Memory, Motherboards and DDR

[BadBadNeil]

Hello,
Quick question. I have an EPOX 8RDA+ Nforce 2 board.

I have 3 memory slots.

Currently I am using two Corsair 512MB PC2700 ram modules in the two DDR spaces (with a blank memory slot in the middle).

I would like to upgrade with either another 512MB or 1GB single chip in the last slot to bring the total to 1.5 - 2GB.

Now the questions.
Will adding memory to this third slot in any way affect the two DDR channels?

Will adding a chip to this third slot mean I have to change any settings in the bios or should it recognize whatever I put in there automatically upon bootup?

I believe the other two chips are CAS 2. Should the third chip always be the same CAS as the others? I would also purchase Corsair again to be consistant but I notice they have different memory series out now, should I try to track down the exact same model type?

Anything else I should know about?

Thanks
Neil

[BipolarBill]

The RAM should have the same ratings, but does not have to be the same model.

The 8RDA+ uses dual-channel. By using different size sticks in each channel, you will lose that performance. You really need to ask yourself if you can use that much RAM.

By the way, those motherboards have a history of bad capacitors. Examine yours while you have the chance.

www.badcaps.net

[BadBadNeil]

Originally posted by BipolarBill
The RAM should have the same ratings, but does not have to be the same model.

The 8RDA+ uses dual-channel. By using different size sticks in each channel, you will lose that performance. You really need to ask yourself if you can use that much RAM.

By the way, those motherboards have a history of bad capacitors. Examine yours while you have the chance.

www.badcaps.net

Yup right now I have the two, atually PC3200 Corsair XMS chips in the DDR configuration in slots 1 - 3. I knew that those had to be perfectly matched to get DDR performance.

I just wasn't sure if adding a third stick would affect the DDR arrangement in any fashion if it wasn't of the same exact type as the other two.

Actually the reason I am upgrading is the files I work with. The other day my computer couldn't handle the 3.7GB photoshop file I was working on for a large banner, and the most likely culprit from what I can figure is the memory just not being enough, especially since I run a lot of server software in the background such as apache, mysql etc which is using ram.

I went to that site, where is my motherboard listed? I wanted to see if they had any specific details on my board. So far everything they recommend I have done, I have good cooling, good Enermax PS, but now that you got me worried a bit I will have to inspect the board when I get the new ram.

Thanks for the info

[BipolarBill]

If you need the RAM, go ahead and get a similar stick of 1GB. What you gain in capacity more than compensates for a small loss in speed.

Your motherboard is mentioned in the bad caps forum, but that's not what I meant. You need to open the case and look at your caps. If the tops are crowned, they are becoming gassy.

[mlc]

I believe it should work .. you just need to balance the sticks across the 2 channels... With nforce2 dual channel boards .. 2 of the 3 slots represent channel 1 and the 3rd slot is for the 2nd channel... Check the manual or EPOX website to understand which is which... I have an ASUS.. and they color code their slots so you know...
So you should be able to run dual channel if you add an additional 1GB stick.. but just ensure that you put the 2 512mb sticks in the same channel... and that would give you a balanced 1gb of memory in each channel....

I'm not sure of how tolerant the nforce2 chipset is with different brands, etc... ASUS is not tolerant at all....

the board should recognize the new memory etc... but I would doublcheck with the EPOX website to see if they recommend any type of bios upgrade to support additional memory upgrades, etc...

good luck....

[BadBadNeil]

Thanks

I ended up just getting another 512MB of the exact same brand and configuration as the others because I couldn't find a 1GB chip in the same brand, CAS, etc. 1.5GB should be good for now.

I will be building a workstation this year which will be much more powerful.

[mlc]

actually ...based on what I've read in other forums.. it seems like you're not entirely out of luck with dual channel... and you should still get some type of dual channel performance.. though there is some debate as to whether or not it would equate to the same as if you had 2 balanced channels....

in any case.. the additional memory is more important than the 5-10% gain you get from dual channel vs. single channel...

good luck....