chevytrucknut said:
WOW...suprisingly, that ACTUALLY made sense!
It shouldn't have, because he's wrong.
First of all, 1GB of RAM isn't enough anymore for some games, so 2 GB is better. Second, don't get 4 x 512MB if you're planning on getting 2GB. 4 x 512MB will be slower, will consume more voltage, and will be an overall hassle. 2 x 1GB will be a little more expensive, but you should've been prepared for that if you're planning on 2 GB.
Now, if you have two identical sticks of RAM (same size, and preferably same manufacturer) then they will be running in Dual Channel. There is no such thing as "Dual-Channel RAM," that is simply a marketing tactic. Any two identical sticks of RAM, no matter what the size (as long as they are the same size) will run in Dual Channel. On your motherboard, there will be pairs of colored RAM slots (DIMMs). If you're using 2 sticks of RAM (recommended), then you need to put them in the same-colored slots for them to run in Dual Channel.
Running in Dual Channel gives each stick of RAM its own bandwidth, so it can talk freely, instead of being strangled. This gives a considerable performance boost.
As for Kahlos's MHz; The standard memory speed today is DDR400, which runs at 200MHz (DDR stands for Double Data Rate. DDR lets you send an instruction on the rise of the clock cycle as well as the fall of the clock cycle, effectively doubling what can be done with a given clockspeed. So though the clockspeed is 200MHz, it is EFFECTIVELY 400MHz, which is more accurately called DDR400). Your system bus (as far as Athlon 64s go) also runs at 200MHz. As standard, your memory runs with a 1:1 ratio with your system bus (HTT on Athlon 64s, FSB on Pentium 4s). So if your system bus is 200MHz, then your RAM is at 200MHz. As you raise your system bus, the memory's speed also increases (and the processor speed also increases). That is basically what overclocking is. You don't need higher-rated RAM (DDR500, DDR550, DDR600) to overclock since there is overclocking DDR400 RAM, and you can set a memory divider which lets your memory run at a lower frequency than the system bus, which allows you to overclock your CPU without stressing the RAM even a little bit.
Anything else?