RAM question...

[KNiGHTMaRe]

is a 1gb stick of RAM better than 2x512mb, vice versa???

[My Ugly PC]

In terms of performance no, dual channel and lower timings (on average) on the 2x512 will allow it to perform better.

 

However if you are actually buying a gig go with the 1gb stick so you can upgrade to 2x1gb later. 4x512 to achieve 2gb is a worse upgrade path because it forces you to use 2T command rate and 4 modules puts more stress on the CPU's integrated memory controller which will likely result in worse clocks and/or possibly higher timings than 2 modules would.

 

IMO get the 1gb stick unless you never plan on using 2gb of DDR1, as the upgrade options are much more attractive.

 

Ugly

[Technohydra]

2x512 will ALWAYS benchmark better and overclock easier than 2x1GB due to the fact that you're fighting less components. Each component wants to do things it's own way, and the less of them you have, the easier it is to make them all happy at the same time.

 

For real performance increases, having a larger bank of memory available is almost always better. You will get less data collisions and generally, no waiting for a bank to become addressable.

 

Unless you are doing nothing but benchmarking on this PC, you really should go with 2x1GB.