I want to dual channel my 512 mb ram with another 512 mb ram. What is needed to do this?

Question

What do I do to set up dual channeling with them, and do i need to buy the exact same stick of ram as the one i already have, or can it be a different brand ect. ?

What do I do to set up dual channeling with them, and do i need to buy the exact same stick of ram as the one i already have, or can it be a different brand ect. ? My motherboard does support dual channeling and it will make it work faster.

The memory i already have is one 512 mb.

Answer 1

I assume you have two 256MB sticks already in dual channel mode? If you buy another 256MB and end up populating all four dimm slots, it'll still be in dual channel mode. You don't have to do anything to put it in dual channel mode. You don't need the same brand of memory, however, make sure they're the same speeds.
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UPDATED RESPONSE:
"The memory i already have is one 512 mb."

First, you have to make sure your system is dual channel capable. Then in order to get dual channel, buy another 512MB stick (of the same size and speed) and put it in the correct slot on your motherboard. What's the correct slot? Well, it depends on your board layout. Most mobo's come with slots of different colors. With some boards, using slots of the same color gives you dual channel, with others it's one stick in each color. For example, say you have two blue slots and two black slots. On some boards, both sticks in say, blue, for instance, would give you dual channel. On other boards, it could be one stick in blue and the other on black (alternating) to get dual channel. You'll have to know the layout of your motherboard.

This free little program here (CPU-Z) will tell you if you're running in dual channel mode, so you can just try it each way and then check it.
Get it here:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Answer 2

dual channel depends on the motherboard. some motherboards need dual channel to work faster. in dual channel, u need 2 of the same size and type memory. then put then in and leave a open slot between them. only do this if ur motherboard requires dual channel

Answer 3

I'm not sure what "dual channel" means but if you are just trying to add memory all you have to do is make sure there is an available slot and then stick it in. I have memory of different brands in my systems with no issues as long as the specs (speed, type, etc) are the same.