memory kit vs. 2 regular modules

J

jukie888

n00b
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
25
Is there an advantage to buying a "memory kit" as opposed to buying 2 of the same modules. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a 2gb memory kit or is just 2 x 1gb sticks the same? On the plus side, the 2 x 1gb option is slightly cheaper by 5 or 6 bucks. Good for us college students!!
 
jukie888 said:
Is there an advantage to buying a "memory kit" as opposed to buying 2 of the same modules. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a 2gb memory kit or is just 2 x 1gb sticks the same? On the plus side, the 2 x 1gb option is slightly cheaper by 5 or 6 bucks. Good for us college students!!
Click to expand...

The memory kit is an advantage if you have a dual-channel setup. If you go the 2 x 1GB option, it's VERY possible to get two different revisions of the same module (i.e. one module may contain completely different chips than the other module), which will cause problems in modern memory controllers.
 
what kind of problems will this cause? failed bootups or like unrecognized memory in the bios?

also...while in this thread...is there an advantage of having 2gb over 1gb right now? practically speaking. I won't be doing very much video or photo editing, which I know has crazy memory usage.
 
do you play battlefield 2? if so, yes. otherwise, no.

and getting 2 different types will make you unable to run in dual-channel mode, which is better than single channel. if its only $5 less, i'd say go for the kit. did you include shipping in your calculations for price? cuz if u didnt, shipping probably costs twice as much for 2 separate sticks (u have to pay for each stick) than for the kit.
 
Soymilk said:
and getting 2 different types will make you unable to run in dual-channel mode
Click to expand...
*beeeeeep!*

this is a widely held myth. it is indeed possible to use two different sticks to work in dual channel. typically they simply have to be the same size. the mobo will boot at the slowest settings between the two sticks :)

this concludes the trivia game of the day! :D
 
really? i read somewhere before that dual channel relied upon the chips on the ram being the same (i.e. bh-5 etc). i guess that person was wrong :(
 
it is a crap shoot for sure. You can get lucky though. I bought 2 seperate sticks of OCZ plat rev 2 that didn't work in dual channel. I RMAed them and got a kit worked perfect. I tried this again foolishly, bought 2 seperate sticks of Kingmax 4000, no worky in dual. Replaced with a kit and worked fine. I have also bought 2 sticks of value Corsair but they worked together. I will never buy 2 seperate sticks again though.
 
I bought my BH-5 in seprate sticks because it was cheaper this way @ the time and all the chips on both sticks say 338 on them :cool:
 
yeah, it's not a sure thing, but i know i was able to boot with a stick of pc3200 ballistix rated for 2-2-2 and a stick of pc4000 geil rated for 2.5-4-4 without issues :D
 
jukie888 said:
what kind of problems will this cause? failed bootups or like unrecognized memory in the bios?
Click to expand...

Problems may range from instability when running Windows programs (especially games and video editing programs) to failed bootups. And using different revisions of the same memory on the same motherboard increases the potential for memory failure (i.e. one or both sticks will turn up errors on Memtest86).
 
your not *supposed* to use two modules with different SBD timings in dual channel config...

However, as eclipse noted sardonically, you can probably do it... If your bios is smart... it will just set things equal to timings of the worst stick of the two.

Overclocking, however... seems to like a synergy between modules... and sometimes what works well could go against tradition.

For instance, I have a whole bunch of crucial value now... I have some with BGA chips... some with regular in both 5b-d and 5b-c chips and also varying PCB types.

The fastest combo I have found in my board, is one stick of 5b-d and one stick of 5b-c with a completely different PCB. This works *better* then two identical BGA sticks, or two 5b-d sticks with different PCBs.
 
so it seems that possibly a non-kit will "work"...but it seems that people are having better experiences with a kit running in dual channel rather than 2 *possibly* different sticks running in dual channel. Probably will end up getting a kit.

Is it ok to have 2 different memory capacities in each set of slots? Like...if slot 1&2 for were for dual channel and then 3&4 for the other dual channel...is it ok to have a 1gb kit in 1&2 and 512mb kit in 3&4? Will this cause any possible problems?

Thanks everyone for their input.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
yeah, it's not a sure thing, but i know i was able to boot with a stick of pc3200 ballistix rated for 2-2-2 and a stick of pc4000 geil rated for 2.5-4-4 without issues :D
Click to expand...
Guess it depends on the sticks and the board. I once had an older single channel SDR board that wouldn't post with two different sticks in it. Either stick worked fine, but the two sticks together made the system go "mü". Fortunately, it wasn't my system, so the fix cost me no money. :)
 
so what are other's people's experiences with having non memory kit stuff trying to run in dual channel?

Ordered a corsair 1gb value for my dell. hope it works!!
 
two of the same sticks will always work together if both are functioning properly and the mobo isn't crap :D
the exception to this is with corsair, who makes different "revisions" of sticks that use different ic's.. then it's a crapshoot, but it should work
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
two of the same sticks will always work together if both are functioning properly and the mobo isn't crap :D
the exception to this is with corsair, who makes different "revisions" of sticks that use different ic's.. then it's a crapshoot, but it should work
Click to expand...
Well, wouldn't the Crucial 1gig sticks qualify for that, since some use Micron chips and some use UCCC?
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
you are correct :D
Click to expand...
Hmmmm... So, then, in that case, gotta watch out in case newegg ships you two different sticks from that same part number, eh?
 
yup, very troublesome indeed.. though i have never seen someone not be able to run two different kinds of crucial together in dual channel that are the same size, so.. yeah. it's rare that such a thing happens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top