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jaws01

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 3, 2006
65
0
I have a macbook 2.0GHz, 512MB ram. Factory specs. I want to upgrade to a single stick 1GIG ram, but I would like to keep one of the 256MB ram to have a total of 1.25GIG ram. Is this ok to do? Are there any side effects?

Thanks!
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
It's perfectly OK. Matched RAM runs a tiny bit faster, but more RAM almost always trumps paired RAM. Go for it. And since you wouldn't be pairing the 1GB stick, there's no reason whatsoever not to keep the extra .25GB.
 

WildCowboy

Administrator/Editor
Staff member
Jan 20, 2005
18,490
2,991
Having matched RAM will provide you with the best possible speed, but certainly bumping to unmatched 1.25 GB from matched 512 MB will give you a huge boost in performance.
 

richard4339

macrumors 6502a
Sep 6, 2006
896
112
Illinois
My MBP is running a 1x1gb stick and a 1x256 stick, and it runs fine. It seems slightly slower in my opinion than the 1x1gb alone, but things tend to run more smoothly.
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
You'll be fine. Intel® Flex Memory Technology will allow for near full dual channel speeds on memory sticks of different sizes.
 
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