adding more RAM

[hiney]

hey guys, i'm currently running on a ga-ep43-ud3l motherboard, intel 2 quad Q8300 processor, 4gb of ram (i'm not sure what the specifics are apart from DDR2 ram) running on windows vista 32 bit

what i'm wanting to do is whack another 4gb of ram along side the 4gb of ram i already have, but i'm not sure about the rules when it comes to mixing ram/using yellow/red slots etc? the 4gb ram i currently have is running in the yellow slots - can i put whatever ram (as long as it's compatible with the motherboard) into the red slots or does it have to be the same ram as what is in the yellow slots?

hope this makes sense, if not i'll explain more clearer!

thanks guys

 

[pro2a]

Unless you get a 64 bit OS, you might as well put sticks of lead in there because they will do you about as much good. A 32 Bit OS will hold you back at 3GB of usable RAM no matter how much you put in. Assuming you do get a 64bit OS, as long as the RAM fits you should be good to go. I've mixed RAM before without issues. Others may have differing opinions though. Just make sure that each set of RAM is mirrored on the same channel. i.e. RAM 1 in both yellow slots, RAM 2 in both red slots.

 

[hiney]

thanks for the reply pro2a - haha yeah, i plan on upgrading the OS to either vista ultimate 64 bit or windows 7 64 bit, not sure which one to go for yet to be honest. do you think running 8gb of ram on a Q8300 processor is a little excessive? once i have the money i'll probably upgrade to a Q9*50 or something with a bit more punch and a higher cache (it would be AMD but unfortunately my board wont support it )

anyways thanks again for your help, much appreciated.

 

[pro2a]

I have 8GB on a quad core... it runs fine. You can never have too much RAM ;-)

I'd recommend Win 7 64 bit OEM on Newegg. Dump Vista... I'm glad I did.