RAM question for laptop

this might be a stupid question but i am interested in buying some ram for my laptop. right now my laptop has 512 megs of ram. there are 2 slots on my laptop and right now there are 2 sticks of 256 meg.
if i have a 1 gig stick and keep a 256 meg stick in the laptop. would my computer run normally because of the difference in ram stick sizes? or do i want to keep the ram the same size like 2 sticks of 512 megs. so basically what in asking is would it be ok to have a 1 gig stick and a 256 meg stick working together? this is what it says in the manual but im not sure what it means

"Note: Dual-channel memory requires symmetrical memory modules using the same density (e.g. 256MB, 512MB), bus width (e.g. x8, x16) and granule technology (e.g. 256M-bit, 512M-bit)"

if anyone can clarify that for a noob it would be much appreciated.


laptop specs acer 1804, 3.2 GHZ HT, 100 gig hard drive, ATI mobility X600 128 meg pci:e, 512 DDR ram, wide screen.
thanx

 

Your mobo is prob running in dual channel now,with 2 sticks of the same size running next to each other,they kind of work together because they are identical,one more 256 in the third slot will not show any performance increase.You will need to sell those sticks and get 2 512 sticks to replace them with,you need two sticks from the same packet,idealy with the packet saying dual channel on,then your 2 new sticks will run in dual channel mode.

EDIT I doubt your mobo supports one gig modules,they would have been in the dual channel example

 

Sounds to me that you are stuck with 2 sticks of the same capacity (ie 512mb, or so). How many slots have you in your laptop? I assume that you have multiples of 2 (ie 2 or 4) and not odd numbers like 3. Make sure that you check your manual, or makers website to find out if there is a limit to the size (mbytes) of the RAM you can fit. Maybe 1 gig is maximum anyhow, any way you try to get around it. Bazza

 

your pc supports up to 2GB of ram, so if you wanted better performance you would need 2x 1GB sticks. If you put in 1GB and 256mb stick your pc will run in SINGLE channel mode with decreased performance vs if you had two identical sticks totaling 1.25gb (which isnt possible but still). I dont think you can notice a diffrence from 1gb to 1.25gb.

 

Like i said it would disable dual channel http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

 

actually the it says in the manual that it can be upgradable to a max of 2 gigs of ram so i think it would support it.
there are 2 slots for ram total on the laptop and www.crucial.com recommends a 512 stick for the model laptop i have.

omegamerc from nycff?

this is off of crucial.com
http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa...r&tabid=CR&model=Aspire+1800+Series&submit=Go

System Type
Laptop/Notebook
Maximum Memory
2048MB
Standard Memory
512MB removable
Slots/Banks
2 (2 banks of 1)

Crucial recommends this 200-pin SODIMM DDR PC2700 module guaranteed to be compatible with your system and deliver the performance you need.

 

IMHO 2gigs is too much,the rare occasions you will need 2gigs makes them not worth buying,but hey if you have the cash!

 

i think ill just go with the 2 sticks of 512MB
if anyone is interested in buying 2 sticks of 256MB laptop ram 200 pin DDR for a cheap price, im the guy to talk to!

 

Yeah Omegamerc from nycff; who are you? http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif MY GEEKYNESS HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

omegamerc you may know me as [nycff]Rebel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha what a strange encounter!

oh and how would i disable dual channel?

 

What a small internet we live in http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif hahahah

Dual chann is disabled automatically once you plug in two 'un even' sticks so to say.

 

so i would be able to have a 1 gig stick and leaven an existing 256MB stick in there and it would function normally utilizing both sticks?

 

Yes, but you wouldn't have the benefit of dual channel ram. Also if one ram has lower speed then the other; then it will operate at the lowest of the two speeds; IE 1GB of pc3200 and 256mb of pc2100 would make your pc run the ram at pc2100. Likewise if they are diff mfg modules, there is always a "Risk" of incompatability", so if it doesn't boot just try to take out the 256mb one.

 

so what is the benefits of having dual ram and is it necessary?

 

Theoretically Dual channel gives you double the bandwidth. You can see 5-10% improvement over single channel; mainly when you play high end games; neccessary? Meh, is toiletpaper neccessary? not really but do we use it for a benefit? Yeah.

 

so if i have identical stick of ram same size and speed it will automatically use dual channel ram even for my pc? lol im such a noob with ram.

 

same MFG / model too http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

 

Fear not, my young padawan http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gifhttp://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

thanx for the help guys. ive made up my mind. im going with 2 of these http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa...r&tabid=CR&model=Aspire+1800+Series&submit=Go any comments or suggestions?

 

yeah i love newegg.com they got insane low prices. im thinking of buying a new video card from them.

 

buy the new vid card from me http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

whatcha selling? i have a pci:e motherboard and was looking at the BFG 6800GT.

 

damn http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/frown.gif I gots a 6800GT AGP

 

You sure you cant stick 3200 in there?

 

i think it can only handle 2700 but if it can handle 3200 i just wasted $126.
can you notice a big difference between the two?

 

oh and it came with a free dvd edition of far cry! i never played it before so im happy!