Mac Pro 2009 Ram Config and performance question

[bcpursel]

i have been using my mac pro quad core xeon 2.66 for several years with only 1 stick of ram (16gb)

i have never had any lagging or performance issues until recently. could this present any problems, slow hanging or corruption?

i started having weird graphics issues several weeks ago and my system has been slow, especially running firefox. i just wanted to get feedback to see if anyone thinks 1x16 is a poor performace setup or would possibly present any issues. the dimm's on these are DDR3 ECC 1066.

i have a second machine i purchased to see what was wrong by process of elimination, but when i changed to 4x2gb from the other machine, it still occurred. i believe the HD was the issue, but just wondered if the ram configuration may also have something to do with it.

is 1 x 16 ok? or should that be either 2x16 or 2x8? does it matter?

 

[pastrychef]

I think one stick of 16GB RAM would only be a problem if you are running out of RAM.

Try switching the video card from your other machine to see if it helps.

 

[bcpursel]

I think one stick of 16GB RAM would only be a problem if you are running out of RAM.

Try switching the video card from your other machine to see if it helps.

i switched the graphics card and it continued. i am always well under ram limit, usually only used 5-7 gb running at a time.

just wondering what else could be causing lag if not ram. i did clone my HD and am now running on that HD. it appears to be better and quicker since changing over and booting from this HD.

 

[h9826790]

ECC RAM should be very reliable. 1 stick should not be a problem at all. I agree to check your HDD if you have lots of "beachball" suddenly.