hi. right now my desktop has 512 mb ram(2-256mb) i didnt realize that it came this way,i thought it was one 512mb card.duh!!! anyway i bought one 1 gb upgrade. so i was wondering will this be a problem with just one 1 gb ram card? or does it need to be balanced? i thought i read this but.... what if i also add my old 256 mb cards to my empty slots(i have 4 slots) thanks vey much
The only problem may be if your original is dual channel RAM. In order to keep dual channel ( it process info quicker google it )you need to have matched pairs of RAM. Other than that you are fine. If you had and you add an unmatched pair it will still work it just won't be dual channel. I will show you in the BIOS.
yeah,i do(or did) have dual channel. do you think my single 1 gb will still be better than the dual 512mb? i guess the best is just to add another 1 gb and then re-install the 2 256 mb cards.this is only used for Ib platform,sierra chart and basic web surfing so it should be ok. thanks for the reply
If you have Dual Channel, you will need pairs of memory, twin 512mb or twin Gigs. http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx?o...advanced&ovadid=1161048012&ovkwid=8374517012#
Most recent PC's last 5 years or so have 4 channels for ram. The thing about it though is you most likely had 2 256 cards originally. You will more than likely have to take those 2 out an put the 1 gig ram in. Most of the time you have to match the dual channel with the same ram rating of cards. Just take out the 2 256 cards and put in the 1 gig card. If you want to add more later you will most likely have to add another 1 gig card. At this point in time 1 gig should do you good. Of course, it all depends if your running a tote load of applications and see your pc draging you may want to add another 1 gig. So if doing this you 2 256 cards are basically of no use. But put them is a static free bag/wrap and save them for possible later use or you can possibly put it in an older pc you may have to make it faster. For future reference according to RAM. Just remeber the current Industry sets them up likes these examples. Assume you have 4 slots/channels for ram in your pc. They need to line up like this. 1 gig......1gig.......1gig.......1gig 1gig.......1gig 1gig 256......256 256......256........256......256 256 128......128.........128.....128 128......128 128 Just remember it almost always has to be either single, pairs of fours. Most pcs' won't work right with 3 slots filled. Hope I was clear in my explanation. Also, this is just the way most of the current set-ups work in pc at this time. It may change at a later date.
I just ordered a new Dell (with 2 512 Mb 667 MHz chips, I imagine). I have a pair of 256Mb, SDR DIMMS from a 2.5 year old Dell Would these DIMMs work if I put them into slots in the new Dell?