><JohnGalt><

WHat is the difference b/t the two types? Is one better for gaming than the other? Will both work in any mother board, or do individual Mobos require a specific type?
Thanks for all your help with my questions.

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=DdogG=

ecc is error correction

server boards almost always need ecc as does socket 940 AMD boards.

ecc is slower, but only marginally

dont get ecc unless you need to.

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><JohnGalt><

Thanks. One more question, for now. How much RAM is too much ram. If i run a program that requires 100mb of ram and I have 900mb of free ram on one computer and 300mb on another, will the program run faster with the setup with extra RAM?

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CingularDuality

You can never have too much RAM. Well, technically, you could, but for all practical purposes, the more RAM, the better... You have to keep in mind that your OS and any TSR programs are eating memory, too. Yes, the computer with more memory is going to perform better.

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=DdogG=

after 1024 megs, win 9x computers have technical issues, and winnt based computers see a diminished return on additional mem after 512......

8 gig is the limit for winxp I think...... 64 bits gets you to 4 terabytes

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

asch

1 GB will probably be plenty of RAM... but if you're running XP you shouldn't have a problem putting more in. If everything you are running on your machine at a given point in time requires 100 MB RAM, then both of your machines that have "extra" RAM available should theoretically perform the same.

What you will also want to consider when purchasing memory is how many slots you have available and if you can use dual-channel memory. Dual channel allows you to run two sticks of the same size / type / etc. and gain some performance boosts. You'd be safe with two 512MB sticks (assuming dual channel) for a good while.

><JohnGalt><

Yeah I can ddr3200 and am thinking of adding 1gb of mem to bring my system up to 1.5gb.

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><JohnGalt><

I am about to buy some more ram. Does the new ram have to match my existing ram. Example, i have corsair xms 3200c2 do i need to get that EXACT make or will any corsair xms ram do?

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=DdogG=

technically, any ddr mem will work... even pc1600...... but truthfully.. you need the exact same thing or better to not loose performance gains that you paid all that money for....

__________________
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

><JohnGalt><

SO i can get better but not worse with out worrying about poor performance?

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RandomGuy

If you can get the exact same RAM that's probably the best price/performance deal you can get.