Mixing value and high performance RAM - ok to do?

D

daws0n

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
111
Quick question for you guys;

At the moment I am running 2x1GB of Corsair XMS PC3200 ram. It's high performance and rated at 2.75v (which is what I run it at). Since upgrading to 64 bit o/s it is fast being used up, and I've found an old unused kingston 1GB PC3200 stick I forgot about. Problem is, that it's value ram.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/55296 (same as this)

The timings are a lot lower and it's rated at only 2.6v. I wouldn't expect it to run at the same speeds as the XMS, so is it safe to slow the timings/voltage down to accommodate for it? i.e whole system [email protected], CL3 etc... I know it's a waste of the XMS performance but i'd rather the extra memory over speed. Since it's not designed for this, will it effect the stability/life span of the XMS ram?

Thanks,
Dawson
 
Hmmm. Then there's the issue of dual channel vs single channel...

If this is a good idea, I think it may be better to use 2x512mb in the spare slots 3/4 than a single 1GB stick in slot 3 to keep it in dual mode? I have another computer with 2x512 PC3200, so it's not a problem to swap them about.
 
Dude, time to bite the bullet and move to the previous generation (LGA775). You can get a mobo, processor, and RAM for a little more than 2GB or DDR1.
 
18 is # 1 said:
Dude, time to bite the bullet and move to the previous generation (LGA775). You can get a mobo, processor, and RAM for a little more than 2GB or DDR1.
Click to expand...

The point is valid, that there is questionable value in spending money to upgrade a ddr1 system, but 2GB of DDR can be had for $75, and you can't get cpu/mobo/ddr2 for less than that.
 
Well, I've put in the 1 gig stick, all up and running :)

I figured it was a better idea to run 3 x 1gb sticks in single channel than 2 x 1gb and 2 x 512mb in dual channel. Since if you use the four slots on a 939 board, the memory speed goes down to DDR333.

So far so good anyway, will run a memtest for a few hours tonight.

So, am I ok with run the XMS with the value RAM at 3-3-3-7 / 2.6v.

Will it damage it in anyway as it's rated for 2-3-3-6 / 2.75v.?

Edit: I've just taken a PNY heat spreader off an old ram stick and fitted it to the value RAM. I wonder I can bump the voltage back up to 2.65 or 2.7 safely now?
 
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Xaero_toast said:
The point is valid, that there is questionable value in spending money to upgrade a ddr1 system, but 2GB of DDR can be had for $75, and you can't get cpu/mobo/ddr2 for less than that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but not too much more. Adding DDR is throwing money away on band-aids.
 
18 is # 1 said:
Yeah, but not too much more. Adding DDR is throwing money away on band-aids.
Click to expand...

I find the upside-downness of ram pricing kinda funny. I have to build a computer for my mom, as hers died. It had 2x1GB of DDR, and I'll be able to sell that used DDR for enough money to buy 2x2gb of DDR2. How weird is that?
 
This is an odd combo. Most 939 boards I ever saw were not stable with 3 modules.
 
Ran fine for me, though default clock speed to DDR333 instead of DDR400. Still, if I manual configured the settings it'd post and run stable.

I prime95'd for half hour with no issues, but upon advise from the guys on the MSI forum I've reverted to my 2GB of corsair. No biggie, and i've much rather stability more than performance.

Out of curiosity, have the later DDR generations solved the 3/4 slot downclock issue?
 
daws0n said:
Out of curiosity, have the later DDR generations solved the 3/4 slot downclock issue?
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It's not the memory, it's the memory controller on the CPU. Rev E and after memory controllers were much better at DDR400+ running 4 up.
 
Ah right, that explains it! My processor is Toledo core rev. J-E6 - does that mean I should be able to use 3+ sticks @ DDR400 without issue?
 
daws0n said:
Ah right, that explains it! My processor is Toledo core rev. J-E6 - does that mean I should be able to use 3+ sticks @ DDR400 without issue?
Click to expand...

LOL...the best answer is "probably" as this also is tied to the MOBO and the BIOS. The only way to know is to test it.
 
The memory will clock down to the lowest speed and run just fine. So if your happy with it, then thats all that counts.
 
Mike Clements said:
In some cases it is not this simple.
Click to expand...

True dat.

i have my trusted s939 DFI Ultra-D with 2 CMX1024-3200C2 for 2gb (Dual Channel FTW!) and they are great. they OC well. when i switched to 64 bit OS i went for 4gb and DC another brand along with my Corsair. well lets just say it took some time to find the right settings to get them all playing nice together. each DC-kit were fine, and worked fine as a kit alone with auto settings, the tricky part came when i mixed them. was not a huge problem, but then again i enjoy tweaking my systems.
 
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