Does more memory trump matching memory?

Discussion in 'Buying Tips and Advice' started by devburke, Sep 10, 2009.

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  1. devburke, Sep 10, 2009

    devburke Guest

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    #1
    Let's say I wanted to upgrade the memory on an old iMac G5. I know that matching memory modules provide the best performance, but if a mismatched pair would provide more memory, would the advantage of having more memory overcome the advantage to having matched memory?

    tl;dr Which is better, having 2x512 memory that matches, or having 512+1gb memory that doesn't match but provides more memory?
     
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  2. Cboss, Sep 10, 2009

    Cboss macrumors 6502

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    #2
    A few months ago I was in the same spot you are. I went ahead and added a 1 GB stick because I figured the extra 512 MB would help a lot more than the slight bonus from matched pairs.
     
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  3. Genghis Khan, Sep 10, 2009

    Genghis Khan macrumors 65816

    Genghis Khan

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    #3
    you'll need more memory

    1GB is barely enough these days
     
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  4. macgeek18, Sep 10, 2009

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    macgeek18

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    #4
    Um,I've never mismatched ram,so I wouldn't know,though I've heard never to do it.but that's with my job building pc's.But on a mac?it might handle it,it might not,I don't know.
     
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  5. devburke, Sep 10, 2009

    devburke thread starter Guest

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    #5
    This isn’t for me, it’s for my dad’s friend who’s just upgrading her G5 to Leopard. She really doesn’t have heavy needs, so 1.5 GB should be plenty.
     
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  6. After G, Sep 10, 2009

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    After G

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    #6
    More memory (major speedup) is usually better than matching sticks for dual-channel (minor speedup).
     
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  7. electroshock, Sep 11, 2009

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    electroshock

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    #7
    More memory trumps matching memory just about every single time, especially if you wouldn't have enough memory otherwise.

    Unmatched memory may run a bit slower though you'd probably not notice it. But if you don't have enough memory and end up swapping to/from disk, that's thousands of times slower! Not even close.
     
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