Installed memory not showing in system

[dave.cox]

I have just received my Arianet Value 2800 Intel PC.
Operating system etc. all installed OK and stable.
I bought additional RAM - Arianet 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 ( Elixir)
The original 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM was Kingston.
I removed the 1GB of Kingston and replaced it with the Elixir in slot 1.
Fired it up again and checked system details - all OK 2 GB showing installed.
Then I added the original 1GB Kingston in slot 2 .
Rebooted all OK but the extra 1GB is not showing in the system details.
Is this a fault or something to do with Dual Channel not functioning without the RAM being identical?

[Lynx]

Dual channel will not work with different ram, put the old kingston ram into slot 2 so its next to the first piece, then it should recognise, if not then this is just how it goes, some boards do not accept different sticks of ram.

[dave.cox]

Thanks for reply.
Would have hoped that identical spec. RAM supplied by Aria at same time as PC would have been compatible?

[Lynx]

Different brands are not always compatible, try the ram in slot 0 and 2 or however it goes to not be in dual chanel.

[marsey99]

the sticks are different sizes so you cant do dc.

welcome to the forums btw :D

[dave.cox]

Had read the motherboard manual and noted that dc would not function with unmatched pairs.
However there was no mention that it would completely ignore the RAM in slot 2.
Does this mean that you can only use matched pairs - and otherwise the RAM in slot 2 is not contributing to performance?

[alexnifty]

Isn't 2GB DDR going to be faster than 3GB SDR anyway?

[jonwoad]

dont you mean 2gb ddr in dc mode and 3gb ddr in sc mode rather than DDR and SDR?

[alexnifty]

Only had one coffee today :p :coffee:

[jonwoad]

lol, will let you off :) proves I was reading for once rather than just scanning the post :)

[alexnifty]

Yes indeed!

I think unless the OP is really using more than 2GB then adding 1GB is going to reduce performance, not increase it.

[jonwoad]

agreed, its an odd number anyway and doesnt look as good as 2gb or 4gb :)

[alexnifty]

I think he should ditch the original 1GB that came with the system and just use the 2GB he bought additionally. Seems like his mobo wants it like that anyway :p

[jonwoad]

could get a couple of quid for it of the bay of e

[wonderlust]

I had reason to carry out a test on this recently.

Vista's WEI for single channel gave 5.1 compared to 5.9 for dual channel

[jonwoad]

aand it sounds better... single vs dual :)

[alexnifty]

And considering theres a weird 5.9 limit on your score then the difference could be bigger.

I'm certain 2GB Dual Channel beats 3GB Single channel unless you are using applications which dont care so much on memory speed but more about memory amount. Photo/video media stuff?

[wonderlust]

I read that apparently Windows 7 increases the 5.9 but it didn't say what too.