RAM question....

[Mictheslik]

OK...I'm thinking of upgrading my inadequate amount of RAM, but have a question to make sure I buy the right stuff

I'm currently running 2x 512Mb DDR 200MHz(PC3200) CL3 sticks in dual channel slots (Making them 400MHz), and have two more slots to play with. Would it be OK to put in say, two 1024Mb sticks in these two, or would I need to replace the 512 ones with them. (Basically, can two different RAM sizes be run at the same time in two different dual channels?)

Also could anyone reccomend some good sticks?

Cheers,

.mic

[rikm12345]

You can have different sizes, but not different speeds, the slower ram will throttle your new ram.

It all depends on what you computer can run. What type of system do you have, motherboard etc.

I could recommend some good ram, but it wont be of any use if you can only run DDR. Tell me what type of memory you computer can handle, if you know.

[MWISimmer]

You can put 2x 1024 sticks in the spare slots mic, no probs. BUT.. It may lower the speed to 333 or even 266 with all slots filled, this is motherboard dependent. I'd just take out the 2x 512s and replace them with 2x 1024s. .2Gb is still more than enough RAM in my opinion... and they would still stay at their rated speed.

[Mictheslik]

You can put 2x 1024 sticks in the spare slots mic, no probs. BUT.. It may lower the speed to 333 or even 266 with all slots filled, this is motherboard dependent. I'd just take out the 2x 512s and replace them with 2x 1024s. .2Gb is still more than enough RAM in my opinion... and they would still stay at their rated speed.

That's what I was thinking after I posted actually......

As for Motherboard specs etc, I'm pretty useless

ummmm.....I'm pretty sure it's only DDR.....tell me where to find out and I'll be able to give you a certain answer

Various specs lifted from CPU-Z

Chipset
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge                 NVIDIA nForce3 250 rev. A1
Southbridge                 NVIDIA nForce3 MCP rev. A2
Memory Type               DDR
Memory Size                1024 MBytes
Channels                  Dual
Memory Frequency      201.0 MHz (CPU/12)
CAS#                         3.0
RAS# to CAS#              3
RAS# Precharge              3
Cycle Time (tRAS)        8
Bank Cycle Time (tRC)      11
DRAM Idle Timer              16
Command Rate             2T


Memory SPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1+2

General
Memory type             DDR
Manufacturer (ID)      Nanya Technology (7F7F7F0B00000000)
Size                         512 MBytes
Max bandwidth             PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number               NT512D64S8HC0G-5T
Manufacturing date      Week 36/Year 04

Attributes
Number of banks            2
Data width            64 bits
Correction            None
Registered             no
Buffered            no
Nominal Voltage     2.50 Volts
EPP                    no
XMP                   no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz)            166      200      
CAS#                       2.5     3.0      
RAS# to CAS# delay    3             3      
RAS# Precharge            3       3      
TRAS                        7             8      

.mic

[MWISimmer]

It's DDR mic, nothing wrong with that.

As for brands, you're not going to see much difference between most of them which is why I'd recommend Kingston Value RAM.

this pair is as cheap as you'll find

Although it's still pricey when compared to the same but in DDR2...

these

I remember buying 2x DDR 512 sticks for over