Mixing mem, 2*512+2*1024

[yfital]

Heya, im running the expert board, currently with my Gold VX extreme mem, these are bh-5 if i recall currectly.

Now, i recently moved to vista, and the 1 GB is a bit tight for me, more than that, i don't see myself upgrading my mobo + cpu any time soon so I'm "stuck" on ddr1.

 

Now, ddr1 prices are at the lowest point i ever saw them here (in IL), and I'm afraid that waiting any longer will mean i will not be able to find "normal, branded" memory, and to be frank, I'm a student, so I'm cheap

 

I was thinking about getting another 2*512 of the same kind, but i cant find it anywhere, so ill probably buy a 2*1024 kit, thing is, this wont only be mem mixing, but it will be chip kind mixing + speed mixing

cause there is no chance in hell ill find BH-5 chips.

meaning, ill probably buy TCCD or something, with ratings of 2-3-2-5 or something like that, so the question is:

 

Considering i will not OC ( i can live without it, as it is my water cooling exploded, so i need a break hh ), and that i do not mind working at the "slowest" memory speed ( 2.5-3-2-5, more or less ), Do you believe i can work with all 4 chips? running 3gb?

 

I know i can just throw these away, but its a shame, they are good chips, and it is an extra GB, So, what ya people think?

 

Looking currently at:

Cheapest:

OCZ ddr, 2048, 400 CL, 2.5-4-4-8 (OCZ4002048V3DC-K)

 

Looks nice:

OCZ ddr, 2048, 400 EL Platinum, 2-3-2-8 (OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K)

 

Mushkin HP 2048, 400, 2-3-2-6 (991434)

 

G.Skill 400, 2048, 2-3-2-5 (F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX)

G.Skill 400, 2048, 2.5-3-3-6 (F1-3200PHU2-2GBNS)

 

Almost all of these chips are on the same price tag, 140-170$$$, And to be frank, as i wont be OCing, ddr3200 is more than enough, and timings, well, it just needs to be close to what i have....

 

 

So, What do you think + What kit should i Get?

 

Thanks in advance,

yfital

[Technohydra]

To be honest, you'll be better off just running a matched 2GB kit. The conflicts with different types of chips is just fine...can sometimes be a pain to work around, but nothing horrible. The issue comes in when you mix dimm sizes and CAS latencies. You'll never find TCCD in 2x1GB, but what you'll likely find a lot of is UCCC.

 

BH-5 and UCCC are a terrible match, as BH-5 eats volts like crazy, while UCCC likes low voltage. The other thing is that you run the risk of corrupting your HDD's due to differing CAS latencies, even if you set the CAS to be the same. Also, the allocation and bank setup for 1024MB and 512MB are vastly different. And if you're not running Vista 64, I think the max that will be recognized is 2.48GB anyways.

 

Personally, I'd go for the G. Skill ZX kit you have listed, as it has the best timings, and just run them. Then if you still think you need more memory, get a second kit of it and run 4x1GB under Vista 64. It costs more, I know, but if you eat one less pizza a week and sell your old ram, in a month, you can be rocking your second kit.

[yfital]

I thought that will be the answer. bummer.

I don't believe i have a chance in selling these here in IL.

and even so, it will be for pennies, maybe ill just go ahead and buy it, and give it a go, do you really believe that memtesting and prime will not be suffice to being sure the system is stable? that hdd stuff you said, well, after losing a 300gb hdd lately, im a bit afraid for my info :

Thanks for the reply

[Technohydra]

If memtest and Orthos/Prime pass, you're ok for day to day stability. HDD corruption is possible, but most of the time you'll be ok...about a 3-5% chance of corrupting, I'd say. As for selling memory, list it for sale here in the forums. Just be willing to ship to the states, and you should get a decent price for them. I'll even help you re-mail if need be.

[yfital]

Heh, thanks a lot, but the shipping to the US will be about the same $$ as the selling price,

I think ill take the g-Skill, give it a try, if not, ill throw them at my dad or something

Thanks again

yfital.

[yfital]

Well, i think i made up my mind on this kit:

G.Skill - 400Mhz, 2Gb, 2-3-2-5 @ 2.6-2.75v

Model - F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX

 

Anyone got any more thoughts about this?

from the forum i see no one complains about these chips, they look pretty nice for their price

 

Thanks again, yfital