is ECC usable with non-ECC ram. I accidentally got an ECC ram chip. Its a 256, and i have a 32,64,64. I hear their more expensive, but by how much? But i hear their also slightly slower, but by how much?

"is ECC usable with non-ECC ram." Many times no sometimes yes (not the same bank that's for sure). Check your motherboard's full specifications. Now you have to check if your ECC is registered (or has registers, aka buffers). If it does, some chipsets will not allow the mixing of the memory types. Check your motherboard's maker to get all the details. I personally would use the same RAM throughout a system. Computers like consistency. Check the prices anywhere you feel like. They change all the time. You really don't need ECC. Yeah, you will get errors but you will probably never notice them (and they will be far apart). ECC is more like a server or mission-critical feature. As such, it traditionally does cost a little more. This is a decent explanation: http://www.computer-memory-upgrade-stick.com/ecc-vs-non-ecc.htm "But i hear their also slightly slower, but by how much?" You usually need a program counting for you to measure it.