hi i have intel 845GE chipest i was going to buy 1gb of ram for my system but i currently have 256mb ram in it i was just wondering weather this will work together,then if so ill just get a 256mb stick. Intel Celeron 325 2.5ghz 256mb ram On-board graphic soon to be upgraded. 40gb seagate HDD

Visit www.crucial.com it doesn't matter what your chipset is. the motherboard make/model is what you need to know to determine which ram and in what combinations it will work best. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and his wife will never forgive you.

I'm pretty sure your motherboard supports up to 2gigs of memory. Regardless, you can have 1gig + 256, but you'll probably pay a lot of money for a gig of ram :) you might just want to goto ebay and look for a (512 x 2) for a gig of ram. Goto ebay and type "512mb x 2" without quotes, and hit Desktop and PC components on the left side, and theres a nice list, look for a reputable seller. There are usually people selling a pair of slots for a better deal, and then sell your 256 once you get your new ram(assuming you have just 2 Dimm slots). Anyway, goto http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?pid=1〈=en&pageid=3 When you run it, goto, computer, summary, and computer memory should be the same amount (try not to mix and match). Make sure you buy the SAME speed ie 2100, 2700, 3200, 4000, etc...

OK, I have the same chipset (and 3 slots) and currenty have 2x 512mb + 256mb all running good BUT... Does it make ANY difference to have those "extra" 256mb's? (should I just sell it?) I mean, will anything over 1024mb EVER make a difference on any system based on a, to start with, "very slow" 845 chipset? And yeah, sure they will all work together, they just have to be the SAME kind, check your latency values too, oh, and put your smallest stick last (on slot #3). Peace.

You only need enough RAM to run your normal set of programs without using the virtual memory excessively. Any more than that is a waste. The normal user will probably not need over 1GB of RAM. People who do video editing or graphic design can probably take advantage of it.

Run some of your RAM draining programs with and without your additonal 256mb RAM. Perhaps time the computer startup, time a virus scanner, load a game that requires a load time (battlefield 1942, WC3), you name it with and without it. Do a cost benefit analysis of whatever you consider important - the cost of selling your chip. Also, take into consideration your not going to get too much money for a 256mb chip. Make sure your running under the same conditions, such as timing a virus scan or running a game, before doing it, cntrl alt delete stupid stuff or don't but just make sure the conditions are the same.

Just for the record. I was checking last night how much actual physical memory my rig uses while running xp + antivirus + firewall + a game( farcry or HL2) and the grand total is about +/- 1,100mb! ...so I'm keeping my system with 2x 512 + 256mb = 1280mb as it is, no point in getting rid of that "extra" stick of ram since games keep getting more and more demanding anyway. Peace.