What memory configuration to buy?

[Tantric]

I'm buying these things:


EpoX 8RDA motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 1800+

Should I get (2) 256MB PC2700 chips to put on it or (1) 512MB PC2700? If I use 2 seperate memory chips on this board will I gain performance as I heard about in some other post? (Dual Channel I think it was called) Thanks

[tony_j15]

Yes, you will have performance gains by using the dual DDR mode. What you could do is buy one 512 stick now and later buy another 512. Also, make sure you buy RAM from a good company, like Samsung, Crucial, Corsair.

[Midknyte]

you really should run identical pairs when using dual channel mode. it's better to get them at the same time, then you know they'll be the same.

[Izdaari]

Using the dual channel will get you about 5% in memory performance, which will not translate to nearly as much in overall performance. Pretty insignificant unless you're competing for highest benchmark.

That said, I went for 2x Samsung Original 256mb PC-2700 on my ASUS A7N8X Deluxe and have no regrets. I might feel differently though if I had a need for more than 512mb.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I'd say go for the 2x256 now, Crucial are a very good manufactuer and the price os pretty darn low. Having said that if you can find a cheaper deal on some good 512, the gains from Dual DDR are not that massive as previously stated

--Jakk:t

[Timmac4]

Go with 2x256 for sure in my opinion. First try the setup yourself on benchmarks with one stick vs two sticks. If later you feel you need more ram the board has a third slot and you can add another 512 stick for 1gig. At least for now with 512 in dual channel you should be happy with it.