hello everyone. Very soon i will be buying a 512mb DDR ram stick. At the moment i am currently using  256mb ram. I was wondering if i am able to mix sizes, ex: mix my 256mb DDR RAM and my 512mb DDR ram(when i get it) together to make 768mb of ram. I am well aware that u can mix the same sizes : ex 256 + 256 = 512 because i have done this in the past. But i am not sure about mixing differnt sizes because i have neva done it and i have been told you cant mix differnt sizes. My friend who has SD ram sticks says he has mixed hes and it works. But possibly it only works with SD Ram but im not sure. I have DDR ram slots in my motherboard. Any answers will be much appreiciated. Thank you

I think it should, but I'm not 100 % sure. You can't mix RAM types, but it seems like you knew that.

It depends on your type of motherboard. Read the manual, it will be stated there what types you can mix. Also, make sure the refresh rates are the same, memory amount isn't the only thing which is important.

ok thanx for the info, unfortuniltly i have lost the manual. My computer is a couple years old and the manual has been lost for a while( i know im an idiot ). Also there is nothing stated on the motherboard no numbers no information no nothing so i cant look up any info about my motherboard is there any ofther way i can find out? ringing the place where i bought my computer is what im thinking but maybe yous know another way.

well if you bought your pc from a company like dell, u shud be able to ask the company support for more info

nah i got it from a local computer shop its a custom made one its mixed with differnt brands. Im gonna just have to call the shop they probly have my name on record or something

There should be some numbers on the memory itself. Try looking for them, and then going to the computer shop and asking for a comaptible stick based on those numbers.
They'll probably look like:
    4-4-3-2-3
Not sure what they mean, but it's all timing stuff.
And don't forget the DDR number

I have done the same performance on an Asus A78NX board with 400mhz of 512 DDR. It works fine but you have to be careful of the speed of your current 256. If you get anything slower apparently it reduces everything to the slower speed. Otherwise the computer auto loads it once in place and recognises immediately.

Yeah I'm currently doing exactly what you want to do... I have a stick of 256 and a stick of 512. Most decent motherboards should mix pretty much any combination of DDR - and there's not much risk involved; if the two are incompatible then the motherboard should just reject one, rather than frying it or something similar

Good Luck! Try and download your mobo manual though, sooner or later believe me, it will come in handy. By the way I'm on AMD XP  3000 cpu Radion 9700 !60g and 80g Maxtor plus 9 and Creative Audigy 2. 350watt ATX. Now you know it all!

the thing u said about downloading your manual? do you mean get a program which tells you all the parts in your computer? Yeah ive heard of them they tell u everything brand n all in your computer. Can anyone post a link to download one please.

There are two things, both very different. The first is analysis programs, and they are free. they are numerous but I offer Everest Home by Lavalys.com. This  shows you what is on your computer and even compares it through performance with other computer examples. It shows the manufacturers of your equipment set up. There are others like sandra, from Sisoft.
That's the end of the first thing. The second is once you know what Motherboard and CPU you have you go to the manufacturer's site and go to 'downloads' and find your serial no.
after that in most cases you can download all information relevent to your set up. My manual is about 120 pages in pdf. format accessed by Adobe Reader 6.0

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Originally posted by phantazy
There are two things, both very different. The first is analysis programs, and they are free. they are numerous but I offer Everest Home by Lavalys.com. This  shows you what is on your computer and even compares it through performance with other computer examples. It shows the manufacturers of your equipment set up. There are others like sandra, from Sisoft.
That's the end of the first thing. The second is once you know what Motherboard and CPU you have you go to the manufacturer's site and go to 'downloads' and find your serial no.
after that in most cases you can download all information relevent to your set up. My manual is about 120 pages in pdf. format accessed by Adobe Reader 6.0

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You can try Sandra, but it takes some time to go through its operations. Also 'Burn in Test' if you're interested.

well, now you can exactly see what type of memory you'll need to be 100% compatible with the already installed memory.

Menu > Motherboard > SPD
There look under: module type, memory type and memory speed. These are the 3 things you'll need to know when you'll go to the store.

eg: "Unbuffered DDR SDRAM PC2700 (166Mhz)"

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
well, now you can exactly see what type of memory you'll need to be 100% compatible with the already installed memory.

Menu > Motherboard > SPD
There look under: module type, memory type and memory speed. These are the 3 things you'll need to know when you'll go to the store.

eg: "Unbuffered DDR SDRAM PC2700 (166Mhz)"

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Make sure the (133) MHz you buy is the sameT the computer will even out different types of MHz. to be the lowest it finds.

the 512mb one i was looking at buying was 256MHz i think so your saying is that if i bought it , it would level out to 133MHz the speed of my lowest ram. Damn that kinda sux

Correct. Don't confuse Memory size (Mb) and speed (MHZ)

so when i get this 512mb of ram is it worth putting the 256mb of ram in with it evan if the 512 is gonna have more MHz it will still be 768mb so thats betta then just having the 512mb evan if betta speed MHz

Well I think you mean that more RAM will mean that your system will run faster, and that is why you want to get it. without starting a Master Class more RAM  is only needed if A) you play a video and the system crashes {easy}, or B) your 'commit charge' in Task Manager Performance is higher than the figure of Memory available 'physical memory available' {not so easy}. If this is close enough save your money and put it towards a better cpu and/or motherboard!

Quick question: where did you get 256MHz from? No memory stick comes in that speed. The speeds are usually 100, 133, 166, 200, and so on, every 33MHz.
256 will be the size of the module in MB.

Raceprouk = True. See my post above.

sorry it must of been 266Mhz then. I had a look at it a few weeks ago and only remembed that it was 200 and something and 266 just sounded like a good number to me but thanx ill neva make that mistake again

quote:

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Originally posted by phantazy
Well I think you mean that more RAM will mean that your system will run faster, and that is why you want to get it. without starting a Master Class more RAM  is only needed if A) you play a video and the system crashes {easy}, or B) your 'commit charge' in Task Manager Performance is higher than the figure of Memory available 'physical memory available' {not so easy}. If this is close enough save your money and put it towards a better cpu and/or motherboard!

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I sort of guessed that you liked gaming. I would seriously think about an overview of your whole system before you rush out and buy Ram sticks. Like I said beefore you might be better off with a good CPu, or m/board for the same price, or marginally more, and then you would be sure to know the difference.

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Originally posted by wolfenstein
256MHz i think

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Thanks, CR, I learned a little there.