1GB RAM better than 1.25GB RAM

my friend told me i should take my 512mb stick of ram out of my ASUS W5 because 1gb runs better than 1.25gb cos of 'modes'.

is this right?

 

if you have 1.25gb (i assume 1gb + 256mb) how in the world is taking 512mb out equal to 1gb?! in terms of dual channel performance, if you have a dedicated GPU, there's a slight performance boost.

in any case, the best thing to do is run a benchmark.

 

You're friend could be talking about dual channel... but with your W5 you've got 256mb on board and whatever you put in your other slot....... so the extra 256mb that it comes with would be great for "dual channel" ....... but that's 512mb....... 1gb or 1.25gb is going to run much better than 512mb will in dual channel..... in fact, any person who could make use of more RAM is going to benefit more from more ram than matching sticks (which would give you dual channel).......... so go with whatever you want knowing that if you can benefit from more RAM... then you will.

 

I had the same dilemma when I bought a 1GB DDR2-533 stick to put in my W3A which came with 2 x 256MB DDR2-400.

I used the OSmark benchmarking software (see http://www.flickerdown.com/osmark/viewtopic.php?t=122 for the latest version) to get an indication of overall performance with different RAM combinations. The best overall benchmark result was for the 1280MB running as DDR2-400. So more RAM wins over faster RAM. My tests also confirmed the review of the V6 on Toms Hardware (now at http://www.mobilityguru.com/2005/01/19/sonoma/page24.html) which concluded that dual channel provides very little benefit with the 915M chipset.

John

 

i assume that 1x1024MB ddr2 and 1x256MB ddr2 have the same speed and the same brand name. To use a benchmark software to test can get the result for 1x1024MB first, then test the both(1x1024MB + 1X256MB). Probably, we can see the difference.

 

well actually it already came with 512MB.

but another slot was free. so i added 1GB.

but w5a only supports 1.25gb. that's why. 256mb is not used.

basically i don't even know what dual channel is.

so should i take the 512mb or not?

thanks

 

In my experience more RAM is better.

John

 

I wish I knew about your tests a week or so ago, because I recently bought a Z63A (identical, I think, to your W3A). I had the option of getting one 1GB stick instead of two 512MB sticks for the same price. But I wasn't sure how much dual channel memory helps. I searched for benchmarks, and found almost nothing besides the article you linked to. Its conclusion didn't fully answer my question, because, as the authors noted:

 

Regardless of what you're doing...... more ram is going to benefit more than anything else....... go with the 1gb stick...... the timings are the same on both sticks...... dual channel is over-rated and would only work when both sticks are identical. Since 256mb are onboard... you'd only get dual channel with 256mb in the other slot......

Trust me... go with the 1gb stick if you've got it.....

 

Agreed with Justin on this. More RAM is always better. Dual-channel does not bring that much of a performance increase. So, put as much RAM as possible in there.

 

i agree with you too. All my computers also have 1GB memory and are running perfectly.