support, you then have a problem.

Size doesn't matter (unless you go over Motherboard limits like a 2 GB DIMM when your motherboard supports only 1 GB).

Answer 6

If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.
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