I have a question about my computer and its ram?

Question

Ok i have 4 ram slots divided 2 and 2

on 1 side i have a 1gigabyte stick of ram then the 2nd slow is empty
Then on the other 2 i have 2 512's s it =s 2 gigabytes

But i have a extra 512mb stick i could put with the gigabyte , but will the uneven ram 2 and 2 1 side being 1.5gb the other 1gb

Wil the uneven total in ram slow down my computer>?

Answer 1

I am concerned on your use of the word, "side." Usually with four slots there are two of the same color and two of another color. The two of the same color are not adjacent. For example white, blue, white, blue. Matching ram should be installed in slots with matching colors.



Make sure that the two 512 sticks are in slots of the same color. Usually this means that they are separated by another slot.



If you add the 512 to the same color pair as the Gig, then they both might run at the speed of the 512. Now it is a question of does the extra ram help more than it hurts? It is not a matter of being uneven is size, but uneven in speed, because the one gig stick is probably faster than the 512 stick. You would have to know the timing specs of the ram to have a definitive answer.



BTW, you can add the ram and decide for yourself if it slows down your computer! If it does, then take it out!! But make sure that the pairs match the colors...

Answer 2

Its best to keep the "sides" even. One gig stick on left, One Gig stick on Right. What is most important is keeping the speed the same though. It should not slow down your computer to much if you downgrade the amount of RAM, depending on what OS your computer uses. Windows XP should show no difference, but Vista especially 64-bit will show significant slow down.



Two rules:

1. Keep the speed the same for DIMM chips.

2. Different OS's and Apps require more/less RAM

Answer 3

the uneven value RAM is creating the random crashes and blue screens.

Always put equal capacity identical RAM sticks in all 4 slots.or in 2 alternate slots.

Best is to put two identical 1GB RAM sticks in alternate color coded slots to get the superior dual channel performance from your computer.That adds up to 2GB total RAM and is OK if you have XP Pro.

for now, you may put two identical 512MB RAM sticks in alternate color coded slots .

Answer 4

Nope, perfectly normal and wouldn't slow down your computer.