Shoutbox

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!