Ram speed, size and upgrade question

Hello, I ordered a dell vostro 1320 to replace my Acer 5100, I have two questions about ram and hope some one can help me answer it

1. The vostro 1320 come with P8400 CPU and 3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, 2 DIMM. I am always puzzled with 3G ram, does that mean 1 dimm is 2G and another is 1G, if that is the way it is, does that mean the ram can't run in dual channel and therefore will affect computer performance? Also if I upgrade, does it have to be DDR2 800 or I can just get a DDR2 667?

2. I will give my Acer 5100 to my parents. The laptop come with a Turion 64*2 TL50 CPU and 2G of DDR2 533 ram in 2 dimms, I am wondering if it make sense to upgrade the ram to 4G before giving to my parents because ram is so cheap now? Another question is whether DDR2 533 ram is holding the performance of the CPU, can the CPU use DDR2 667 or it does not make a difference.

Thanks very much.

rivet

 

1. Can't tell you much about affecting computer performance with 3 gigo, except that if you use 32bits, that is plenty. And yes, you can use DDR2-667

2. Acer 5100 = XP? No need for Ram upgrade. Clean the system up, and your parents will be happy. Pushing for higher speed ram does not always translate to "noticeable" performance gain.

cheers ...

 

1. They are using two slots so they are working in dual mode. I don't think you have to have 1-1 or 2-2 to work in dual.

2. ^^^What he said.