This should be in the tech issues forum.
As I recall, mixing size of sticks doesn't matter, but you should try to keep the speeds the same (all either DDR2 PC2-6400 or DDR2 PC2-5300) - he could be thinking of dual channel RAM (board feature) which IIRC, you do want two identical (speed/size) sticks in place, but if yours has it, you should be fine because the left open slots would in theory be paired.
Also, if you can, IIRC, it's better to try to match the manufacturer on all your RAM.
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
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Oops, think I misreaded the tech issues forum description. Could a mod move me?
Thanks for your input, Rajani.
Topher Wade lvl 50 Claws/Regen
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NP.
The Tech Issues thread is for everything up to getting in game, basically - include stuff like this.
Once you're in, it's this section 
Orc&Pie No.53230 There is an orc, and somehow, he got a pie. And you are hungry.
www.repeat-offenders.net
Negaduck: I see you found the crumb. I knew you'd never notice the huge flag.
On each system you want to upgrade ram on go to Crucial.com
Once there you can either choose your system from the drop down menus or do things the easy way and use the system scanner tool. It will let you know how much and what type ram you have. What the maximum ram for your system is. And what ram you should be using.
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Quote:
That's what I used, I just wasn't sure what the restrictions were for what I could and could not use.
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Originally Posted by Mandu
On each system you want to upgrade ram on go to Crucial.com
Once there you can either choose your system from the drop down menus or do things the easy way and use the system scanner tool. It will let you know how much and what type ram you have. What the maximum ram for your system is. And what ram you should be using. |
Topher Wade lvl 50 Claws/Regen
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Quote:
You're getting confused here all Microsoft 32 bit OS's are limited to 4Mb af addressible memory - this includes address space allocated to the graphics and other subsystems so in practice its about 3Mb usable|
Originally Posted by Bohmfalk
He also has Windows Vista atm, so he can only use up to 3 GB anyway.
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But each of XP, Vista and Win 7 are also available as 64 bit versions which do not suffer from this limitation (there's still a limit but its a lot higher) so you need to check whether both systems are 32 or 64 bit before going further.
You should ensure both memory modules in the same bank match - you can mix speeds/sizes between banks but they will all run at the slowest rated set's speed.
There's not much difference between manufacturer's but branded memory may be more reliable than generic and not much different in price. Unless you plan on overclocking stick to standard speed memory - you can install faster but it won't make any difference (can sometimes be cheaper though)
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Gaia
You're getting confused here all Microsoft 32 bit OS's are limited to 4Mb af addressible memory - this includes address space allocated to the graphics and other subsystems so in practice its about 3Mb usable
But each of XP, Vista and Win 7 are also available as 64 bit versions which do not suffer from this limitation (there's still a limit but its a lot higher) so you need to check whether both systems are 32 or 64 bit before going further. You should ensure both memory modules in the same bank match - you can mix speeds/sizes between banks but they will all run at the slowest rated set's speed. There's not much difference between manufacturer's but branded memory may be more reliable than generic and not much different in price. Unless you plan on overclocking stick to standard speed memory - you can install faster but it won't make any difference (can sometimes be cheaper though) |
Yeah, I meant to say he has 32 bit while I have 64 bit.
Thanks for your input.
Topher Wade lvl 50 Claws/Regen
The Crimson Heroes Society SG
Chaos Faction VG
Official Naturalized Citizen of Justice since 2007
that amd mobo is running dual channel so you can put any two matching pairs in the respective ram slots - so if you added 2x2 for for GB more than it would be fine. Just be sure you ram is in the right slots now.
technically you can have up to 4 gb for xp - I think 3.5 shows up and 500 gets a system reserve. The os will split the addressable ram between system and user context. Adding the memory will give you 2 gb to that user space that coh runs in.
I'm looking to upgrade my computer's RAM, which currently has 2 GB (2x1GB). I was thinking of adding 2x2GB, for a total of 6GB. Would that cause any problems?
I'm also thinking of doing similar for my father-in-law's computer, which has 1 GB (2x512MB). I was thinking of just adding another 1GB total. Does it matter what type of RAM I use, so long as it's 2 identical sticks for each 2 slots? I just want to make sure that I do this right, and don't screw up either of our computers.
I'm at his computer right now, and ran the Crucial scan to see what I'm dealing with. These are his current specs:
Maximum Memory Capacity: 8192MB
Currently Installed Memory: 1GB
Available Memory Slots: 2
Total Memory Slots: 4
Dual Channel Support: Yes
CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Family: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+ Model 15, Stepping 2
CPU Speed: 2400 MHz
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 2GB per slot.*
*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.
He also has Windows Vista atm, so he can only use up to 3 GB anyway.
A couple of specified questions, in case I didn't make anything clear:
1) Can I have something like 2x1GB and 2x2GB installed into one machine without it causing any problem? (I didn't think so before, but a friend told me it might cause trouble down the road, so I'm second-guessing myself)
2) Does the specific manufacturer of the RAM itself matter? If not, what does?
Topher Wade lvl 50 Claws/Regen
The Crimson Heroes Society SG
Chaos Faction VG
Official Naturalized Citizen of Justice since 2007