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What is better... (RAM question)

Abyssgh0st

Abyssgh0st

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 12, 2009
1,888
9
Colorado
Okay, I've got two WhiteBooks, a late 2008 and a new 2.13. I'm selling the old one, which has 4GB of 667MHz of Kingston RAM.

The new WhiteBook has 2GB of 800GHz stock RAM.

What is better (Faster, more efficient), the 2 sticks of 800GHz? Or 1GB of 800GHz and 2GB of 667MHz?
 
I wouldn't recommend mixing RAM modules of different speeds.

Either your system will run at the slower one's speed, reducing performance by ~5%, or you could toast the slower module if you run at the higher speed.
 
Any computer with integrated graphics will benefit from higher RAM speed. With how picky these computers tend to be, I doubt it would boot with mismatched modules. With that said, if it does boot, there is no harm to be done except that the memory performance, and subsequently, the graphics performance, will suffer as the memory will run at the lowest common denominator. Meaning, if you have one stick of 667MHz RAM, and one of 800MHz, both modules will run at 667MHz (~17% slower) and with the slower timings of the two modules. You can't "toast" memory modules by running them at the incorrect speed as the previous poster stated, and no damage would be done if it doesn't work, which I doubt it would for the aforementioned reasons.
 
You can "toast" DIMMs by running them at speeds higher than they're rated for.

Usually a computer will downclock to the slower speed, but if it didn't, kiss that DIMM goodbye if it's really not made to take faster speeds than it was rated for.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
You can "toast" DIMMs by running them at speeds higher than they're rated for.

Usually a computer will downclock to the slower speed, but if it didn't, kiss that DIMM goodbye if it's really not made to take faster speeds than it was rated for.
Click to expand...
Show me proof. I have never heard of anything like this before and don't believe one bit of it.
 
Bill Gates said:
Show me proof. I have never heard of anything like this before and don't believe one bit of it.
Click to expand...

After some reading around, it appears I was wrong :p

I was mixing up RAM frequencies with voltage associated with overclocking, my bad :eek::eek:
 
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