I am looking to upgrade the memory on my computer atm

I have a few simple questions which i'm sure will seem pretty straight forward to you guys but i want to check

1. If the memory thats installed atm is DDR400 then it would be best to get this again, as its best to stick with the same type of memory, right? (Also i think this is the higest speed memory my computer can take (Hp Compaq dx2000 MT))

2. Also if the type of memory is the same then it doesnt matter if the size is different, unless im trying to use dual channel mode, correct?

3. One last thing.  When i looked up for upgrade using the actual HP website it told me to use Kingston memory.  Do i have to use this brand or can i use any particular one?  Or is it best to stick with kingston as thats the one they recommend?

Thanks in advance.  I know these are pretty basic questions but i dont wanna fuck up by getting new memory that wont work on the computer

1. The type of memory you should most likely use is  DDR-400 (PC-3200C25)

2. It depends on the memory speed...(but correct me if I'm wrong anyone).  If your just going to use one stick, then it shouldn't matter. (I just bought two of the same sticks to save me time)

3.  Naw, You can use any other brand as long as its PC-3200

Try the Crucial System Scanner

it will identify what RAM you have, how much your computer can take, what kind you need, and give you selections to buy

I've found it to be very reliable and pretty cheap too

1) It would be 'best', yes. But not a true requirement.

DDR400 indicates the type (DDR SDRAM  DIMM) and speed (400Mhz) of the memory. If you put in slower memory then your memory will run at the speed of the slowest stick. However, besides slower speed, you will have no troubles with that.

2) Check your computer manual for this! Not all combinations of sizes are supported by all brands/models of PCs.
(But, it doesn't have anything todo with memory speed though, wolfeboy100)

3) Kingston is one of the most spread memory brands. They provide an extremely good price/quality. In fact, they have a lifetime-long garantuee on all their memory modules. If it breaks or fails (and it isn't your fault of course) they provide you with a free replacement.

You can buy cheaper modules from other brands (as long as you buy the correct memory type of course), but you wont have the same garantuee (and quality), or you can buy much more expensive ones, but all in all, Kingston is never a bad choice.

Ok after using the crucial system scanner it suggest that I get 1 GB memory sticks of the same type as ive got installed, after having to search for my model of computer as it didnt say anything after the scan, but i'm confused as it says in the computer manual that the computer supports "128, 256 and 512 Mbit memory technologies" and in the scanner thing it says that "Standard Memory:   128, 256, or 512MB removable "

So can i still use 1 Gig memory sticks, or should i just play it safe and stick with 512meg?

Im doing this on two computers, both the same make and model. One has 256 installed with one stick and the other has 512 with 2 256 sticks.  Will i see much difference compared with installing two 512 or two 1 gig cards on both systems?  As if there's not much difference i'll just stick with 2 512megs to make sure its going to work

This has got me so confused right now. I thought this was supposed to be easy

You can still use a 1 Gig memory stick. (which i would just buy)

Well with installing two 1 gig memory sticks, your system will just be faster,  two 512MB stick=1GB stick.

If the manual states that it only supports 128Mb, 256Mb and 512Mb sticks, and in any combination between them, you can NOT use 1Gb sticks...

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There would be no difference between using two 512Mb sticks or using one 1Gb stick (provided it does support 1Gb sticks of course!).

Unless the motherboard also supports Dual Channel Memory. If it supports that then you will see a difference in speed between using two 512Mb dualchannel sticks (faster) and one 1Gb stick (slower).

Yeah the manual doesnt say anything at all about 1Gb sticks, btu its confusing as it says i can "populate" the system board with up to 4GB of memory in dual channel mode, but there are only 4 slots, so how could it do this if it couldnt take 1 GB sticks?

You can see where my confusion is coming from

It will take 1GB sticks then.

I had a couple dozen dx2000mt boxes at work.  Ideally, you should get a second module of the same speed and size as the one you have so that you can benefit from dual channel mode, but if you don't, you will be pleased to know that these computers are not very picky about memory.  We upgraded some with old PC2100 RAM that we had sitting around, mixed with the factory PC2700 or PC3200 -- even that worked fine, though obviously at PC2100 speeds.  So, I expect you won't have any problems no matter what you do.

By the way, the motherboard is made by Asus, although I don't remember which Asus retail model it corresponds to.

Well today i bought 4 sticks of 512 DDR-400 ram, two for each computer and they are installed on this one as we speak.  It all seems to be ok and now i've got all the memory in this computer working in dual channel mode (theres 2 256 and 2 512 now)

Its not Kingston, its some other brand called Seitec i think, but after a bit of a check online there doesnt seem to be any problems with them.

Thanks for all the help guys