What RAM can I add that won't cause any conflict?

[essential]

I have:

 

Mobo: DFI Lan Party UT nForce4 Ultra-D (bios 04/06/06)

RAM: Corsair XMS PC3200 TwinX XL Plat (1gb - 2x512)

 

I want to add more RAM but I can not find any PC3200 TwinX XL Plat, so I assume it's discontinued. Well, the timings on the PC3200 TwinX XL Plat are (2-2-2-5), and I'm looking at add one of these:

 

Corsair XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 PC 3200 TWINX2048-3200

Timings = 3-4-4-8

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145486

 

Or

 

Corsair XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 PC 3200 TWINX2048-3200C2PT

Timings = 2-3-3-6

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145575

 

The price isn't the issue, but compatibility is. 3GB of RAM should be plenty, but I'm worried about how new RAM will work with my old RAM and this motherboard. I want something I can just plug in and not cause any stability issues with my current setup.

 

Can someone recommend which of the two above would be best, or if neither are, please tell me what I should buy.

 

Thank You!

[Guest SuppA-SnipA]

ram rule # 1 - dont mix and match between manufacturers, all ur sticks should be from the same company

[essential]

I'm not mixing manufacturers, the RAM I have is Corsair XMS TwinX, and the RAM I am thinking about buying, which I listed, is Corsair XMS TwinX, the only difference is the timings.

 

My question is how compatible will either of those selections of RAM be with the Corsair RAM and DFI mobo I already have even though the timings are different.

 

Will a different type of Corsair RAM that is readily available be more compatible with what I already have than the two choices I listed?

 

I just don't want to replace the RAM I have, I'd like to add to it. 3gb is better than 2gb as long as it can all work well together.

 

Thanks.

[red930]

The answer to your question is none. Even if you grab another 2x512 kit that's exactly the same, it's not going to be fun getting it to run properly. Way easier to just replace it with a 2x1024 kit.

 

I think mixing and matching sizes is gonna be worse than matching manufacturers. Just because they're the same product line doesn't mean they'll play nice.

the only difference is the timings

 

Pull the 512 DIMMS, you won't see any better performance with the 3GB (in the slim chance that you get it to work).

 

Yeah, it kinda sucks that you can't use your old RAM, but running 4 DIMMS of different sizes (and timings) is NOT worth the effort for the extra GB. Most people don't use all of 2GB, let alone 3GB. I know I sound like a hypocrite, but I do.

[Guest SuppA-SnipA]

will you even see a difference in xp with 3gbs of ram?

[essential]

will you even see a difference in xp with 3gbs of ram?

 

I don't know if I'd see a performance increase in 3gb or 2gb, but at the time I purchased that RAM it was a lot of money, around $200, just didn't want to dump it.

 

So say I dump this RAM and go with all new RAM. I know it's probably overkill, but if I get 4gb (two packs of the same kind of TwinX), should that be okay? Or are there general conflicts if you run more than two sticks of RAM?

 

I'd like to stick with Corsair XMS, are the two I chose good, or is there something else I should be looking at?

 

Thanks.

[red930]

Just get 2GB unless there is some specific reason why you need more memory. There aren't general conflicts, per se, but 4 DIMMS is more difficult. It can be done, but, be prepared to spend some time doing research and tweaking your settings.

[Mindflux]

In theory you can add ram willy nilly and it will work - my old gaming rig had 3 different ram chips, two of which were running in dual-channel and it all worked fine. Don't expect to have the same luck. You could probably get the corsair's to work together but you'll end up with a slower system. Using both dimm sets makes your memory controller switch back and forth slowing down your rams overall speed. Unless you're doing something where you'll really need to use 3gigs (which is unlikely unless you're doing some sort of editing) you're better off just using one 2x1gig kit. The extra 1gig (or 2gigs) of ram will mostly be unused and slow down the whole system.

[Sharp]

Hello,

 

The winchester core will only run 4 double side modules at 333DDR and 2T command rate.

 

And just using 2x1GB = DDR400 at 2T command rate

 

Windows XP/any 32bit OS will not make use of 4GB, in fact you are wasting your time and money trying to run more than 2x1GB on such an OS.

 

And on top of those issues DDR1 costs more than it should.