Computer memory

[Klaus]

People see benchmarks on computer hardware sites and make all sorts of wacky conclusions.

3 might be slightly slower than 2 in applications where you only need the capacity of the 2.  However the difference is so minute (milliseconds, maybe even microseconds) you would never know.

However load up something that won't fit in the space of 2, but will fit in the space of 3, and you're talking differences measured in whole seconds.
[right][snapback]104695[/snapback][/right]

In some of the newer systems (which you don't have if you're talking about PC100 ram), there are 4 DIMM slots connected in two pairs to the memory controller. If you put matching size modules on opposite channels (so the system is balanced), the chipset can access both channels at the same time, thereby doubling the bandwidth of the ram system. If you add a third module (so one side has 2 and the other side has 1), it can't do this anymore, and the system gets slower. None of this is a concern for the kind of system you're talking about.