QUESTION

Hi.

I'm trying to find out some information about specs on computer devices and I don't know where to get the answers.

First, I have a system that has a max of 128 MB RAM. I have four SIMMs and two DIMMs. Would it make a difference as far as speed on my system if I got four 32 MB SIMMs or two 64 MB DIMMs or even one 128 MB DIMM?

I have also been wondering about the cache numbers on CD-ROMs and hard drives. Do these numbers mean real gains or loss in performance, and how significant could it be?

These questions are very important in today's ever-changing market where one wants the most for his upgrade dollar. One manufacturer sells a CD-ROM drive for $50 and another for $120--is the difference between a 128 KB cache and a 512 KB or 1 GB cache really significant?

Please respond; this is my second time writing.

Thanks again.

ANSWER

For memory, the speed of four 32 MB vs. two 64 MB vs. one 128 MB memory SIMM/DIMMs should not be an issue. I believe that it could be possible to make multiple chips work faster, but I have never heard of it making a difference, noticed a difference, or seen any benchmarks that say it makes a difference. In any case, if your system is limited to 128 MB, you may be limited to 32 MB SIMMs and 64 MB DIMMs on the top end.

As far as the cache numbers, normally only small amounts are needed. Past a certain point, you get diminishing returns. So, a bigger cache is better, but there may only be a difference of 3% performance in a CD-ROM drive with a 128 KB cache vs. one with a 2 MB cache. It is very hard to tell which peripherals are better because benchmarks are not often robust enough to tell the full story and it is hard to isolate bottlenecks.