I'm considering a purchase to increase my system's memory, and I was wondering if there would be any benefit to purchasing two 512MB sticks, versus one 1GB stick. I have two available slots (the other two are filled with 256MB sticks). My initial impression is that buying the two smaller sticks would allow more total pins for access, and would thus perform better, but I'm pretty dense with hardware :P.
2007-02-07 01:26:57 · 11 answers · asked by Remiel 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
If your MB supports Dual Channel then pairs are much better. I'm not sure if it matters on just regular memory.
2007-02-07 01:32:45 · answer #1 · answered by J D 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Memory is accessed by specific address location FIFO (first in first out), so it really doesn't matter. The I/O from the CPU or other device for DMA is going to happen sequentially regardless which stick it is on. There is no waiting, unless you are in a multiprocessor or dual core environment.
2 sticks ARE cheaper, and you can always pop one out in the event that you do have a failure.
What IS most important if you are really looking to get the most out of your RAM is the speed of the memory. Get the fastest you can afford. A slow CPU can outperform a fast CPU if it is equipped with faster memory. This is a fact.
2007-02-07 01:57:19 · answer #2 · answered by orlandobillybob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the people above who said IT DOESNT MATTER 1 STICK OR 2 STICKS are wrong, and know nothing about memory handling. IT does matter, and it IS faster to have 2 sticks rather than one.
They say having 2x512 is better than 1 stick that is 1GB... Because all information that needs to be stored on the ram or all things that need to access the RAM, can go to multiple locations instead of try to load up on 1 location...
In other words, imagine a pack of 4 schoolbuses, trying to pull into one driveway that has a huge opening (1gb), they may all be able to FIT very nicely, but they will still have to drive around eachother or wait for their own turn to pull in...
As opposed to 4 schoolbuses pulling into 2 different driveways, they will all be able to pull in quicker.
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The advantage to having a 1GB stick by itself, is that you have more room to UPGRADE RAM later on if you want more than 1GB...
Most people only have 2 RAM slots, so if you ever think you will need more than a GB of ram, and you have 2 slots, then get a 1GB stick...
If you have 4 slots, then just get 2x 512.
2007-02-07 01:34:16 · answer #3 · answered by Danlow 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its always better you have two sticks in computer.. let me explain you when the processor needs any data it will request the ram. if the ram is already in use by any other program then it should wait for the resource. if there is another stick aviable then it will process the request to another RAM stick. all this process happens within milli seconds so it does't matter a lot.
but when you run high end applications like game or a sftware like oracle then it does matters. it will increase the performance by 15 to 20 percent.
better you take 2 sticks
2007-02-07 01:40:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Memory is memory, it doesn't matter how many chips it's spread across. The only thing that matters is how much you have. An exception to this rule occurs with older motherboards that use DDR memory. On my motherboard, I cannot have two DDR dimms sitting next to each other, or else I get plagued with STOP errors. I have to separate them by putting them in slots 1 and 3. I recommend buying one stick and putting it in there.
2007-02-07 01:33:12 · answer #5 · answered by Pfo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two sticks would be faster because they use two slots, and so have two channels in which to transfer data back and forth(faster). Using one stick would mean the same amount of data going back and forth, but just one channel to go through, so it's slower in comparison.
My motherboards automatically turn on the dual-channel feature, though others have to be turned on manually through the cmos setup.
2007-02-07 01:59:08 · answer #6 · answered by Meor H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's better to but one dbl capacity stick for the simple reason that it leaves a RAM slot free. That way you can add another stick later.
2007-02-07 01:46:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you need to buy two memory stick. because it will perform the same but you have one facility if one fail you can continue work with another.
2007-02-07 01:42:12 · answer #8 · answered by Shahin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should buy two 512 MB of RAM. They will work fast as compared to one 1 GB RAM.
2007-02-07 01:34:22 · answer #9 · answered by Sidd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like to place one stick of one gig on each side. I am not sure it makes a lot of difference, but it seem more balanced to me.
2007-02-07 01:32:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋