Mixing memory brands?

[JrDave2304]

I have an MSI-FIS2R (K8T800) motherboard with 2x512MB of Kingston ValueRAM DDR 400 PC3200 Dual Channel. I'm looking to upgrade 2x1GB and get rid of one of the 512 sticks and still use the other. I suppose I should first ask if I can still use one of the 512 sticks with the new RAM I buy and if it has to be Kingston or if it will still function with another brand in there (assuming the other brand is compatible with my mobo)?

 

[cprince]

You can use RAM from different manufacturer provided it's compatible with your motherboard. However, let me get this straight. You will get two 1GB sticks, but you will still use one of your 512MB stick. This would give you 2.5GB, but you would lose dual channel capability.

 

[JrDave2304]

So I would lose dual channel capability on the 2x1GB sticks if i use the one 512MB stick with them? Is that what you're saying, or are you saying I would lose dual channel capability on the one 512MB stick?

Is it better not to add the 512MB stick with the 2x1GB sticks? I was just figuring, since I had an extra RAM slot on my mobo I might as well put at least one of the 512MB sticks to use.

 

[cprince]

Oh, sorry. Your board is socket 754. Socket 754 processors have single channel memory controller anyway. So feel free to add the 512MB stick with the two 1GB sticks.

 

[eplebnista]

According to the info here

Supports three 184-pin DDR SDRAMs up to 2GB memory size
Note: PC3200 (DDR400) maximum 4 banks (2 double-sided) only

 

[JrDave2304]

i see, i guess the wording there confuses me eplebnista.

does that mean i can only have a maximum of 2GB combined, or that each stick cannot exceed 2GB? (i'm guessing combined?)

maximum 4 banks (2 double-sided) only? what does that mean?

sorry, for all the questions, i'm just confused by MSI's wording (which is why I asked here in the first place). appreciate all your help!

 

[eplebnista]

What it is saying is that you are limited to 2gb total and if you want pc3200 speeds you need to use 2 1gb double-sided sticks.

 

[JrDave2304]

is double sided different than dual channel? if it is different than how can tell if it's double sided on a site such as newegg?

 

[eplebnista]

Double-sided means chips on both sides of a single stick of memory, while dual channel means two sticks of memory that work together.

It's not at newegg, but these should work fine to max out the motherboard's capacity. They are double-sided sticks as you can tell in the description when it says 16 chips per stick(8 per side).

You could then sell off the 1gb kit you have now to help defray the cost of the new memory.