google doesn't want to help me today

1) what exactly does the frequency of ram mean? (333mhz, 667mhz, etc)
2) is it a good idea to mix ram with different frequencies? (i can guess that no, but some seem to support clocking down to match maximum freq of others)

sorry for being newb

http://www.crucial.com has a tool where you can scan your computer and it'll identify what's already in there and what your motherboard can take.

it'll only suggest upgrades that'll work with your current configuration so it'll mean you don't need to understand all the frequencies, etc

2) You can, but like you said, every other RAM stick will downclock to the one that has the lowest frequency.

1. The frequency is basically how many times per second the RAM can send/receive data

I guess what some are saying here that the higher the MHz, the better. But I suppose keeping to the same frequency would help better, especially in a dual-channel setup.

i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today

quote:

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Originally posted by Supersonicdarky
i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today

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quote:

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13

quote:

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Originally posted by Supersonicdarky
i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today

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Also, you must realise that the Dual Channel feature of DDR SDRAM is only available when you install memory in pairs - ie, two memory chips of the precise same type.

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quote:

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Originally posted by someone on some other forum
yeah, just to elaborate, RAM tranfsers data in "strobes". Just like a strobe light, it cycles on and off. Well, what dual channel does is offset each pipe so that one stick is strobing on, while the other is off. It is really more complicated than that, but I thought short and to the point was the way to go. hope this helps.

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Yes.

But Dual Channel has nothing to do with the "Double Data Rate", basically, Dual Channel is to RAM what RAID0 is to Hard Disk Drives, it just expands the width of the memory bus, allowing data to be transferred faster.
And as for RAID0, data modules have to be of same capacity, and preferably of the same frequency (if not, the motherboard will just use them at the highest speed allowed by the slowest of the two modules).

About frequencies, DDR is often referred to as "DDR400" or "DDR667", etc., but they actually operate at half these frequencies (==200 or 333MHz). But as they're "Double Data Rate", they are able to send two data "words" per cycle, hence the doubled frequency.

Another denomination used for DDR2-667 is "PC2-5300" (e.g.), the 2 standing for DDR2, and 5300 means it has a maximum data bandwidth of 5.3GB/s.
For DDR400 it would be PC-3200.

Hope it's clear enough =)