Increasing RAM -- What kind, mixing and matching etc....

[webmaster111]

You're very welcome

You will be running in single-channel mode, but it may not bother you, some people never notice the difference.

From what I read from that other post... dual channel seems like a negligible increase anyways. Frankly, I just use the computer for the internet, and a few programs, but no gaming or heavy duty stuff anymore.

[webmaster111]

Ok, I now have a new question because I was considering buying another stick of memory for an easy upgrade.

I was reading the motherboard manual mentioned earlier and it says this:

Supports up to 2 GB system memory

listed under a8n-sli specifications summary

and then it says:

Due to chipset resource allocation, the system may detect less than 4 GB of system memory when you installed four 1 GB DDR memory modules.

listed under "memory configurations"


Now, the confusing part is why would it even mention installing 4 1 gig sticks if the system can only handle 2 gb in the first place? It's really quite ambiguous. Top that with the fact that it's not a really old system so a max of 2 gb seems somewhat limited. A relatively lot was paid for the computer at the time by the owner, but I realize that doesn't say anything necessarily about the quality of components.

[SuperSparks]

I think that 2 GB is a misprint. All the info I find seems to indicate that 4 gigs is the max supported. I used to have an A8N-SLI, and I certainly don't recall there being a 2 gig limitation.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=98&type=expert

[Train]

Each memory slot can hold DDR PC3200,DDR PC2700 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*

http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...?model=A8N-SLI

Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.Although the nForce 4 chipset supports 4GB of memory, Windows and the BIOS will usually see 2.75-3GB when 4GB is installed. This is due to limitations in memory addressing by the BIOS.

ASUS says..
4 x184-pin DIMM, Max. 4 GB, DDR 400/333/266 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
Specs tab
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=J9FKa8z2xVId3pDK

[webmaster111]

Thanks a lot for the replies. You all are great and so knowledgeable.

This line doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me though:

Windows and the BIOS will usually see 2.75-3GB when 4GB is installed

Does that A) mean the computer will function as if it only has 2.75-3GB when 4GB is installed, or does it only mean that B) some number in a list (or something) won't show up correctly but the computer will still function as if it had 4GB of ram?

Thank you.

[Train]

It has to do with 32-bit windows and how it handles allocation of memory.

The long story
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...8WS.10%29.aspx

[webmaster111]

Thanks for the reply Train... but that article is almost painful. It's baffling.

So anyways... I guess my question boils down to this;

Right now I have 2 512MB sticks that are both different. And I added the 1GB patriot stick.

So right now I have:
1x Generic Brand 512MB
1x Kingston Brand 512MB
1x Patriot Brand 1GB

If I installed a 1 GB Corsair memory stick, would I be running in dual channel again? Would my computer even notice an improvement? I feel like I still don't know whether or not my computer/mobo can use 3GB.

Thanks so much.

[SuperSparks]

To try an explain in plain English: the maximum number that can be stored in a 32-bit register is 4,294,967,295, or in other words, 4 gigabytes. So that is the maximum memory addresses that a 32-bit operating system can access. But some of those memory addresses need to be reserved for other things, video memory being the main one. Thus, if you install 4 gig of RAM in a 32-bit system, by the time you've subtracted the video memory addresses, etc., you re usually left with round 3.25 gigs of main RAM that Windows can use. The rest of the memory is still there, it's just that the OS cannot access it.

If you add another stick of 1GB then you will go back into dual-channel mode.