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General discussion

memory question

Nov 5, 2004 12:30AM PST

Hi, gang!
I'm building a new machine around the ASUS K8V mobo and Athlon 64 3000+. I'd like to install three 512MB,DDR 400,modules in order to get 1.5 Gigs of memory. The Asus manual, however doesn't list that combination on their "recommended configuration" page. They only recommend filling all 3 slots when using DDR 333 or slower. My question is: what would be the ramifications (no pun intended!) of using 3 of the DDR 400s? And, is there a significant difference between the 333 and 400s, operationally? At 70 years of age, I'm not into heavy gaming, so don't need cutting edge. But I do want to build a fast, powerful system that will allow me plenty of room for future upgrades. Thanks for your input.
sgtRon

Discussion is locked

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Why not believe the manual???
Nov 5, 2004 2:36AM PST

Put a gig of PC3200 in one and a half gig of PC 3200 in the other.

The extra wiring length from the third slot may make the memory timing marginal [flaky]. The last thing that you would want is flaky memory performance.

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Re: memory question/the future is short
Nov 5, 2004 10:27AM PST

I cannot recommend building a PC with the notion that it needs to be upgradable in the future unless the future is meant to be in weeks or months only. As for populating all three RAM slots now, if you do such, future memory upgrades mean tossing out what you have. 1 gig is fairly hefty for most uses. If you need 1.5 minimun now, you're better off going with 2 gigs. I prefer 2 module in any installation for reasons of troubleshooting memory problems or limping along if one module changes. If the MB will support 2 gig modules, that's another possibility to preserve the upgrade path a bit. Still, the amount of RAM you need will depend on your intended use. There is a point of dimishing returns.