On 12/19/2010 5:23 PM, Tony Harding wrote:
On 12/17/10 19:07, mm wrote:
On Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:17:24 -0500, Ben
wrote:

On 12/15/2010 9:52 PM, mm wrote:
Memory: Does it matter if big DDRs are firsr or second?

Posted to alt.comp.hardware and alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, since the
computer is a Dell and I started the topic in that group, but have
broader questions now.


I have two 512M and two 1G DDR[1]s and they are the same speed PC2700,
the same 333, the same CL 2.5, the same non-ECC and assume everything
else the same except the brand and size.

Does it make a difference if the big pair goes in the first pair of
slots, or if the small pair does???

Is this true for DDR2 and DDR3 also?

Just to be perfectly clear, if you are talking about Dell Precision 360,
Dimension 4600, Optiplex GX270, or Dimension 8300,

It was meant as a general question.

I'm 99% sure I've read that *faster* memory should go in the first
pair of slots, and that makes sense so that one should use the faster
memory most of the time.

But here the speed is the same, only the *size* is different, so does
it matter which one is first?

two memory slots have
black DIMM clips and two have white clips. A matched pair has to go in
a pair of DIMM slots with the same color of clips.

Yes, thanks, the computer I'm working on now is a Dell 4600 and the
manual made that clear.

As a rule, I install
the larger capacity memory in the "first" pair of slots.

But is that a personal practice, or maybe a habit left over from fast
vs. slow memory, or is it really based on some benchmark testing or
recommended by engineers or so forth?

IIRC (from an admittedly failing memory), when you mix faster & slower
DIMMs, *all* memory runs at the slower speed (tends to keep things in
sync internally - if you were moving data from faster to slower memory
and tried to use the 2 different speeds, fun might ensue g).

Your brain has not had a parity failure yet. Must be ECC! Correct... Ben