2x1gb or 1x2gb? Not sure...

[Medium Dave]

Hello - I wondered if one of you fine fellows could help me out with picking some memory...

I have a Samsung R40 laptop, which I occasionally use to play the odd game here and there; it's not brilliant for games, so anything I can do to squeeze a couple more FPS out of it would be great. I have to buy it some more memory, and am getting 2gb, as that's the maximum it'll accept.

My question is - would I be better off with 2x1gb, or 1x2gb? I suspect the dual-channelly goodness of 2x1gb would be preferaable, but there seems to be some suggestion that a single stick is more efficient.

The sticks I'm considering are Kingston ValueRam (2x1gb, not a kit, 21 quid), Crucial (2x1gb kit, 16 quid), or OCZ (1x2gb, 30 quid). They're all PC2-6400, CL5, 800mhz. As the machine only accepts 2gb, filling all the bays isn't a problem.

Is it likely to make much difference?

Ta,

-dave

 

[FarFarAway]

What ahve you got in there at the moment? You could add the 2GB to that?

Personally I'd replace it with a 2x1gb kit

 

[Medium Dave]

I have 2x512 in there at the moment, which I shall have to get rid of as the machine will only recognise 2gb. I did try it with 1x2gb + 1x1gb, on the offchance, and it still only picked up 2gb....

 

[nathan]

i'd go for 2x1gb too.

 

[gotmaxpower]

If the 2x512MB are fairly similar to the 2x1GB you have in mind, do a dual dual-channel setup, 3GB total.

 

[FarFarAway]

He can't, the laptop only recognises 2GB

 

[nathan]

and more than likely had only 2 slots.

 

[monkey7]

If your motherboard only accepts 2GB total, are you sure it can handle more than 1GB in a single slot? I think it's limited to 1GB/slot and then 2 slots.

I'd go for the crucial 2x1 for 16 quid as it's the cheapest and fastest (dualchannel) option.

 

[Rastalovich]

My question is - would I be better off with 2x1gb, or 1x2gb? I suspect the dual-channelly goodness of 2x1gb would be preferaable, but there seems to be some suggestion that a single stick is more efficient.

Dave, where'd the suggestion come from ?

 

[Medium Dave]

Not from a reputable source

I think it was Yahoo! Answers, and I don't tend to set much stock by that. Still, worth checking with people that will know...

The laptop will take 2gb max, has 2 slots, and is fine with having a 2gb stick in one of the slots.

I think I shall go for the crucial 2x1gb kit, as that seems to be the concensus...

Thanks!

 

[Rastalovich]

Yeah it's the right way to go. I'm guessing the laptop has a 32bit Celeron or similar.

Be a good idea to check the speed of the ram ur buying too. I've updated a HP laptop for some people and the specs of the laptop mentioned a PC2700 or so speed for the memory - and being as it was so cheap I just bought PC3200. But if the opposite is the case, putting PC2700 in a PC3200 capable laptop would work but be - well just a silly waste seeing as it's so cheap atm.

 

[premiumgfx]

I'd think 2x1GB would be better too, although you could live with 1x2GB. I think its really up to your preference.