A Few Questions On RAM!

I have two DDR & two DDR II slots on my motherboard & currently have two 512mb sticks of DDR installed.

I'm looking to upgrade to 2gb RAM but just want to know:

- Is DDR II better than DDR and by how much/why?

- Would it be better to use two sticks of 1gb or one stick of 2gb?

- If I was to get two sticks of 1gb I would get these: 1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 533Mhz 240PIN 1 GB PC2 4200 533 Mhz

- If I was to get one stick of 2gb I would get this: 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667Mhz 240PIN 2 GB PC2 5400 2x 1GB G


Is the above RAM any good as it's the cheapest I could find on eBay, thanks.


HK

 

Which motherboard do you have that already has slots for DDR and DDR2 without an add-in card? I may be a couple months behind in my hardware, I just wasnt aware that was available yet.

As far as DDR vs DDR2, its tough to say. DDR generally has lower latency and will respond more quickly. DDR2 has higher bandwidth and works on less voltage. DDR will perform faster than DDR2 at the same speed given lower latency, however since DDR2 Module's are higher in bandwith, the performance is enhanced. DDR was becoming more expensive to produce at higher bandwidth, hence the move to DDR2 (and less voltage draw meaning more efficiency)

However, the deciding factor is going to be your current CPU. I cant say exactly since I don't know what CPU you have, but here is an example for some AMD CPU's:

There is a ULi chipset based motherboard which has a socket 939 slot and DDR slots, but also has an expansion slot for a board that would hold a socket AM2 CPU and DDR2 RAM. In order to use a socket 939 CPU, you must have DDR RAM. In order to use the socket AM2 CPU, you must have DDR2 RAM.

If you give us more info on your current system, we can make a better recommendation.