thr0xx

i have a couple questions.
first i am running on a dell dimension 4600i, 2.66 ghz, geforce6200.

my first question is, i recently purchased this online, http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-detailsInactive.asp?EdpNo=1951927 . i was planning on buying 2 or 3 more of the same stick of RAM. is it smart to max out the RAM on your motherboard? mine can handle up to 4gb of DDR.



my second question is, i already have 1.2gb of RAM and I just bought a 1gb stick of corsair memory, is it ok to just take out 1 of the old sticks of RAM and replace it with the new one or should i take them all out and only use the new stick of RAM? my RAM modules are below.

Memory Module 1
Manufacturer : Micron
Model : 4VDDT1664AG-335C3
Serial Number : 4F00473A
Type : 128MB DDR-SDRAM
Technology : 4x(16Mx16)
Speed : PC2700U DDR-166
Standard Timings : 2.5-3-3-7 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Version : 1.0
Date of Manufacture : Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Memory DC Line : 2.5V
Set Timing @ 167MHz : 2.5-3-3-7 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Set Timing @ 133MHz : 2.0-2-2-6 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)

Memory Module 2
Manufacturer : Micron
Model : 4VDDT1664AG-335C3
Serial Number : 4F004739
Type : 128MB DDR-SDRAM
Technology : 4x(16Mx16)
Speed : PC2700U DDR-166
Standard Timings : 2.5-3-3-7 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Version : 1.0
Date of Manufacture : Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Memory DC Line : 2.5V
Set Timing @ 167MHz : 2.5-3-3-7 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Set Timing @ 133MHz : 2.0-2-2-6 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)

Memory Module 3
Manufacturer : Corsair
Model : VS512MB400
Type : 512MB DDR-SDRAM
Technology : 16x(32Mx8)
Speed : PC3200U DDR-200
Standard Timings : 2.5-3-3-8 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Date of Manufacture : Saturday, December 25, 1999
Memory DC Line : 2.5V
Set Timing @ 200MHz : 2.5-3-3-8 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)

Memory Module 4
Manufacturer : Corsair
Model : VS512MB400
Type : 512MB DDR-SDRAM
Technology : 16x(32Mx8)
Speed : PC3200U DDR-200
Standard Timings : 2.5-3-3-8 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)
Date of Manufacture : Saturday, December 25, 1999
Memory DC Line : 2.5V
Set Timing @ 200MHz : 2.5-3-3-8 (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS)

twajetmech

You best bet would always be to match all the memory, this allows you to run in dual channel mode if your mobo supports it. For the best performance and compatability, especially if running in dual chanel mode would be to have two matched modules of ram (dual channel kit) While memory is backward compatible, you will run all of your memory at the lowest speed of the slowest ram module and loosest timings....thus your current mixture of pc3200 and pc2700 will regulate you to running all your memory at pc2700 speed. I'd suggest you remove the two modules of pc2700 ram and buy another set of memory matching your Corsair memory. Vista is a bit of a memory hog in comparison to XP, it will run very well with 1Gb of memory but it really shines with 2Gb.

thr0xx

so would I be ok going with two of the new 1gb sticks and 2 of the old 512mb sticks? would that cause any problems and also, would i need to fix any settings in bios?



p.s. my motherboard does support dual channel memory.