Memory upgrade

Vincenzo · 08 Sep 2013

My friend wants me to come over and increase the memory on his 32 bit machine. He has one 2 GB stick DDR-2 5300 right now. I know they say you get the best performance with a matched pair of memory. If the stick I put in is 2 GB DDR-2 5300, but not an exact match as far as brand to what he has already installed, will there be lesser performance compared to if I put in two exact matched sticks of ram?

Thanks

Brink · 08 Sep 2013

Hello Vince,

DDR2 memory can run in dual channel mode for faster performance if the two sticks are the same size and type. It doesn't matter if they are the same brand or not, but it is best for them to be identical.

If they are not the same size and type, then the RAM will only run in slower single channel mode.

DDR2 SDRAM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Multi-channel memory architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps. :)

Vincenzo · 08 Sep 2013

OK thanks Brink.

Brink · 08 Sep 2013

You're welcome. :)