i currently have 2 mix matched sticks of ram, a 256 and a 512. Im buying 2 new corsair 512 sticks to dual channel. If i kept in the old ram along with the new ram, would it mess up/ slow down the new ram? Would it be best just to take out the old ram or would leaving it in be better? thanks in advance

Don't use the 256. It will slow you down You would be better just using the new ram that you purchased but I hope that both sticks are in the same pack. Your chances of not having any conflicts will be a lot better then if they were purchases seperately. Just remember this, your system can only run as fast as the slowest piece of hardware that you have in it.

The dual channel is optimal when set in pairs, AND that if two pairs are used that they all be of the same specs. While having more RAM may seem like the better choice, it really isn't beneficial if it isn't optimized. So, you would be better off leaving out the old RAM in your case. However, I see no reason to buy two additional 512 sticks when you already have one. Unless of course it's faster RAM, why not just buy one more 512 stick (for dual channel) same as the first (brand and speed) and use your money on something else? ASUS P5GD1 P-4 3.4 SOCKET 775 1G Corsaire PC400 ABIT RX600SE 256MB PCI-E

thank you i will leave my old ram out of my comp. the reason im not just getting another stick of 512 is because the first one is slower. thanks again

Thats odd i didnt know intel had dual-channel i thought it was just the new 939 amd's

Before you go out and spend that money, I have a question for you. Which Pentium 4 chipset are you running, the 533Mhz or 800Mhz bus (quad-pumped) ?. You posted P4 3.0Ghz and not 3.06GHz, so I assume 800FSB. If your present ram can put out a matching bandwidth as the CPU, then there is no need to go buy some more. Your CPU's theoretical bandwidth @ 800FSB is 6.4Gb/s, if your current 256mb and 512mb sticks are PC3200, just run them in dual channel and you'd be fine. Do not type anything in this space.