1GB DDR 400Mhz Memory and memory controller questions.

[Red]

Hi All,
Been reading the group for a quite a while, and now its time to ask a
question myself
I recently bought a 1gb stick of DDR 400. Realised too late that I
maybe should have bought 2 x 512 DDR400 so that I had 1 memory
controller working on each 512 stick. This is something I have always
done in the past.............until now :-( So my question is this,
does it make "much" difference that I have just the 1gb stick as
opposed to 2 x 512 sticks? And if so, how much difference? Also, would
adding another 1gb DDR400 not be the same thing as 2 x 512, both would
then use a memory controller each? Also, are there any problems with
Win XP Pro and 2gb of memory? (I don't think there are myself).

The 1gb stick is sitting in my Biostar MN7CD? Mainboard. It only has 2
mem slots. Great board, and 2 years on still working away fine (almost
24hrs a day LOL). Other specs in case it matters are............

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton), GeForce 5900XT gfx card, 1gb DDR 400Mhz
memory etc etc...................

Many thanks for any answers/advice......Great group!!

Andrew

 

[kony]

Hi All,
Been reading the group for a quite a while, and now its time to ask a
question myself
I recently bought a 1gb stick of DDR 400. Realised too late that I
maybe should have bought 2 x 512 DDR400 so that I had 1 memory
controller working on each 512 stick. This is something I have always
done in the past.............until now :-( So my question is this,
does it make "much" difference that I have just the 1gb stick as
opposed to 2 x 512 sticks?

It makes far more difference when one uses integrated video.
In your case, on tasks placing large demands on memory
performance yuo might lose up to 10-15%, but in most
situations it'd be under 5%.

And if so, how much difference? Also, would
adding another 1gb DDR400 not be the same thing as 2 x 512, both would
then use a memory controller each?

Adding another 1GB would be the same, allowing use of
dual-channel mode. However, you can still add a 512MB
module, and the dual channel mode will still work for the
first 1GB of memory... they don't have to be the same size,
you simply won't get dual-channel performance when the
amount of memory used ( X 2, since there are two modules)
exceeds that on the lesser-sized module.

Some might argue that you made the right choice in buying
the 1GB module, as now you can have 1.5GB rather than being
limited to 1GB, though of course it depends on your tasks.

Do you find you need more memory performance though?
Often that coincides with other system bottlenecks such that
upgrading only one part like this isn't of much benefit-
unless you simply need more than 1GB total.

Moving to Athlon 64 ith it's integral memory controller
would be a larger boost in memory performance. Overclocking
the memory bus (and/or, trying some faster memory timings)
are two alternatives that may also boost performance more
than adding another module to gain dual-channel support.

In fact, it's actually possible that your board (or you,
manually) would drop the memory timings with the addition of
the 2nd module such that some of the performance gained by
dual-channel mode is offset by the performance reduction of
the slower timings.

Also, are there any problems with
Win XP Pro and 2gb of memory? (I don't think there are myself).

No, but as with any memory changes, it'd be good to test it
with memtest86 for several hours prior to first booting the
OS. The odds of incurring memory errors from such an
upgrade are fairly high... not to imply you will, but I'd
call even a 15% chance high and worth testing.

 

[Red]

It makes far more difference when one uses integrated video.
In your case, on tasks placing large demands on memory
performance yuo might lose up to 10-15%, but in most
situations it'd be under 5%.




Adding another 1GB would be the same, allowing use of
dual-channel mode. However, you can still add a 512MB
module, and the dual channel mode will still work for the
first 1GB of memory... they don't have to be the same size,
you simply won't get dual-channel performance when the
amount of memory used ( X 2, since there are two modules)
exceeds that on the lesser-sized module.

Some might argue that you made the right choice in buying
the 1GB module, as now you can have 1.5GB rather than being
limited to 1GB, though of course it depends on your tasks.

Do you find you need more memory performance though?
Often that coincides with other system bottlenecks such that
upgrading only one part like this isn't of much benefit-
unless you simply need more than 1GB total.

Moving to Athlon 64 ith it's integral memory controller
would be a larger boost in memory performance. Overclocking
the memory bus (and/or, trying some faster memory timings)
are two alternatives that may also boost performance more
than adding another module to gain dual-channel support.

In fact, it's actually possible that your board (or you,
manually) would drop the memory timings with the addition of
the 2nd module such that some of the performance gained by
dual-channel mode is offset by the performance reduction of
the slower timings.



No, but as with any memory changes, it'd be good to test it
with memtest86 for several hours prior to first booting the
OS. The odds of incurring memory errors from such an
upgrade are fairly high... not to imply you will, but I'd
call even a 15% chance high and worth testing.

Hi kony

Thanks for the very good advice/info. My main usage of the PC is
gaming, followed closley by usual stuff, internet etc....I think I
will just stay with the 1gb stick as it covers my needs for now most
of the time. Thanks.

Andrew