Dual running memory.

Well, my comp has been getting a bit slow around the corners, and I'm looking for a extra 256 ram to it.
Originally I have 1 Kingston 256 DDR400 block, and thought I would use the dual system my mobo supports. Now, the thing is that my ram is latency 3, and not for sale any more, only as latency 2 or 2.5
Knowing that the new ram then only would run at latency 3, makes me wonder if I could save some money and buy another brands ram which would be latency 3 and 400mhz DDR.
I have no need for the ram to go higher in fsb, but will the ram work with dual if they are different brand but both cas3 and DDR400?
Or do I have to buy the cas2/2.5 ram and just be happy with cas3?

 

Have you tested your current stick at 2.5 CAS latency even though it's only rated at CAS 3? You many find that your CAS 3 stick will run at CAS 2.5 if you bump the VDIMM (memory voltage) up from 2.5v to 2.6v. This may work especially if you're not running at a high FSB. I always run my memory at 2.6 on my gaming rig ( "high-stress box ") regardless for increased stability (not needed if you just do e-mail and surf). I don't go any higher than 2.65v though as you definitely can kill your memory with very high voltages. It's more sensitive to that than cpus are.

I'd put my money on buying the same brand of RAM even though it will be rated at a lower CAS latency. My feeling is that mixing brands and trying to run dual-channel is not a great idea.

 

Would agree with Chiles but would take it one step further - mixing memory with that NForce chipset would be ill-advised, approaching lame.