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Which would be faster, 3GB pc2700 or 2GB pc3200 ?
I have an old desktop that is running p4 2.8 ghz, Asus motherboard with 1 GB of ram (512 pc2700 ddr sdram x 2)
Since prices on memory these days have fallen greatly, I was thinking about an upgrade. Apparently the price between 2 GB pc2700 ddr sdram, and a 2GB pc3200 ddr sdram are almost the same. With certain discounts, I've seen pc3200 go cheaper than the pc2700. (Newegg showed a kingston 2gb pc2700 for around $50, and Corsair 2gb pc3200 for around $25 after rebate)
So which would be a better build? 3gb of pc2700 or 2Gb of pc3200?
(I wasn't planning on mixing 2gb pc3200 with my 1gb pc2700, but if it is a valid build, let me know)
Thank you
5 Answers
- s jLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
Go with the 2GBs of PC3200. Computer will run crisper. Running XP I take it? Most apps are written not to use over 2GBs of ram. Could exceed that if you multi-task but 2 GBs is fine for XP.
- jlman2008Lv 41 decade ago
another twist to the story....
Yes you can upgrade to more PC3200 ram but it won't make a visual difference in speed. Since it is an old PC... I would put a new hard disk in it... something newer, larger with more cache. This will probably give you a visual performance speed increase ... much more than the ram because it is a mechanical device. Once you have a new hard disk... you can use norton ghost or other imaging tools to copy the old HD to the new HD. A HD is only about $70... so, around the same price as lots of good ram.
If you don't want to do a new hard disk. I'd do PC3200. I would do two sticks of it in case your ram slows allow for a dual-DDR configuration. Remember... Windows XP/Vista 32bit can't go above 4GB... and neither can your motherboard probably
Jeff
- 1 decade ago
I would definitely go with the 2 GB 3200. Two reasons i say this:
1. Faster speeds from the RAM
2. Corsair is a very good brand.
You want speed when it comes to ram. What's the point of having 3GB if it's not running as fast as it should be. No use.
Im assuming your not running a X64 OS so 2GB is just fine, you probably won't even use all of it anyways unless your doing picture editing or your gaming.
And no, don't mix the ram with the 1GB. you mentioned it's a 2700, since the 1gb cannot go faster, your motherboard will drop the speed of your new ram stick to match your 1GB.
Hope that helps make your decision.
Source(s): Computer tech. - 1 decade ago
2GB of PC3200.
not only is the RAM faster but with P4s and Core Duos, Intel has something called Dual Channel Memory mode which means if you have 2 memory sticks of equal size and equal quality, you will see a boost in RAM performance.
Even 2 GB of PC3200 is better than 3GB of PC3200. I did benchmarking on this and you get better memory reads/writes with Dual Channel mode.
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- AlaskaJoeLv 41 decade ago
Even amounts of ram in a dual channel set up will always run faster than an odd amount.
The only exception to this rule is the new triple channel memory used in the Core i7 computers which actually run better with 3GB than 2GB, and better still with 6GB over 3GB.
When you mix RAM all the RAM will run at the speed of the lowest speed RAM in the system. That is something to keep in mind also.
