RAM...What trumps? More ram or matching pairs?

ewoksrule

ewoksrule

Active Member
Normal system has 4x2gb=8gb ram

I had a 2gb stick go bad. While waiting for the RMA should I leave it at 6gb (2 matching and 1 solo) or pull a stick to have 4gb (matching pair)

Which is better for daily use and some gaming? To have the 4gb matched or 6gb unmatched?

ram is DDR2 and proc is QQ6600 with win7-64bit

From what I gather more ram wins but I was curious what some of the techs here thought on this topic.
 
I would say 4gb matched, benchmarks over the last few years show very small improvements to load times when you go over 4 gigs. (Not sure if it has improved in the last year or so.)
 
"matched/un-matched"

Do you mean they are different brands?

They are not the same 2GB x 3 sticks brand?

Because I use 2GB X 3 sticks and I have 1 slot left.

Though, my ram is DDR3. meh.
 
brands don't really matter most times. however if anything doesn't match the ram will downlclock to the SLOWEST of the two. Matched pairs are the best way to go. in terms of amount...don't go over 4 gigs total(this includes video card ram) on a 32 bit system. for 64 bit 4 gigs is the minimum for a vista/7 system while 8 gigs is really the upper amount you'll need for the next few years. I run 4 gigs in a matched set here..:)
 
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I was not talking about brands or speed (they are all the same) but the dual channel memory requires that you install them in pairs.
 
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