atom1kk wrote on 2022-09-07, 12:07:
Hi, I know since DDR RAM it is mostly better to run the RAM in dual channel mode, it means to have to equal RAM sticks. But how is it with SD? I have know 2 x 128 MB. and I want tu upgrade to 512. so is it better to buy 2 x 256 or 1 x 512? I want to stick to 512 as a max, since it is enough for me and do not get in any issues with win98
It depends on the board (or more specifically, the chipset).
If it's a BX then you'll need 2x256MB PC-100 (or PC-133 which can downclock, I'd recommend just getting PC-133 if you can) with 8 memory chips on both sides of the module.
256MB sticks with 8 memory chips in total will have only half the memory recognized at best.
Personally I find 256MB (with 16 chips total, 8 each side) PC-133 the most compatible memory modules whilst retaining large memory size (still won't fully work with 430VX, same problem only part will be recognized but imho this is but a relatively minor issue since smaller SDRAMs are abundant). 512MB (and 256MB with 8 or 9 chips max) have fewer motherboards that are fully compatible with it.
I'll use a single stick if it fits my agenda, there's few reasons to use more but smaller sticks of memory except perhaps if you have an excess of the smaller stick sizes.
In cases of mixing memory (especially if you have a large amounts of varying different memory modules from multiple sources) I prefer to at least use SDRAMs using identical memory density (so for instance I'd mix a 256MB module with 16 chips with a 128MB module with 8 memory chips, preferably using chips of the same manufacturer or at least as similar to each other as possible.
Some older boards can be a bit ehh....temperamental when it comes to installing memory modules 😋