check this out whats the deal?

having a gig of ram will theoretically outperform a 512mg stick only because it is more ram. you REALLY don't need that much ram (1gig) unless you're going to be running a server. you don't want ECC ram unless you're running a server. it tends to slow down the system's operation. i personally would reccommend the micron non-ecc for 389$ and take the rest and get your self hooked up with a nice cable modem or something comparable. that will make your on-line gaming a much better experience than an extra 512mg of ram. but that's only if you have access to cable modem service where you live. otherwise more is better.

<font color=red>booyah, grandma, booyah..</font color=red>

first off thank you both for taking the time to reply.
Also im sorry about the lenght of this post.
please read the whole thing if you can .....thanx

The motherboard i am using for the system i am putting together is the Abit kt7a-raid wich supports 1.5 ghz of sd133 ram. Since the board only has three dimms i would like to utilize its ability.
one 512 mb module will allow me to eventually add more if i ever find the need to without discarding a smaller stick.
my current set up allows for 384 mbs of sd100 ram so i used 128 meg modules and was able to upgrade as i went along.
also dsl or cable are not yet available to me.

Ive been waiting a year for a good connection.

I have had several systems that all required a degree of tweaking to enjoy them, now I want to put a system together that i can use / enjoy not tweak unless of course i get bored.
I am running win me.
my new setup is as follows except for the memory


ABIT
KT7A-RAID................................ 169.00
AMD Athlon
Socket A 200 /
266 FSB ATX


SUPERMICRO
SC760-A ATX Full........................ 169.00
Tower Case w
/Redundant
Cooling 300W
Power Supply
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 36 inch
UDMA66/100...................................12.00
DUAL E-IDE
80/40 PIN
Cable
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
24 inch
UDMA66/100................................... 21.98.......qty 2
DUAL E-IDE
80/40 PIN
Cable
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Universal
Floppy Drive..................................... 6.50

Ribbon Cable

Option: Order
without
Floppy Drive
(+4.50)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
18 inch
UDMA66/100....................................7.00
DUAL E-IDE
80/40 PIN
Cable
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Plextor
PlexWriter
PX-W121032A................................222.00

12X/10X/32X
EIDE / ATAPI
CD-RW -
Retail Boxed
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx TOSHIBA 40X.....................................77.00
Fast SCSI-II
CD-ROM
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pioneer
DVD-U05S
SCSI II Slot.......................................155.00
Loading 10X
/32X INT DVD
Rom - Retail
Boxed w/ SCSI
Cable
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
SONY 1.44MB......................................15.00
3.5in Floppy
Disk Drive
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Guillemot 3D
Prophet II GTS................................... 414.00
ULTRA 64MB
DDR AGP w/
TV-OUT - OEM
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Maxtor
DiamondMax
Plus 40.9GB.......................................163.00 .

UDMA
33/66/100
7200RPM Hard
Drive -
5T040H4
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sound Blaster....................................172.00

LIVE
PLATINUM 5.1
Sound Card
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subtotal for SHENTECH.COM
.......................................... 1603.48
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
AMD Athlon 1.267Ghz 3D NOW! (Socket A) with 1 year AMD
warranty (CPU only)266FSB ETA mid/late February

$???.................350.00
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IN STOCK, Crucial
512MB PC133
SDRAM Unbuffered
Non-Parity 3.3V with
life time warranty ...................................................................813.00 or
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
512MB PC133 ECC
MICRON SDRAM DIMM
7.5NS 168PIN
UNBUFFERED
GOLDLEADS 3.3V SPD..................................................................399.00
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

total system startup price everything except extra hard drives

....................................$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2 , 766. 48 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2 , 350 .00 with the lesser ram$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

If you check out the available benchmarks youll see that ddr memory isnt that much faster and in some cases no faster than conventional.
benchmarked against the system im putting together my system was faster in some applications and just behind the ddr in others.
actually its possible for ddr memory to run slower at times.
ALso regarding ddr I spoke to Matt @ mushkin, and someone at kingston , and Micron and the one thing they all agreed on is that the only available ddr memory for sale now online is from companies wishing to dump there inventory because ddr manufactoring has been put on hold due to some changes that need to be made on the modules themselves.
So to buy ddr now would be a little nutty, also you cant have a mobo that supports both and im not waiting another 6 months for abit to catch up when i can have the proven technology and reliability of sdramm. on a board that supports a 266 fsb ( more than enough for gaming).
,the main reason for my original post was to see if someone could enlighten me on how can the originaly posted micron modules have such a difference in price. ( see above)
which one is for me?
wich is faster?
what exactly is the difference between the stick for $399.00 and the one for $800.00?
I realize that 512 mbs is a lot of memory, but ive been assured by AMD, ABIT , and Micron that this setup with 512 mbs will perform very well as there is no such thing as overkill if you can afford it.
I do some serving but not as much as when dsl gets here in march so i do want to be prepared.
this has got to be the longest post i have ever seen , if youve read this far you deserve a reward!
Look at those module numbers carefully and see if you can see the difference between them and how that translates into performance.
should i believe that more expensive is better?
Im not rich , but i love my computers and for me the money isnt an issue.
Ive seen similair systems on madonion scoring in the 11,000'
Thats what i want!

The problem actually concerns Vcache which, if I understand correctly, contains the addresses of the memory that is cached to disk.

This problem is worse than I thought. Apparently under Windows 9x/ME real memory should be restricted to 512 Mb total.

Rather than paraphrase incorrectly here is a link to a document at Microsoft.

http://support.microsoft.com/suppo [...] 3/9/12.ASP