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difference between 2 x 512 and 1 x 1024 DDR

post #1 of 17
12/27/04 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
is there really a difference between the 2? I am returning my 1GB corsair ram and am just going to upgrade through alienware unless you guys recommend otherwise. 2 512 stick will cost about $180 and they charge $320 for 1 1024.
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post #2 of 17
12/27/04 at 8:19pm
Nothing really different other than the obvious. If you want to upgrade to more later you'd have to ditch on of the 512 chips to make room for a bigger one.

Try getting the memory form www.crucial.com. Last time I checked they didn't have the 12" Sentia listed but call them up. If the memory isnt compatible on their recommendation they will take it back with no cost to you. They ship free also

-BoX
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post #3 of 17
12/27/04 at 10:31pm
Well the Main difference is that 1 stick of ram of 1gig is faster than 2 sticks of 512.
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post #4 of 17
12/27/04 at 11:03pm
Hardly
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post #5 of 17
12/27/04 at 11:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chamith7
Hardly

What do you mean "hardly"? One stick of 1GB is faster than two sticks of 512MB.
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post #6 of 17
12/27/04 at 11:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by K[H]eMiKaL
What do you mean "hardly"? One stick of 1GB is faster than two sticks of 512MB.
not if you want to run dual-channel.
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post #7 of 17
12/28/04 at 12:44am
since when do sentias have dual channel...
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post #8 of 17
12/28/04 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dread090
since when do sentias have dual channel...
They don't have dual channel, if they did don't you think AW would offer 2x512 as a RAM option?
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post #9 of 17
12/28/04 at 5:20am
Thread Starter 
ok then let me ask this. Is it worth it to spend $320 upgrading thru AW for 1x1024 or go with 2x512 for $180
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post #10 of 17
12/29/04 at 3:37pm
Go with the 1x1024, so if you want to upgrade even more ram later, you dont have to ditch one of the 512, as iambox said earlier. -Thats just my opinion. If you have money to spend, you should do that, but you should also think ahead. Gl on deciding.
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post #11 of 17
12/29/04 at 3:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malone
not if you want to run dual-channel.
sorry, i was referring to laptops in general
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post #12 of 17
12/29/04 at 9:32pm
true, in dual channel mode you better have 2 sticks than 1 since it will provide a substential performance gain.

otherwise, 2 sticks or one stick, the only difference you'll get is in benckmarks and even then... technically one stick is faster but in real world applications, it doesn't matter one bit.
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post #13 of 17
12/29/04 at 10:33pm
Hence my curt 'hardly'
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post #14 of 17
12/30/04 at 2:46pm

Dual Channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by aexerian
is there really a difference between the 2? I am returning my 1GB corsair ram and am just going to upgrade through alienware unless you guys recommend otherwise. 2 512 stick will cost about $180 and they charge $320 for 1 1024.

My understanding is that if the 2x512 is dual channel it should/will perform as well if not better than 1x1024. the same way 2x1024 will out perform 4x512. It has to do with the way the RAM works with one another the most RAM you can CRAM into a smaller space (less slots) the beter, because it does not have to go to the other slots of RAM etc... Not that you would probably see any difference
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post #15 of 17
12/30/04 at 7:19pm
Putting dual channel aside, the obvious answer is that one 1gb stick will give you more upgrade room down the line, but most people don't need 4gb to play games. Some people strongly recommend using ECC memory on 1gb or larger sticks to reduce the chance of data corruption, but this will reduce performance.

I would say stick with 2x512mb and you can add another two sticks later to take you to 2gb if you feel the need.
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post #16 of 17
12/30/04 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ewolff
Putting dual channel aside, the obvious answer is that one 1gb stick will give you more upgrade room down the line, but most people don't need 4gb to play games. Some people strongly recommend using ECC memory on 1gb or larger sticks to reduce the chance of data corruption, but this will reduce performance.

I would say stick with 2x512mb and you can add another two sticks later to take you to 2gb if you feel the need.
Sentia's only have 2 slots. How would i use ECC memory? I don't know a lot when it comes to RAM.
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post #17 of 17
12/30/04 at 8:34pm
Ok, I'm a dumba$$, I thought this was posted in the desktop thread...
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