Vista Help : 4 x 1 gb in my Asus A8n32SLI deluxe

[bkoehn]

Need a little help from a PC Guru...

I'm currently running one pair of
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR-400 CL 2
in dual channel; Asus A8n32SLI deluxe; Athlon X2 4200+

but Vista is RAM-monger, and I'd like to go to 4gb for a better gaming experience.
Anybody know if there are any problems with getting another 2 dimms (with the same timings)??

My own research suggests some problems are seen in XP only utilizing like 3gb of RAM. But some MBs can only use 3.75gb? finally, some people are seeing problems with this MB running all 4 dimms... This Asus board isn't "Vista-certified" so Asus tech support won't help...

before i purchase another pair, i thought i'd see if anyone had some input?

thanks
b

[JoeWPgh]

Need a little help from a PC Guru...

I'm currently running one pair of
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR-400 CL 2
in dual channel; Asus A8n32SLI deluxe; Athlon X2 4200+

but Vista is RAM-monger, and I'd like to go to 4gb for a better gaming experience.
Anybody know if there are any problems with getting another 2 dimms (with the same timings)??

My own research suggests some problems are seen in XP only utilizing like 3gb of RAM. But some MBs can only use 3.75gb? finally, some people are seeing problems with this MB running all 4 dimms... This Asus board isn't "Vista-certified" so Asus tech support won't help...

before i purchase another pair, i thought i'd see if anyone had some input?

thanks
b

Vista 32 can only 'see' 4 gigs of memory addresses. You have to account for the other memory Vista 'sees'. Mostly whatever the graphics card has on board. In most cases, with Vista 32 you'll max out at somewhere between 3 and 3.5 gig of usable RAM. On one hand, RAM is cheap, so it's not such a huge deal. On the other, doubling your RAM is out of the question. None of this matters with Vista 64. It's upper limit is higher than I'd ever see.

[bkoehn]

awesome
thanks for the info!
How about then, adding just 1gb to the 2gb i already have?
I understand running in 'dual channel' is a slight performance boost, and i was under the impression it is always best to use modules from the same manufacturer with the same timings.
My MB has 4 slots: 2 currently have 2x1gb Corsair XMS pc3200 CL2.

Can I add 2x512mb sticks from Corsair XMS?
or would i be better off spending the extra & just getting 2 more 1gb sticks?

???